Image: J.R.R. Tolkien [VOYAGE]
J.R.R. Tolkien is considered one of the most influential fantasy authors of all time. His works "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" have both sold over 100 million copies and the stories are still popular today. In this article we remember his life, his works and his thoughts.
"In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit."
With this simple sentence, you can start a book from one moment to the next, or years later, flood a crowd of Tolkien fans with a wave of nostalgia. The book "The Hobbit" or "There and Back Again" was first published on September 21, 1937. Wow, that alone was 86 years ago! J.R.R. Tolkien died on September 02, 1973 in England, exactly 50 years ago. Most know the fantasy author mainly because of the book quoted above and by the significantly longer successor "The Lord of the Rings". Usually, only the most loyal fans know what other treasures written by Tolkien can be discovered as well. But it is not only impressive how successful these books turned out to be. The inspiration also lies in the massive effort that J.R.R. Tolkien put into his works. From inventing his own languages for his fantasy universe to the entire "story of the Creation", no aspect was left out. This was also reflected in the long time it took him to write his books. How many he really wrote and how his life inspired him to write these epic novels, is revealed here.
Photo: Madalyn Cox
The Life Of J.R.R. Tolkien - The Foundation For World Famous Books
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was not born in England, as many would assume. On January 3, 1892, he first saw the light of day in South Africa, where he also grew up for a while. It was not until 1895 that he moved to Birmingham, England, together with his mother and brother. His father died shortly after. In the following years, the nature of his new environment and his mother were Tolkien's greatest points of reference. The destruction of this nature by the increasing industrialization of later years was repugnant to Tolkien. His mother's conversion to the Roman Catholic Church also had a lasting influence on him and was reflected in his works. Mabel Tolkien taught him several languages early on, including German, Latin, and French. The young Tolkien had an extraordinary interest in languages and literature, which continued to develop as he grew older. His mother died in 1904, leaving her sons in the care of a guardian, Father Francis Morgan. Tolkien's certain fondness for smoking a pipe can partially be attributed to him.
Photo: Thandy Yung
In his school years and also in his studies, Tolkien continued to devote himself to learning languages with great passion. He was also well on his way to his future: after all, he later became a professor of English linguistics. But what excited him at least as much as already existing languages was inventing his own. And indeed, it was this passion to which we owe his great fantasy works. To create his fantasy languages, he even neglected his studies. They were the basis on which his books were built.
Edith Bratt was another distraction in Tolkien's studies. His childhood sweetheart and later wife, with whom he spent his life. In fact, she was the inspiration for the elf Lúthien, whose love story with Beren, the human, is told in The Silmarillion. Thus, on their joint tombstone, under their real names, the names Beren and Lúthien are also written.
Tolkien first had to survive the First World War before he could devote himself to his (unplanned) career as an author. There, he lost close friends who had founded the T.C.B.S. (Tea Club and Barrovian Society) with him. They had met regularly and exchanged literary interests, for example. Even later, in 1930, Tolkien began writing "The Hobbit". By this time, he had children of his own.
Image: J.R.R. Tolkien (1965), The Tolkien Trust
"The Hobbit" And "The Lord of the Rings": Tolkien's Most Successful Works
How long it took Tolkien from the very beginning to the publication of "The Hobbit" can be calculated: About seven years. But what about The Lord of the Rings? Longer, much longer. That's because Tolkien never just sat at home and wrote. He was employed all the time and also moved several times in his life. And not only that: he was a perfectionist. So, of course, a masterpiece like this takes time.
He began his work on the eagerly awaited sequel to his children's book "The Hobbit" soon after its publication. It went rather slowly, mainly because of the high standards he set for himself. The manuscript was repeatedly reconsidered and revised, the title changed here and a character renamed there. In the end, it was anything but a children's book.
Back then, "The Lord of the Rings" was not published as a single, thick book. Tolkien himself divided it into six volumes and the Appendices. However, the publisher decided to publish three books. "The Fellowship of the Ring" was first published on July 29, 1954, "The Two Towers" on November 11, 1954, and "The Return of the King" on October 20, 1955.
Photo: Alicia Christin Gerald
And What About "The Silmarillion?"
Although it was the first book for which Tolkien developed his Elvish languages and for which he had his first ideas, Tolkien could not finish writing this book until the end of his life. The plot is even more extensive than in "The Lord of the Rings", because it covers the history of the First and Second Age, up to the events in the Third Age, which are by now a familiar story to every fantasy fan. The "Silmarillion" was therefore published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977. It is J.R.R. Tolkien's life's work, the summary of his mythology, which he had constantly developed and elaborated since his youth. However, the great variety of details - and perhaps Tolkien's fondness for solitaire - ultimately prevented him from finishing it himself.
How Many Books Did Tolkien Write?
Tolkien was not only a fantasy author. He was also an academic and therefore the long list of his publications is also filled with translations of literary works and essays. But if you want to read pure fiction, you have the choice of over 25 books! In addition to the books mentioned above, there is a whole bunch of short stories, for example about the character Tom Bombadil, who also appears in "The Lord of the Rings". And if you want to know more about Middle Earth, you can read about it in 13 volumes. Poetry is also provided, because Tolkien also wrote many poems. In addition, there is a biography about Tolkien, written by Humphrey Carpenter, which can be recommended to every fan.
Photo: Aswin Karuvally
By the way, did you know that there are a few interviews with J.R.R. Tolkien himself that you can watch on YouTube, for example? Some of them are audio recordings, some even videos. In them, he shares his own opinions about his life and his books, sometimes really serious and sometimes with humor. Of course, the whole thing is recorded in English and sometimes difficult to understand due to his quick way of speaking. Subtitles for other languages can be generated automatically in some cases, but they are not always reliable. Still, it is very touching to hear the author's voice and the anecdotes about his stories from himself.
A recommendation for your next movie night: A modern film biography with the title "Tolkien" was released in 2019. Well-known actors and actresses like Nicholas Hoult and Lily Collins perform Tolkien's life story in a fresh and colorful way. A change of pace for once, between the recurring Lord of the Rings marathons!
