John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on the 3rd January, 1892 at Bloemfontein in the Orange Free State, but at the age of four he and his brother were taken back to England by their mother. After his father's death the family moved to Sarehole, on the south-eastern edge of Birmingham. Tolkien spent a happy childhood in the countryside and his sensibility to the rural landscape can clearly be seen in his writing and his pictures.
His mother died when he was only twelve and both he and his brother were made wards of the local priest and sent to King Edward's School, Birmingham, where Tolkien shone in his classical work. After completing a First in English Language and Literature at Oxford, Tolkien married Edith Bratt. He was also commissioned in the Lancashire Fusiliers and fought in the battle of the Somme. After the war, he obtained a post on the New English Dictionary and began to write the mythological and legendary cycle which he originally called The Book of Lost Tales but which eventually became known as The Silmarillion.
In 1920 Tolkien was appointed Reader in English Language at the University of Leeds which was the beginning of a distinguished academic career culminating with his election as Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford. Meanwhile Tolkien wrote for his children and told them the story of The Hobbit. It was his publisher, Stanley Unwin, who asked for a sequel to The Hobbit and gradually Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings, a huge story that took twelve years to complete and which was not published until Tolkien was approaching retirement. After retirement Tolkien and his wife lived near Oxford, but then moved to Bournemouth. Tolkien returned to Oxford after his wife's death in 1971. He died on 2 September 1973 leaving The Silmarillion to be edited for publication by his son, Christopher.
Country of origin, residence or nationality: Britain
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There are 12 books listed by the author J R R Tolkien.
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Finn and Hengest $24.95 B Paperback |
Professor J.R.R. Tolkien is most widely known as the author of The Lord of the Rings, but he was also a distinguished scholar in the field of Mediaeval English language and literature. In Anglo - Saxo ... ISBN: 0261103555 |
| J R R Tolkien: A Biography $24.95 A Paperback |
The only authorised biography, and the only one written by an author who actually met J.R.R. Tolkien, with a redesigned cover to match the distinctive paperback editions of The Lord of the Rings, The ... ISBN: 9780007132843
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| The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun $45.00 Hardcover |
The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún tells in narrative verse the saga of a Norse hero‚ Sigurd‚ prophesied to defend the gods of Valhalla against the Ragnarok‚ the apocalypse‚ and his adventures that see h ... ISBN: 0007317239
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| Lord of the Rings CD $195.00 |
A dramatization of Tolkien's celebrated fantasy. Sauron, the Dark Lord, has gathered to him the Rings of Power - the means by which he will be able to rule the world. All he lacks in his plan for domi ... ISBN: 0563388129
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| ROVERANDOM $18.95 Paperback |
For the first time in A - format paperback, J.R.R. Tolkien's novella about the adventures of a bewitched toy dog. While on holiday in 1925, four - year - old Michael Tolkien lost his beloved toy dog o ... ISBN: 0007149115
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| TOLKIEN READER $19.95 Paperback |
ISBN: 0345345061 |
| The Lost Road $30.95 B Paperback |
History of Middle Earth 05At the end of 1937, J R R Tolkien reluctantly set aside his work on the myths and heroic legends of Valinor and Middle - earth and began The Lord of the Rings. This fifth volume of The History of Midd ... ISBN: 0261102257 |
| Fellowship of the Ring 50th Anniversary $19.95 A Paperback |
Lord of the Rings 01Impossible to describe in a few words, JRR Tolkien's great work of imaginative fiction has been labelled both a heroic romance and a classic fantasy fiction. By turns comic and homely, epic and diabol ... ISBN: 0007203586 |
| Two Towers, The (50th Anniversary) $19.95 Paperback |
Lord of the Rings 02Impossible to describe in a few words, JRR Tolkien's great work of imaginative fiction has been labelled both a heroic romance and a classic fantasy fiction. By turns comic and homely, epic and diabol ... ISBN: 0007203594 |
| Two Towers, The (Centenary Edition) $19.95 Paperback |
Lord of The Rings 02Frodo and the Companions of the Ring have been beset by danger during their quest to prevent the Ruling Ring from falling into the hands of the Dark Lord by destroying it in the Cracks of Doom. They h ... ISBN: 0261102362 |
| Return of the King $44.95 Hardcover |
Lord of the Rings 03The Return of the King is the third part of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic adventure The Lord of the Rings. The Companions of the Ring have become involved in separate adventures as the quest continues. Aragor ... ISBN: 0261102338 |
| Return of the King, The (50th Anniversary) $19.95 Paperback |
Lord of the Rings 03Impossible to describe in a few words, JRR Tolkien's great work of imaginative fiction has been labelled both a heroic romance and a classic fantasy fiction. By turns comic and homely, epic and diabol ... ISBN: 0007203608 |
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