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Title details for J.R.R. Tolkien by Humphrey Carpenter - Available

J.R.R. Tolkien

A Biography

by Humphrey Carpenter
ebook
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The authorized biography of the creator of Middle-earth. "One of the most interesting and readable biographies of a literary figure." —The Times
In the decades since his death in September 1973, millions have read The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion and become fascinated about the very private man behind the books. Born in South Africa in January 1892, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was orphaned in childhood and brought up in near-poverty. He served in the first World War, surviving the Battle of the Somme, where he lost many of the closest friends he'd ever had. After the war he returned to the academic life, achieving high repute as a scholar and university teacher, eventually becoming Merton Professor of English at Oxford where he was a close friend of C. S. Lewis and the other writers known as "The Inklings."
Then suddenly his life changed dramatically. One day while grading essay papers he found himself writing "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit"—and worldwide renown awaited him.
Humphrey Carpenter was given unrestricted access to all Tolkien's papers, and interviewed his friends and family. From these sources he follows the long and painful process of creation that produced The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion and offers a wealth of information about the life and work of the twentieth century's most cherished author.
"J. R. R. Tolkien left his impress upon a whole generation as few recent writers have done . . . an excellent biography." —Newsweek
"A panorama of vignettes done with poise and exhaustive command. A man emerges whole." —The Washington Post Book World

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    March 19, 2024

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9780547524429

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9780547524429
      • File size: 4099 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Levels

    • Lexile® Measure: 1250
    • Text Difficulty: 9-12

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      June 15, 2000
      Tolkien's works have continually managed to remain popular. But anyone who recently caught the Internet-exclusive first scenes from director Peter Jackson's forthcoming live-action feature The Lord of the Rings knows that all the orcs in Isengard won't be able to keep new and old fans from tearing everything Tolkien-related off library shelves once this film hits theaters in 2001 (remember where you heard it first). Start gathering these titles early, beginning with Carpenter's 1977 biography and 1981 collection of Tolkien's letters now with a newly expanded index.

      Copyright 2000 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • Lexile® Measure:1250
  • Text Difficulty:9-12

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