THE AUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY OF THE CREATOR OF MIDDLE-EARTH
In the decades since Tolkien's death in September 1973, millions have read The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and the Silmarillion and have become fascinated with 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 World War I, surviving the Battle of the Somme, where he lost many of his closest friends he'd ever had. After the war he returned to academic life, achieving greater repute as a scholar and university teacher and 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. Using 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 one of the twentieth century's most cherished authors.
"J.R.R. Tolkien left his impress upon a whole generation as few recent writers have done... and excellent biography." - Newsweek
"A panorama of vignettes done with poise and exhaustive command. A man emerges whole." - Washington Post Book World
"One of the most interesting and readable biographies of a literary figure." - The Times