FREEJ. R. R. TOLKIEN: THE BIOGRAPHY EBOOK Humphrey Carpenter | 288 pages | 20 Oct 2016 | HarperCollins Publishers | 9780008207779 | English | London, United Kingdom J.R.R. Tolkien Biography English writer, scholar and philologist, Tolkien's father was a bank manager in South Africa. Shortly before his father died his mother took him and his younger brother to his father's native village of Sarehole, near Birmingham, England. The landscapes and Nordic mythology of the Midlands may have been the source for Tolkien's fertile imagination to write about 'the Shire' and 'hobbits' in his later book the Hobbit He studied linguistics at Exeter College, Oxford, and took his B. It is believed that his experiences during the Battle of the Somne may have been fueled the darker side of his subsequent novels. Upon his return he worked as an assistant on the Oxford English Dictionary and took his M. In he became a teacher in English at the University of Leeds. His first scholarly publication was an edition of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight He also wrote books on Chaucer and Beowulf Andrews in Scotland titled: "On Fairy-Stories". Tolkien will however be remembered most for his books the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings The Hobbit began as a bedtime story for his children". He wrote Lord of the Rings over a period of about 14 years. Tolkien also discussed parts of his novels with fellow Oxfordian and fantasy writer CS Lewis during their 'meetings'. He was trying to create a fantasy world so that he could explain how he had invented certain languages, and in doing so created 'Middle-earth'. However among his peers at Oxford his works were not well received as they were not considered 'scholarly'. It was after LOTR was published in paperback in the United States in J. R. R. Tolkien: The Biography he developed his legendary cult following and also imitators. Tolkien was W. Ker lecturer at Glasgow University in In both the University of Liege and University College, Dublin, awarded him honorary doctorates. He received the CBE in He was made an honorary fellow of Exeter College. Despite the immense popularity of his books today Tolkien did not greatly benefit from their sales. His son Christopher Tolkien was able to publish some of his works posthumously after his manuscripts were found. Tolkien was an English writer, poet, philologist, and professor who is best known as the author of the classic high-fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. However, when it was published a year later, the book attracted adult readers as well as children, and it became popular enough for the publishers to ask Tolkien to produce a sequel. The request for a sequel prompted Tolkien to begin what would become his most famous work: the epic novel The Lord of the Rings originally published in three volumes Tolkien spent more than ten years writing the primary narrative and appendices for The Lord of the Rings, during which time he received the constant support of the Inklings, in particular his closest friend C. Lewis, the author of The Chronicles of Narnia. Tolkien at first intended The Lord of the Rings to be a children's tale in the style of The Hobbit, but it quickly grew darker and more serious in the writing. Though a direct sequel to The Hobbit, it addressed an older audience, drawing on the immense backstory of Beleriand that Tolkien had constructed in previous years, and which eventually saw posthumous publication in The Silmarillion and other volumes. Tolkien's influence weighs heavily on the fantasy genre that grew up after the success of The Lord of the Rings. The Lord of the Rings became immensely popular in the s and has remained so ever since, ranking as one of the most popular works of fiction J. R. R. Tolkien: The Biography the 20th century, judged by both sales and reader surveys. After Tolkien's death, his son Christopher published a series of works based on his father's extensive notes and unpublished manuscripts, including The Silmarillion. Sign J. R. R. Tolkien: The Biography. Edit J. Showing all 75 items. Much of his work was published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien. Tolkien served in the Lancashire Fusilliers in the first world war and fought in the Battle of the Somme. He was discharged in suffering from "trench fever". A friend and fellow Oxford don with C. They were both members of the Inklings. Widely considered as the founder of modern fantasy; the J. R. R. Tolkien: The Biography who changed children's faerie tales into epic adventures without losing the appeal. As ofhis novel, 'The Lord of the Rings', has sold over 52 million copies worldwide and has been translated into 25 different languages. Tolkien and his wife, Edith, are buried together in a single grave in the Catholic section of Wolvercote cemetery in the northern suburbs of Oxford. The grave is well signposted from the entrance. The character names are those of lovers in Tolkien's novel, 'The Silmarillion'. Member of the Oxford literary circle along with writers C. Tolkien's reaction to several proposed film productions of his books was that he considered his works to be unstageable; he simply didn't feel that they could be successfully translated to a dramatic form. Although he had sold the film rights long before he died, he had no real expectation that "The Lord of the Rings" could be successfully filmed. Tolkien's mother introduced him to Latin, French, and German. In addition to these languages, Tolkien invented 14 different languages and J. R. R. Tolkien: The Biography alphabets for his Middle-earth dwellers. The British rock band Marillionpopular in the UK and Europe during the s, took their name from his posthumously published collection 'The Silmarillion'. According to the band's original drummer, Mick Pointer : "Doug Doug Irvine, the original bass player was reading 'Silmarillion' at the time and I suggested J. R. R. Tolkien: The Biography it would be a great name for the band". His father died when Tolkien was 4, and his mother when he was He and his brothers were then raised by a Catholic priest. Taught at the University of Leeds before teaching at Oxford from - In, Amazon. He was a philologist - someone who studies the history of languages. The Inklings Tolkien, C. In he won the first 'Gandalf Award' named after a character from his books as Grandmaster lifetime fantasy achivement. The 'Balrog Award' is J. R. R. Tolkien: The Biography named after a character from his books. Lord of the Ring-saga's world and its cast of characters have roots in real-world history and geography, from the world wars that dominated Tolkien's lifetime to the ancient language and legends of Finland. The Finnish national epic Kalevala inspired Tolkien and he taught himself the Finnish language so he could read it. Was extremely annoyed when 'The Lord of the Rings' was published in the mids as three different stories, because he had never intended the tale to become a trilogy. He opposed the development of the Concorde supersonic jetliner. Locus magazine conducted a poll in from among its readers to J. R. R. Tolkien: The Biography for the Best All-time Fantasy Novel. The British progressive rock band Barclay James Harvest, popular in the UK during the s and s, recorded a single record under the pseudonymous name of 'Bombadil' inand a song under their own name of BJH, titled 'Galadriel' on their second album 'Once Again' They found much inspiration from Tolkien's writings, having come from the Saddleworth country in northern England. The original publication of The Lord of the Rings was delayed for two reasons. In particular, he wanted the writing on the Ring to be printed in red ink. The second reason was that he wanted The Silmarillion; which told the history of the Elves and of Aragorn's race, the Numenoreans; to be published alongside Rings. No publisher would agree to this, so The Silmarillion was not published until after his death. One change that he vehemently opposed in any adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien: The Biography work was the intercutting of the various story threads that he had deliberately kept separate. To date, every adaptation has J. R. R. Tolkien: The Biography the stories. This is an indirect reference to the story's Christian underpinnings. The name Mithrandir is derived from Mithras, a Pagan god with several parallels to stories of the life of Jesus: he was born on December 25 as the offspring of the Sun, had a Last Supper with his twelve followers, died, J. R. R. Tolkien: The Biography buried under a rock, and reborn. Gandalf, like Mithras and Jesus, dies and is reborn. Mithras sacrificed a cosmic bull, symbolizing darkness, while Gandalf falls fighting the Balrog. According to the J. R. R. Tolkien: The Biography, the Fellowship that Gandalf leads sets out on December Before any German publishers would publish it, the Reich government wrote him a letter asking whether or not he was Aryan. He responded by saying that "I can only assume that you are asking if I am Jewish. I regret to respond that I have no ancestors among that gifted people. On account of this backhanded reply, The Hobbit was not published in Germany until after By his "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy [] had sold more than million copies and is the J. R. R. Tolkien: The Biography selling fiction book of all time. It is the 3rd best selling book of all time after "The Bible" [c.