Table Of Content

Tolkien About the author Raymond Edwards is a freelance writer. He worked for some years for the Oxford English Dictionary whilst completing doctoral research into medieval manuscripts. Before this he followed the Oxford undergraduate course originally devised by Tolkien. He has written for, amongst others, The Tablet and The Times Literary Supplement. He translated Henry Harclay’s Ordinary Questions, and has written short books on various religious and historical subjects. He lives in north London with his wife, children and an improbable number of books. Tolkien RAYMOND EDWARDS First published in 2014 by Robert Hale, an imprint of The Crowood Press Ltd, Ramsbury, Marlborough Wiltshire SN8 2HR www.crowood.com This e-book first published in 2020 Paperback edition 2020 © Raymond Edwards 2014 All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978 0 71983 105 8 The right of Raymond Edwards to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. To Allison with love Contents Acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction Part I – The Making of a Philologist Chapter 1 – Early Years Chapter 2 – University and Edith Chapter 3 – War Chapter 4 – The Young Scholar Part II – Philology in Practice Chapter 5 – Oxford and Storytelling Chapter 6 – Delays and Frustrations Chapter 7 – A Wilderness of Dragons: Beowulf and The Hobbit Part III – Achievement Chapter 8 – In the Background, War Chapter 9 – Peace, Not Rest Chapter 10 – Hyde and Jekyll Chapter 11 – Finished, at Last Chapter 12 – Philology at Bay Chapter 13 – ‘My heart, to be shot at’ Part IV – Last Years Chapter 14 – Silmarillion and Scholarship? Chapter 15 – Unfinished Tales Part V – Niggle’s Parish Chapter 16 – Posthumous Publications Chapter 17 – A Cinematic Afterlife Epilogue Appendix – Tolkien the Catholic References Further Reading and Bibliography Index Plates I – VIII Acknowledgements In one sense, no one writes a book like this alone; in another, of course, it is an intensely solitary activity, and arguably a selfish one. I am grateful to Stratford Caldecott and to Alexander Stilwell for, in different ways, prompting me to write it, and for their advice and practical help; and to Glynn MacNiven-Johnston for her care and attention to my prose style, and for tireless encouragement. Lucy Lethbridge and Brendan Walsh have indulged my preoccupation with Tolkien and his circle for years; they have my hearty thanks. My parents encouraged and enabled my first interest in Tolkien, after a sensible schoolmaster made me and my ten-year-old classmates read The Hobbit. They, and he, have my gratitude. An early version of some parts of this book appeared in a short introduction to Tolkien published by the Catholic Truth Society; I am grateful for their permission to re-use this material. I also thank HarperCollins, and the copyright holders listed below, for allowing me to reproduce passages from Tolkien’s work. Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien © The J.R.R. Tolkien Copyright Trust 1981 Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics © The J.R.R. Tolkien Copyright Trust 1983 Mythopoeia © The J.R.R. Tolkien Copyright Trust 1988 Smith of Wootton Major © The Tolkien Trust 1967 The Adventures of Tom Bombadil © The J.R.R. Tolkien Estate Limited 1961 The Lord of the Rings © Fourth Age Limited 1954, 1955, 1966 The Book of the Lost Tales, Part One © The J.R.R. Tolkien Estate Limited and C.R. Tolkien 1983 The Book of the Lost Tales, Part Two © The J.R.R. Tolkien Estate Limited and C.R. Tolkien 1984 The Lost Road and Other Writings © The J.R.R. Tolkien Copyright Trust and C.R. Tolkien 1987 Sauron Defeated © The J.R.R. Tolkien Copyright Trust and C.R. Tolkien 1992 Morgoth’s Ring © The J.R.R. Tolkien Copyright Trust and C.R. Tolkien 1993 In the US, the following Tolkien extracts are reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Excerpts from Tree and Leaf by J.R.R. Tolkien. © 1964 by George Allen & Unwin Ltd. © Renewed 1992 by John F.R. Tolkien, Christopher R. Tolkien, and Priscilla M.A.R. Tolkien. © 1988 by The Tolkien Trust. Excerpts from The Monsters and the Critics by J.R.R. Tolkien. © 1983 by Frank Richard Williamson and Christopher Reuel Tolkien as Executors of the Estate of J.R.R. Tolkien. Excerpts from The Adventures of Tom Bombadil by J.R.R. Tolkien. © 1962 by Unwin Hyman Ltd. © renewed 1990 by Christopher R. Tolkien, John F.R. Tolkien and Priscilla M.A.R. Tolkien. Excerpts from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien. © 1954, 1955, 1965, 1966 by J.R.R. Tolkien. © renewed 1982, 1983 by Christopher R. Tolkien, Michael H.R. Tolkien, John F.R. Tolkien, and Priscilla M.A.R. Tolkien. © renewed 1993, 1994 by Christopher R. Tolkien, John F.R. Tolkien, and Priscilla M.A.R. Tolkien. Excerpts from Book of Lost Tales, Part I, by J.R.R. Tolkien. © 1983 by Frank Richard Williamson and Christopher Reuel Tolkien as Executors of the Estate of J.R.R. Tolkien. Excerpts from Book of Lost Tales, Part II, by J.R.R. Tolkien. © 1984 by Frank Richard Williamson and Christopher Reuel Tolkien as Executors of the Estate of J.R.R. Tolkien. Excerpts from The Lost Road and Other Writings by J.R.R. Tolkien. © 1987 by Frank Richard Williamson and Christopher Reuel Tolkien as Executors of the Estate of J.R.R. Tolkien. Excerpts from Morgoth’s Ring: The Later Simarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. © 1993 by Frank Richard Williamson and Christopher Reuel Tolkien as Executors of the Estate of J.R.R. Tolkien. Excerpts from Sauron Defeated by J.R.R. Tolkien. © 1992 by Frank Richard Williamson and Christopher Reuel Tolkien as Executors of the Estate of J.R.R. Tolkien. Most of all my wife Allison has been unfailingly supportive of my curious obsessions, endless piles of books, and patient of my persistent distraction: this is her book as much as mine. The publisher and author wish to thank copyright holders for permission to reproduce images. Images for the plates were sourced as detailed below: Plate I (top), Oosoom (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:KES_Free_Grammar_School_Cha rles_Barry.jpg) Plate I (bottom), Gavin Warrins (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ User:GavinWarrins#mediaviewer/File:BirminghamOratoryDome.jpg) Plate II (top), James Bradley (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/) Plate II (bottom), Oosoom (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en) Plate III (top), chensiyuan (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ legalcode) Plate III (bottom), Simon Q (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode) Plate IV (top), mcselede (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode) Plate IV (bottom), (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jacob_Grimm.jpg) Plate V (top), (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaumont-Hamel#mediaviewer/ File:Beaumont- Hamel_-_General_view_of_the_battlefield.jpg) Plate V (bottom), Gavin Warrins (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User: GavinWarrins#mediaviewer/File:BirminghamUniversityChancellors Court.jpg Plate VI (top), JREL (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode)