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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 · 12,977,008 ratings · 292,975 reviews · 843 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Hobbit, or There and Back Again 4.30 avg rating — 4,664,808 ratings — published 1937 — 171 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 — 3,253,836 ratings — published 1954 — 1084 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 — 1,190,672 ratings — published 1954 — 891 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 — 1,099,058 ratings — published 1955 — 405 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 — 753,146 ratings — published 1955 — 428 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 — 386,966 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 — 352,328 ratings — published 1977 — 650 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 — 147,997 ratings — published 1954 — 199 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 4.07 avg rating — 97,340 ratings — published 2007 — 209 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 — 46,134 ratings — published 1980 — 231 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 — 11,487,866 ratings

The Hobbit (2 books)
by

J.R.R. Tolkien,

Rob Inglis (Narrator)

4.32 avg rating — 388,779 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 — 152,299 ratings

The History of Middle-Earth (13 books)
by

J.R.R. Tolkien,

Christopher Tolkien (editor)

4.01 avg rating — 64,478 ratings

Unfinished Tales (1 book)
by

J.R.R. Tolkien,

Christopher Tolkien (Editor)

4.02 avg rating — 47,469 ratings

More series by J.R.R. Tolkien…

At the beginning of each calendar month, Goodreads’ editorial team assembles a list of the hottest and most popular new books hitting shelves,...

Polls

.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

length:
320 pages
11 hours and 5 minutes

genres: Young adult, Classics, High Fantasy.

The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman

length:
240 pages
8 hours and 17 minutes

genres: Adult, cozy Mystery, humor, thriller.

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson

length:
384 pages
12 hours and 27 minutes

genres: Young adult, High fantasy, Cozy mystery, romance.

The Angel Experiment by James Patterson

length:
464 pages
7 hours and 55 minutes

genres: Young adult, Urban fantasy, science fiction, paranormal.

The Hobbit

2 votes 50.0%

The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax

1 vote 25.0%

The Angel Experiment

1 vote 25.0%

Tress of the Emerald Sea

0 votes 0.0%

4 total votes

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