num_pages: 416
description: The Road to Middle-earth, Tom Shippey’s classic work, now revised in paperback, explores J.R.R. Tolkien’s creativity and the sources of his inspiration. Shippey shows in detail how Tolkien’s professional background led him to write The Hobbit and how he created a timeless charm for millions of readers. Examining the foundation of Tolkien’s most popular work, The Lord of the Rings, Shippey also discusses the contribution of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales to Tolkien’s great myth cycle, showing how Tolkien’s more “difficult” books can be fully appreciated. He goes on to examine the remarkable twelve-volume History of Middle-earth, written by Tolkien’s son and literary heir Christopher Tolkien, which traces the creative and technical processes by which Middle-earth evolved.
language: English
title: The Road to Middle-Earth: How J.R.R. Tolkien Created a New Mythology
titlecomplete: The Road to Middle-Earth: How J.R.R. Tolkien Created a New Mythology
genres: Biography, Literary Criticism, History, Writing, Reference, Criticism, Nonfiction, Mythology, Literature, Books About Books
ratings_count: 6004
awards: awardedAt: 441792000000
name: Mythopoeic Scholarship Award
category: Inklings Studies
publisher: Mariner Books