The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide

The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide

by Christina Scull, Wayne G. Hammond

Stunning three-volume slipcased set containing the most comprehensive in-depth companion to Tolkien’s life and works ever published, including synopses of all his writings, and a Tolkien gazetteer, who’s who and chronology.

The three volumes contained in this slipcase, written by two of the foremost experts on J.R.R. Tolkien, comprise the definitive handbook to one of the most popular authors of the 20th century. Tolkien's progress is traced from his birth in South Africa in 1892, to the battlefields of France and the lecture-halls of Leeds and Oxford, to his success as the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, until his death in 1973. His many academic and literary achievements, his public reception, and his enduring fame are examined in detail.

The first volume in this set is a Chronology of Tolkien's life and works, the most extensive biographical resource about him ever published. Thousands of details have been drawn from letters, contemporary documents in libraries and archives, and a wide variety of other published and unpublished sources. Assembled together, they form a portrait of Tolkien in all his aspects: the distinguished scholar of Old and Middle English, the capable teacher and administrator, the devoted husband and father, the brilliant creator of Middle-earth.

The second and third volumes, the Reader's Guide, is an indispensable introduction to Tolkien's life, writings, and art. It includes histories and discussions of his works; analyses of the components of his vast 'Silmarillion' mythology; brief biographies of persons important in his life; accounts of places he knew; essays on topics such as Tolkien's interests and attitudes towards contemporary issues, ideas found in his works, adaptations, and invented languages; and checklists of his published works, his poetry, his pictorial art, and translations of his writing.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Biography

2720 pages, Hardcover

First published November 2, 2006

About the author

Christina Scull was born in Bristol, England, where she attended the famous Red Maids School. In 1961 she moved to London and worked for ten years in the Board of Trade. In 1971 she received her Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours from Birkbeck College, the University of London, where she studied art history and medieval history. From 1971 to 1995 she was the Librarian of Sir John Soane’s Museum, London. In December 1994 she married Wayne Hammond, and in October 1995 emigrated to the United States. Her publications include The Soane Hogarths (1991). She is also the co-author or co-editor with her husband of numerous works by and about J.R.R. Tolkien, and editor of the occasional magazine The Tolkien Collector. In 1992 she was chair of the Tolkien Centenary Conference in Oxford. She has won scholarship awards from the Mythopoeic Society four times.

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

No, I haven't read it all already, but I've browsed a lot. It's terrific, as you'd expect, and I already have two other enormous books in my queue that I've been working on in desultory fashion for years. It's an essential reference book for the extremely serious, and I'll never be done with it. Perhaps I should check the 'hide entire review because of spoilers' box? Andrew Higgins can call me a cheater if he wants to.

[Kathrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is a fantastic collection if you want to know more about J.R.R. Tolkien and his works.
It is definitely something that you can pick up again and check once you want to know about certain aspects.

[Tyler Wood]

An impressive work. If something related to Tolkien does not appear here, it does not exist.

[Victoria Schreiber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely a must-read for all fans of Tolkien! It was utterly fascinating to get all this background information on his life and the process of writing his works.