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J.R.R. Tolkien

Born

in Bloemfontein, Mangaung, Free State, South Africa

January 03, 1892

Died

September 02, 1973

Website

https://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: 4.38 · 12,807,349 ratings · 284,242 reviews · 813 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Hobbit, or There and Back Again 4.30 avg rating — 4,595,586 ratings — published 1937 — 1475 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) 4.41 avg rating — 3,222,566 ratings — published 1954 — 431 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) 4.51 avg rating — 1,169,899 ratings — published 1954 — 380 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) 4.59 avg rating — 1,080,370 ratings — published 1955 — 407 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 (The Lord of the Rings, #1-3) 4.55 avg rating — 745,780 ratings — published 1959 — 183 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) 4.32 avg rating — 386,029 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) 4.04 avg rating — 346,753 ratings — published 1977 — 87 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 4.62 avg rating — 146,840 ratings — published 1954 — 185 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 4.06 avg rating — 96,081 ratings — published 2007 — 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
	Unfinished Tales by J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (Editor) 4.03 avg rating — 45,570 ratings — published 1980 — 4 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

Middle Earth (4 books)
by

J.R.R. Tolkien

4.39 avg rating — 11,334,064 ratings

The Hobbit (2 books)
by

J.R.R. Tolkien,

Rob Inglis (Narrator)

4.32 avg rating — 387,792 ratings

Tales of Middle Earth (4 books)
by

J.R.R. Tolkien,

Christopher Tolkien (Contributor),

Brian Sibley (Editor),

Alan Lee (Illustrator)

4.08 avg rating — 149,361 ratings

The History of Middle-Earth (13 books)
by

J.R.R. Tolkien,

Christopher Tolkien (editor)

4.01 avg rating — 64,028 ratings

Unfinished Tales (1 book)
by

J.R.R. Tolkien,

Christopher Tolkien (Editor)

4.02 avg rating — 46,890 ratings

More series by J.R.R. Tolkien…

With the advent of streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV+ we’re currently experiencing a kind of Golden Age...

Polls

⭒Who is your favorite fantasy author?⭒

J.R.R. Tolkien

40 votes, 30.8%

C.S. Lewis

34 votes, 26.2%

Jennifer A. Nielsen

9 votes, 6.9%

Suzanne Collins

9 votes, 6.9%

I can't choice. (write-in)

7 votes, 5.4%

Nadine Brandes

5 votes, 3.8%

Sarah J. Maas

4 votes, 3.1%

Like choosing which my children I love more. Lewis and Tolkien both. (write-in)

4 votes, 3.1%

J. K. Rowling (write-in)

3 votes, 2.3%

Andrew Peterson

2 votes, 1.5%

Marissa Meyer (write-in)

2 votes, 1.5%

John Flanagan

1 vote, 0.8%

Tara Grayce

1 vote, 0.8%

Terry Goodkind

1 vote, 0.8%

Flanagan, Nielsen, and Dawn Watkins! It's a three-way tie for me (write-in)

1 vote, 0.8%

Louise Fitzhugh (write-in)

1 vote, 0.8%

Marie Lu

1 vote, 0.8%

Kate Stradling

1 vote, 0.8%

Cassandra Clare (write-in)

1 vote, 0.8%

Trinity Vinton

1 vote, 0.8%

J. R. R. Tolkien, J. K. Rowling, and John Flanagan

1 vote, 0.8%

Stephenie Meyer

1 vote, 0.8%

Kara Swanson

0 votes, 0.0%

Donita K. Paul

0 votes, 0.0%

130 total votes

30 comments

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