The J.R.R Tolkien Miscellany

by Robert S. Blackham

This miscellany explores the fascinating and enigmatic world of J.R.R. Tolkien, examining his place in literary history, his books and his iconic characters. The reader can explore facts and trivia from Tolkien’s life and works, including his early life in southern Africa and Birmingham, Tolkien on the silver screen, his role in the two world wars and his friendship with C.S. Lewis, as well as the places that inspired his fictional world of Middle-earth.

Both light-hearted and highly informative, this miscellany offers an insight for new and old Tolkien fans into one of the great writers of the twentieth century.

ROBERT S. BLACKHAM is a member of the Birmingham Tolkien Strategy Group and vice chair of The Shire Country Park Friends, a park named to commemorate J.R.R. Tolkien’s childhood connections with the area in Birmingham.
The author gives talks and lectures about Tolkien in and around Birmingham and Oxford, and has made a large number of TV and Radio appearances in connection with this.

He is the author of The Roots of Tolkien’s Middle-Earth (Tempus, 2006); Tolkien’s Birmingham (Mallorn, 2007); Tolkien’s Oxford (The History Press, 2008); The Pitkin Guide to Tolkien (Pitkin, 2011); Tolkien and the Peril of War (The History Press, 2011).

(from publishers website

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography

190 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Beatrix Tung]

i learnt something new. but not much. not entirely a waste of good paper as frequent repetition of facts entrenches tolkien's various inspirations in the reader's mind. thoroughly miserable attempts were made to arrange the facts thematically. undermined by the author himself when he haphazardly slipped in unrelated facts seemingly at random. and he managed to misspell minas tirith as minus tirith, subtracting from his impression of being an authority on all things tolkien. well done.

[Kimberly]

Way too repetitive--the same information or explanations appeared in several chapters which was both useless and bizarre. The history is arranged in subjects rather than chronologically...blah.

[Nicholas Whyte]

 https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-j-r-r-tolkien-miscellany-by-robert-s-blackham/

Aspects of Tolkien’s life and writing (but mainly his life) are packaged into short, thematic, well-illustrated chapters, though the presentation confusingly alternates between the roughly chronological and the more broadly cultural. There wasn’t much here that was new to me, but it might do for the sort of reader who doesn’t want to tackle Carpenter or one of the other biographies.

[Nicholas Holloway]

Quite a short book but brings together a fair amount of information on the life and work of Tolkien. Numerous 'asides' that provide various bits of information to illustrate aspects of his life and the development of some ideas. Not a definitive work by any means but well written, accessible and supportive of larger works. Covers such areas as his academic career, WW1 and C.S.Lewis. illustrated.

[J]

Bits and titbits, and something of JRRT’s ordinary life emerged from this rather amateurish publication. Some real random gems, plus suggestive ideas for the various real places that might have inspired locations in Middle Earth, fake diamonds in the rough, as it were, but rather too much rough — repetition and a deleterious degree of disorganisation under the guise of topical chapters. 2.5* rounded down, I’m afraid.

[MikieD]

I read this in one sitting, which is not a complaint, thats just the type of book it is; a nice day read. I enjoyed the little bits of Tolkien info, but my biggest complain is that the book was mainly comprised of random bits of trivia with little organization.

[Grateful]

This is a very beautiful little book written by Robert S.Blackwell a member of The Tolkien Society. The book is in essence a short bio on Tolkien. With some lovely facts about the author and where he found or may have found his inspiration. The book has some lovely photographs and a list of Tolkien's works in the back. It is quiet any easy read and very enjoyable for any fan of this wonderful man. I especially like the nice little fact about his false teeth had me laughing in the middle of the coffee shop. I now have a view that Tolkien was as my Nana used to say was a bit of a divil. Nice to see he got up to his fair share of mischief. I was a little annoyed that they didn't mention the Burren in Co.Clare as inspiration.

[Jerry]

It is a very quick read, somewhat repetitive (I was about to deciding that if I read one more time about the Sarehole Mill I was going to put the book down) but very wide-ranging in its overview of Tolkien’s life. It often seems to go overboard matching places Tolkien lived or visited as inspiration for places he wrote about. On the other hand it was enjoyable and puts Tolkien’s literary accomplishments in perspective.

[Rowan]

Don't get me wrong, regardless of the reviews you should definitely give this book a chance. It is exactly what it purports to be... a small miscellany that has been condensed into a coffee-table hardback. It's not a stellar piece of biographical content nor does it contain ream upon ream of 'as yet undisclosed' information. Nevertheless, it is a highly enjoyable collection of material that will fill some hours on the train or bus.

[Michael]

A slight book of mainly biographical information about Tolkien, with some basic Middle-earth trivia interspersed. The chapter on blue plaques and memorials was the only really new thing for me. Despite which it was a fun read: not indispensable, but interesting enough to warrant a place in the permanent collection.

[Sarah]

lovely little hardback book that fits nicely in the hand, packed with everything you ever wanted to know about JRR Tolkein; although some snippets of information get duplicated in several chapters according to subject. Probably more a dip in and out of book rather than read cover to cover.

[Mark]

Just an interesting collection of factoids about the other's life and inspiration. If you're familiar with Tolkien's work and have read Carpenter's biography of him, there won't be much new here. Still, the way it is collected and arranged makes it a fun, quick read, or an easy reference.

[Becka Book Girl]

A miscellany, indeed. The biographical bits included here will be familiar to any semi-serious Tolkien reader; the other items are mildly interesting but rather trivial; the photos are nice enough but nothing particularly special.

[Steve]

Full of interesting pieces

[Juanfra Valero]

Una especie de biografía de Tolkien, aunque no muy exaustiva. Da algunos detalles de la vida de JRR, y de dónde salieron algunas cosas de El Señor de los Anillos y el Hobbit.

[Marcus]

Somewhat slight, but easy to read and fairly enjoyable.

[Amy Meyers]

A loose bio, organized not chronologically, but topically. Some chapters are redundant for lovers of the trilogy and can be skimmed. Some chapters repeat info from other chapters, making you wonder if you've already read that section. Found different tidbits of his life very interesting though, especially in connection to C.S. Lewis.