The Magical Worlds of Lord of the Rings: The Amazing Myths, Legends and Facts Behind the Masterpiece

by David Colbert

What nightmare was the key to Tolkien's mythology?

Can Gandalf really die?

What does Tolkien like best about Frodo?

Which monster from The Lord of the Rings attacked Tolkien in real life?

Why are Tolkien's Elves tall?

J.R.R. Tolkien's epic fantasies The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit have enthralled reader for more than half a century. The realm of Middle-earth is one of the most fully realized worlds in literature, yet the remarkable mythology upon which Tolkien founded is still a mystery to most readers.

The Magical Worlds of The Lord of the Rings reveals the ancient folklore and legends that inspired Tolkien's masterpiece. From the Finnish saga Kalevala and the events in Beowulf to Arthurian mythology, Shakespeare, and even World War II, this indispensable guide provides insights not only into literature's most beloved fantasy but also the man who brought it to life.

Genres: Fantasy, Reference, Mythology, Fiction, Literary Criticism, Literature, Books About Books

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a really hard time wading through the Silmarillion and gave up after about 150 pages. But after reading this book, I'm inspired to go back and give it another try. I appreciated the ties to other myths and legends as well as the history of the LOTR novels and Tolkien's expertise. Some of the insight given in this book has also enlightened me to some of the unexplained character mysteries that I just gave up on trying to understand when I read the trilogy and Silmarillion. It's easy to understand, fun to read but also very interesting and seems to be well referenced, although not in formal footnote/reference fashion, which was a plus, in my opinion.

[Murphy C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read 18 years or so ago. Loved it!

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Subtitled The Amazing Myths, Legends, and Facts Behind the Masterpiece, this book was obviously put together with the audience in mind that has been only now exposed to Tolkien's work through the latest film treatment. For instance, the final chapter discusses Frodo's actions in Mordor and since Peter Jackson, at least, has not put his vision of this on the silver screen, the chapter is segmented off as a "spoiler." Author David Colbert knows how to do these books, as he wrote the successful The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter. However, even the would-be Tolkien scholar and hardcore fan with well-worn and well-known copies of all the books will find this tome interesting. The index, bibliography and glossary make for handy entrances to the book, laid out like an encyclopedia. Colbert initially places the Tolkien mythology into the greater sphere of ancient European and Near Eastern mythology. This is pretty tenuous and could be good fodder for heated debate among those that appreciate Joseph Campbell as much as J. R. R. Tolkien. The inspiration from Tolkien's knowledge of ancient English and North European lore is well-trodden ground for the initiated, but this presents it in an easy to read manner with plenty of line drawings that will be entertaining for any reader, whether they just saw the movie or can quote Gandalf chapter and verse.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing wholly new and exciting here after reading the silm and lost tales, but picked up some fun mythological and historical trivia.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although not approved by the Tolkien Estate, this book was great. It shares many secrets and unknown facts about Tolkien, the inspiration for many characters, story lines, and names, and the reasoning for what he wrote. It was really interesting to discover all of these little stories behind the stories. It was organized really well and flowed nicely. I really enjoyed this book and will definitely read it again.

[E L K Y · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely little book with lot of notes to enhance your reading experience and learning something new and simple from the lore if you don't want to dive too deep but want something extra.
Really well put together.

[RubyRidingHood · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite nonfiction books!!
I found some typos though, hahha. Oh wow, I started it three years ago, lol!!

[Tanya · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from reading more into Lord of the Rings, but this book is for beginners to the world of Tolkien. So, this book would likely rate high for a young, newbie to this world. However, if you are looking for real insight and adult ideas, this isn't really the place. The book introduces some nice ideas related to Lord of the Rings, but that's it. Just nuggets of ideas that are mentioned and then the next one is moved on to. I also really hate books that have little asides or notes in the margins for my added reading. I find these tend to really hurt the flow of what I am reading. This book contains an aside on pretty much every page, making the reading very uneven in its flow. I appreciate the author's work, and I liked some of the ideas or sources mentioned, but I wanted to dive deeper, and that isn't happening here.

[Linda]

Very interesting compendium of facts behind the story of Lord of the Rings. One thing I like is when a book leads me to other books, and this one has a great deal of fodder scattered throughout, not the least of which is the Tolkien biography by Humphrey Carpenter. I will definitely check that out, as well as some of the others in the bibliography!
This author has a nice easy style and the chapters are short but very informative, which makes for easy reading. I love the little asides and all the information about language.
I'll definitely check out his title on Harry Potter as well.

[Angharad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished all in one quick sitting. it was informative. it wasn't comprehensive enough to use as a good source for research but just enough to get you started, and perhaps interested in doing research on the many works that inspired Tolkien. I wished this book was more in depth and academic. it was very casual light reading, but it was good.

[Vitta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Зачастую части статей повторяются в других, а так - очень увлекательное и познавательное чтиво.

[Sarah Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-have for LOTR fans.

[rozalia · Rating 2 out of 5]

git

[Timothy Pitkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well done book that talks about the inspiration for a lot of aspects of Tolkien's books and surprisingly actually taps into books beyond the Lord of the Rings Trilogy but it actually uses resources like the Silmarillion and his various essays and papers. And I also really like that it talks about his early ideas like how Tolkien originally wanted Bilbo to be the main character again and how some of the names were changed around. I do like when we learn about the early ideas of a story as it shows how the writer eventually landed on the current form of the story. The inspirations David discusses are more then just discussing Tolkien's love of mythology but also into Tolkien's personal history and philosophy.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok so this is manageable in a day if you have time! As a big fan of LOTR it is awesome to be able to read about the mythological, linguistic, and medieval inspirations as well as additional info about Middle Earth without having to navigate complicated versions explaining the history behind it. If someone asks a question, it’s easy to flip through and find the answer (index too)! I feel like this book could have easily been so boring if the author wanted to be a pretentious know-it-all, but it definitely wasn’t. The cover is too pretty as well! I recommend this if you’ve read the main LOTR books or seen the movies without reading Tolkien’s extended works.

[Tony Lawrence]

Non fiction? Maybe, but looks like a fun geeky exploration of the background and motivations behind LOTR

This was mostly informative, but way too geeky for my passing interest in LOTR, most recently the films (of course) and the books - as a teenager, about 100 years ago! Most of the content seems to have come from a worthy biography of J.R.R., a collection of his letters and various European and other myths & legends - IMO it reduced the book, and the pleasure in reading/watching, into an academic investigation, but then I guess that was the point? That said, I particularly liked the explanation of the geography of Middle Earth, and derivations given for 'Bag End' and 'Samwise'.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fan of Tolkien's beloved trilogy, 'The Lord of the Rings' (LOTR), I am always interested by studies of scholars and critics based on all of the wonderful mythologies and legends that inspired LOTR. Although Colbert's book is intended for younger readers, it still provides a compelling list of some of the most pertinent questions a fan of LOTR such as myself would have.

This book is not meant to be an exhaustive study, so more critically or academically inclined readers should look elsewhere.

[Hali Davidson · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is obvious love that went into this book, and it was a fun and light read, though I gave it three stars because, well... Colbert mansplains a lot (for instance, explaining what "pacifism" means), and it was rather annoying, since it took me out of the book with a groan. The other issue is some of his facts are wrong (like saying that Harry Potter -- this was in the section about riddles -- answered the famous riddle of the Sphinx, where the answer is "man," but actually the riddle he was asked alludes to a spider).

[Cecília do Lago · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bom livro de introdução para quem gosta de fantasia e busca entender os contextos mais profundos da mitologia criada por Tolkien (elaborado durante duas guerras mundiais) e como foi feita essa criação de mundo. Realmente é fascinante como o autor se dedicou exaustivamente a coisas que seus editores não davam importância mas para ele era uma parte central do significado de sua obra.

Esse livro é uma coletânea simplificada deste universo. Bom para despertar curiosidade para quem leu Senhor dos Anéis e está intimidado com os anais no final do livro.

[Erick Vazquez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buen libro, entretenido, con información interesante. Aunque siento que le falta explotar más la genial idea que es. Y es que podría haber tomos completos de enciclopedia relativa a la Tierra Media de Tolkien.

Por otro lado, este libro lo compré en una Feria de Libro Infantil, y tal vez eso explique el porqué de su longitud o temas. La verdad es que para un menor de edad es perfecto para interesarse más en el mundo de Tolkien.

Sin duda estaré atento para ver si hay otros libros del tipo, tal vez más completos.

[David Lai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read for children and adults alike, in short chapters each answering the question of the chapter title, e.g., "Who is Gandalf?" and "Why Are There So Many Towers?" A lot of information is conveyed in a snappy and digestible style.

Surprisingly, all the illustrations but one are from a clip-art collection.

One criticism: the clumsy in-text references, e.g., (The Life of J.R.R. Tolkien by Humphrey Carpenter) in full, again and again -- very tiresome.

[Gaston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro que me aportó mucho para el entendimiento de la tierra media y el universo en el que están inmersos tanto el Hobbit como el señor de los Anillos.
No lo recomiendo para nada como introduccion a las novelas ya que tiene mucho Spoiler, pero si es excelente para despues de haberlas leidos para mejorar la comprensión de todas las cosas que se te pudieron haber pasado.

[Leilani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Que libro tan chingón!
Todo fan de Tolkien debería tenerlo ♥️
Habla sobre “de donde caramba salió el señor de los anillos”?
Estoy segura que todos en algún punto nos le hemos preguntado, bueno, pues este libro ofrece una respuesta bastante clara ♥️

[Peter Burnat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed that. Lots of interesting information about the characters from Lotr. It certainly enriched my experience with the world of Tolkien and makes me wanna go back and reread the trilogy again.

[Lucythereader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Breaking down origins, allusions and inspirations amongst biographical elements, this collection makes for a fascinating and engaging tribute to Tolkien's work - well deserving of the spectacular cover.

[Charmaine Ohl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alot easier to get through than Silmarilion for a brief but detailed summary of the work and lore behind LOTR and the Hobbit.
A few bits I knew but alot was new information. Very well researched and a great read for anyone interested in the series.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This delivered where 'Tolkiens Ordinary Virtues' did not. A well written, thoroughly researched, accessible companion to Lord of the Rings, with abundant back story. Recommended for fans of Tolkien.

[Chelsie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seems to be written by someone who didn’t grow up loving LOTR and written for new readers of LOTR. The questions are weird and fairly common things that are known in the LOTR world. But good (I guess) for beginning readers of the books. ❤️

[Lydia Hale · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting book for fans of LOTR books and/or movies.

[Pau Lethani · Rating 3 out of 5]

3'5/5