The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien: His Life, Legacy, and Greatest Books
- Meri Utkovska
- Jan 3, 2024
- 7 min read
Updated: Jan 21
In 1948, nearly a decade after creating the first sketches, J.R.R. Tolkien finished The Lord of the Rings. An absolute favourite of mine, it is a story full of magical beings and enchanted places, Hobbits, Wizards, Elves, Orcs, Goblins, and Men.
It is a children’s story, yet one that speaks in the language of fantasy to tell of things fundamental to all humankind - friendship, loyalty, courage, love, and, of course, death.
Most of all, though, it is a story about hope. And hope, being that interstice that holds both night and morning by the hand, is, perhaps, the most potent utterance of trust.
Having hope is believing that no matter how untraversable darkness might seem, dawn is always bound to break in the East. There is no shortage of cruelty and evil in the world, and to hold hope in the heart is to have a heart as deep as an ocean.
Only the strong hope - those whose strength is not found in the dropping of bombs and the shattering of dreams, but in their ability to see how beautiful life truly is, and love all compassionately and unconditionally.
Today, as we mark 132 years of Tolkien’s birth, I invite you to remember a little part of The Lord of the Rings in one of the sweetest conversations between Frodo and Sam.
FRODO: I can’t do this, Sam. SAM: I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something. Even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back only they didn’t. Because they were holding on to something. FRODO: What are we holding on to, Sam? SAM: That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.
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About J.R.R. Tolkien
Born on January 3, 1892, in Bloemfontein, South Africa, J.R.R. Tolkien was an English writer and scholar who became famous with his children’s book The Hobbit (1937) and his richly inventive epic fantasy, The Lord of the Rings (1954–55).
Tolkien’s father, a bank manager, died in South Africa when he was four, after which the Tolkien family moved to Birmingham, England.
His mother, a converted Roman Catholic, died in 1904, and her sons became wards of a Catholic priest. Four years later, Tolkien fell in love with another orphan, Edith Bratt, who inspired his fictional character Lúthien Tinúviel. However, his guardian disapproved of the relationship, and not until he was 21 years old could he ask Edith to marry him.
Adult Life and Children’s Stories
Tolkien taught English language and literature for most of his adult life. He specialised in Old and Middle English at the Universities of Leeds (1920–25) and Oxford (1925–59).
While busy with academic duties and acting as an examiner for other universities, he produced a few influential scholarly publications, notably a standard edition of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (1925; with E.V. Gordon) and a landmark lecture on Beowulf (Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics, 1936).
Privately, Tolkien entertained himself by writing an extensive series of fantasy tales set in a world of his own creation. He invented “Elvish” languages and created a whole setting, “the legendarium” - which eventually became The Silmarillion - where those languages could exist. Tolkien loved myths and legends, and their influence is greatly present in his tales of Arda and Middle-Earth.
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
Perhaps the most important of Tolkien’s stories, which he created to entertain his four children, is The Hobbit, a coming-of-age fantasy about a comfort-loving “hobbit” (a smaller relative of Man) who joins a quest for a dragon’s treasure, as a burglar. The Hobbit was published in1937 with pictures by the author, and was so popular that the publishers asked for a sequel. 17 years later, Tolkien’s masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings, a modern version of the heroic epic, was born.
Tolkien carried over a few elements from The Hobbit, in particular the One Ring, which must be destroyed before it can be used by its creator, the Dark Lord, Sauron, to rule the world.
The book became incredibly successful - it had sold more than 50 million copies in 30 languages by the turn of the 21st century.
In the period 2001-2003, the New Zealand director Peter Jackson released a three-part film version of the book: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King, and achieved worldwide critical and financial success. Jackson then adapted The Hobbit as a trilogy comprising the films An Unexpected Journey (2012), The Desolation of Smaug (2013), and The Battle of the Five Armies (2014).
Tolkien’s Shorter Works and Legacy
Tolkien also wrote several shorter works during his lifetime, such as Farmer Giles of Ham (1949), a mock-mediaeval story, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book (1962), poetry related to The Lord of the Rings; Tree and Leaf (1964), with the seminal lecture “On Fairy-Stories” and the tale “Leaf by Niggle”; and the fantasy Smith of Wootton Major (1967).
A storyteller with an unmatched imagination, he died on September 2, 1973, in Bournemouth, Hampshire, England.
Essential Books by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings, illustrated by the Author
(hardback)
Description
courtesy of Bookshop.org
A very special edition of J. R. R. Tolkien's classic masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings, gorgeously illustrated throughout in colour by the author himself, with the complete text printed in two colours, sprayed edges, and a ribbon bookmark.
Since it was first published in 1954, The Lord of the Rings has been a book people have treasured. Steeped in unrivalled magic and otherworldliness, Tolkien's sweeping fantasy and epic adventure has touched the hearts of young and old alike. More than 150 million copies of its many editions have been sold around the world, and occasional collectors’ editions become prized and valuable items of publishing.
This one-volume, jacketed hardcover edition contains the complete text, fully corrected and reset, which is printed in red and black and features, for the very first time, thirty colour illustrations, maps and sketches drawn by Tolkien himself as he composed this epic work. These include the pages from the Book of Mazarbul, marvellous facsimiles created by Tolkien to accompany the famous ‘Bridge of Khazad-dum’ chapter. Also appearing are two removable fold-out maps drawn by Christopher Tolkien, revealing all the details of Middle-earth.
Sympathetically packaged to reflect the classic look of the first edition, this new edition of the bestselling hardback will prove irresistible to collectors and new fans alike.
Product Details
Publisher: William Morrow
Publish Date: November 16, 2021
Pages: 1248
Language: English
TypeBook: Hardback
EAN/UPC: 9780358653035
Dimensions: 8.8 X 5.6 X 2.6 inches | 56.3 pounds
BISAC Categories: Fantasy, Popular Fiction, Popular Fiction, Popular Fiction, Fantasy, Fantasy, Literary Fiction, Science Fiction, Popular Fiction
The Silmarillion
(paperback)
Description
courtesy of Bookshop.org
The legendary precursor to The Lord of the Rings
“A creation of singular beauty . . . magnificent in its best moments.”—The Washington Post
Set primarily in the First Age of Middle-earth, The Silmarillion contains the legend of the creation of the world and an account of the Elder Days. It is the ancient drama remembered by Elrond and Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings, and the harrowing origin of the adventure that ends ages later with Frodo and the One Ring.
At the story’s heart are the three Silmarils, jewels that held within them the Light of the Two Trees of Valinor, and Fëanor, the most gifted of elven artificers. When the Two Trees are destroyed, the Silmarils become coveted, setting into motion events that lead to the rebellion of Fëanor and his kindred against the gods, their exile from Valinor, and their hopeless war against the greatest enemy Middle-earth has ever known: Morgoth.
Product Details
Publisher: Del Rey
Publish Date: January 12, 1985
Pages: 480
Language: English
TypeBook: Paperback
EAN/UPC: 9780345325815
Dimensions: 6.9 X 4.1 X 1.1 inches | 0.5 pounds
The Hobbit Collector's Edition
(hardback)
Description
courtesy of Bookshop.org
A special collectable hardcover edition of the best-selling classic, featuring the complete story with a sumptuous cover design, foil stamping, stained edges, and ribbon bookmark.
Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely travelling further than the pantry of his hobbit-hole in Bag End.
But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard, Gandalf, and a company of thirteen dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an unexpected journey “there and back again.” They have a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. . .
The prelude to The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, has sold many millions of copies since its publication in 1937, establishing itself as one of the most beloved and influential books of the twentieth century. This elegant hardcover – now available for the first time in the United States – is one of five Collector’s Editions of Tolkien’s most beloved works, and an essential piece of any Tolkien reader’s library.
Product Details
Publisher: William Morrow
Publish Date: August 06, 2024
Pages: 304
Language: English
TypeBook: Hardback
EAN/UPC: 9780063396203
Dimensions: 8.3 X 5.5 X 1.0 inches | 20.0 pounds
BISAC Categories: Fantasy, Popular Fiction, Fantasy, Popular Fiction, Literary Fiction, Fantasy, Popular Fiction, Popular Fiction, Fantasy, Popular Fiction
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