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A new biography exploring J.R.R. Tolkien's wartime experiences and their impact on his life and his writing of The Lord of The Rings.
"To be caught in youth by 1914 was no less hideous an experience than in 1939 ... by 1918 all but one of my close friends were dead." So J.R.R. Tolkien responded to critics who saw The Lord of the Rings as a reaction to the Second World War.
Tolkien and the Great War tells for the first time the full story of how he embarked on the creation of Middle-earth in his youth as the world around him was plunged into catastrophe. This biography reveals the horror and heroism that he experienced as a signals officer in the Battle of the Somme and introduces the circle of friends who spurred his mythology to life. It shows how, after two of these brilliant young men were killed, Tolkien pursued the dream they had all shared by launching his epic of good and evil.
John Garth argues that the foundation of tragic experience in the First World War is the key to Middle-earth's enduring power. Tolkien used his mythic imagination not to escape from reality but to reflect and transform the cataclysm of his generation. While his contemporaries surrendered to disillusionment, he kept enchantment alive, reshaping an entire literary tradition into a form that resonates to this day.
This is the first substantially new biography of Tolkien since 1977, meticulously researched and distilled from his personal wartime papers and a multitude of other sources.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting read,
By A Customer
This review is from: Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of Middle-earth (Paperback)
An interesting analysis and certainly the most detailed outline of Tolkien's wartime experiences I've come across. Rather too willing to view Tolkien's early poetry uncritically though - Tom Shippey takes a more balanced approach and admits it isn't very good, even if it is useful for looking at Tolkien's development. Also rather unfair on the 'War Poets' in the final section, notably Wilfred Owen. Nonetheless, I'd recommend this to anyone interested in knowing more about the genesis of Tolkien's ideas and the influence of the First World War upon him.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent audio that brings the story to life,
By
This review is from: Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of Middle-earth (Unabridged) (Audio Download)
This is a biography that was well overdue. Using Tolkien's own personal papers, letters and other documents as well as the material provided by Christopher Tolkien in The History of Middle-earth Series, John Garth manages to trace, in often harrowing detail, Tolkien's own wartime experiences at the Battle of the Somme. The first part of the book covers Tolkien's early life and school days, where he made lasting friendships and formed the TCBS group of four like-minded individuals. It is through their eyes and correspondence that we get to know Tolkien, and experience, with him, their deaths on the Western Front.Garth also links what Tolkien was creating with his languages, poetry and growing mythology with the events in his life, providing insight into how he transformed his experiences into literature and language. For anyone interested in the evolution of Tolkien's mythology and how Tom Shippey could justifiably call him one of the traumatised authors from the Great War, then this book provides that story. The postscript, in particular, shows how his later more famous works - The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings - were invigorated and directed by his wartime experiences. Garth wonders that, if there had been no Great War, if Tolkien's legacy would have been merely one of a minor craftsman (like William Morris) or a brilliant academic? "Middle-earth, I suspect, looks so engagingly familiar to us, and speaks to us so eloquently, because it was born with the modern world and marked by the same terrible birth pangs". Garth overwhelmingly demonstrates the truth of this statement. John Garth narrates his own book and proves to be an excellent reader, bringing the words and descriptions to life. Incredibly detailed, often moving, it is not always an easy listen, but it is a much-needed supplement to Humphrey Carpenter's authorised biography from thirty years ago.
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Excellent Review,
This review is from: Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of Middle-earth (Paperback)
Having only read Humphrey Carpenter's biography of JRR Tolkien prior to this one I don't think I came to a full appreciation of how deep the Great War's influence on Tolkien was until I read it. As the Amazon review says, this is for people who have read deeper into Tolkien than LOTR - its for people who at least know the structure of the works contained in the 12 volumes of the History of Middle Earth Tolkien's son Christopher has been painstakingly putting together since the death of his father.
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