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J.R.R. Tolkien

Born

in Bloemfontein, Mangaung, Free State, South Africa

January 03, 1892

Died

September 02, 1973

Website

http://www.tolkienestate.com/

Genre

Fantasy, Fiction, Children's

Influences

Traditional Catholicism, Scholasticism, Thomas Aquinas, Norse Mytholog ...more

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John Ronald Reuel Tolkien: writer, artist, scholar, linguist. Known to millions around the world as the author of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien spent most of his life teaching at the University of Oxford where he was a distinguished academic in the fields of Old and Middle English and Old Norse. His creativity, confined to his spare time, found its outlet in fantasy works, stories for children, poetry, illustration and invented languages and alphabets.

Tolkien’s most popular works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set in Middle-earth, an imagined world with strangely familiar settings inhabited by ancient and extraordinary peoples. Through this secondary world Tolkien writes perceptively of universal human concerns – love and loss, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien: writer, artist, scholar, linguist. Known to millions around the world as the author of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien spent most of his life teaching at the University of Oxford where he was a distinguished academic in the fields of Old and Middle English and Old Norse. His creativity, confined to his spare time, found its outlet in fantasy works, stories for children, poetry, illustration and invented languages and alphabets.

Tolkien’s most popular works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set in Middle-earth, an imagined world with strangely familiar settings inhabited by ancient and extraordinary peoples. Through this secondary world Tolkien writes perceptively of universal human concerns – love and loss, courage and betrayal, humility and pride – giving his books a wide and enduring appeal.

Tolkien was an accomplished amateur artist who painted for pleasure and relaxation. He excelled at landscapes and often drew inspiration from his own stories. He illustrated many scenes from The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, sometimes drawing or painting as he was writing in order to visualize the imagined scene more clearly.

Tolkien was a professor at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford for almost forty years, teaching Old and Middle English, as well as Old Norse and Gothic. His illuminating lectures on works such as the Old English epic poem, Beowulf, illustrate his deep knowledge of ancient languages and at the same time provide new insights into peoples and legends from a remote past.

Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 1892 to English parents. He came to England aged three and was brought up in and around Birmingham. He graduated from the University of Oxford in 1915 and saw active service in France during the First World War before being invalided home. After the war he pursued an academic career teaching Old and Middle English. Alongside his professional work, he invented his own languages and began to create what he called a mythology for England; it was this ‘legendarium’ that he would work on throughout his life. But his literary work did not start and end with Middle-earth, he also wrote poetry, children’s stories and fairy tales for adults. He died in 1973 and is buried in Oxford where he spent most of his adult life. ...more

Combine Editions
J.R.R. Tolkien’s books

Average rating: 4.35 · 10,308,219 ratings · 182,937 reviews · 519 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Hobbit (The Lord of the Rings, #0) 4.28 avg rating — 3,638,191 ratings — published 1937 — 1401 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1) 4.38 avg rating — 2,676,581 ratings — published 1954 — 808 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, #2) 4.47 avg rating — 883,866 ratings — published 1954 — 701 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings, #3) 4.55 avg rating — 824,460 ratings — published 1955 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Lord of the Rings 4.52 avg rating — 642,243 ratings — published 1955 — 255 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Hobbit, Part One by J.R.R. Tolkien, David Wyatt (Illustrator) 4.30 avg rating — 376,330 ratings — published 1937 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (Editor), Ted Nasmith (Illustrator) 3.99 avg rating — 267,416 ratings — published 1977 — 495 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	J.R.R. Tolkien 4-Book Boxed Set: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings 4.61 avg rating — 126,925 ratings — published 1955 — 92 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Children of Húrin 4.01 avg rating — 77,961 ratings — published 2007 — 166 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth by J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (Editor) 3.99 avg rating — 37,170 ratings — published 1980 — 196 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by J.R.R. Tolkien…

Series by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings (4 books)
by

J.R.R. Tolkien

4.38 avg rating — 8,798,606 ratings

The Hobbit (2 books)
by

J.R.R. Tolkien,

Rob Inglis (Narrator)

4.31 avg rating — 377,499 ratings

Tales of Middle Earth (4 books)
by

J.R.R. Tolkien,

Christopher Tolkien (Editor)

4.02 avg rating — 106,836 ratings

The History of Middle-Earth (13 books)
by

J.R.R. Tolkien,

Christopher Tolkien (editor)

3.99 avg rating — 53,089 ratings

Unfinished Tales (1 book)
by

J.R.R. Tolkien,

Christopher Tolkien (Editor)

3.99 avg rating — 38,170 ratings

More series by J.R.R. Tolkien…

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Polls

BOTM Poll for Dec 2017 - Classics Pick
Based on recommendations from the group with the most second's. Please pick your preferred group read below!
Remember, you can change your vote any time up until closing of the poll. Polls will be open for one week.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

113 votes, 29.7%

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

85 votes, 22.3%

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

69 votes, 18.1%

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

59 votes, 15.5%

Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffmann

55 votes, 14.4%

381 total votes

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J.R.R. Tolkien’s Followers (67,482)

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