Biography of J. R. R. Tolkien: Architect of Middle-Earth
by Daniel Grotta
Category: Biography & Autobiography

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973), author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, is one of this century's most beloved and enigmatic writers. His highly unusual, imaginative works have sold millions of copies on both sides of the Atlantic, to readers of all ages. Tolkien "cults" have sprung up to debate the reality and mythology of Middle Earth, Hobbits, Elves, and the power of magic rings. And yet, surprisingly little is known about the personal life of the creator of Middle Earth. This man, who was embarrassed by his success, lived most of his life as an Oxford scholar in the surrounds of a cloistered academic community. As a child in South Africa, Tolkien was kidnapped by a native and taken into the bush. As a youngster in the English industrial city of Birmingham, Tolkien was raised by a Catholic priest. And as a young adult, Tolkien lived through the bloody horror of the trenches of World War I. How these experiences fired his imagination is just one of the areas that Daniel Grotta tries to uncover.