Reginald Tyler Professor Reginald Tyler was a 20th century writer . He spent most of his life writing " The True History of Planets " , a large multi - book fantasy story which made him famous . Tyler was good friends with John Cleavis and a member of the Smudgelings . He could speak many language s , some of them of his own invention . ( PROSE : " Mad Dogs and Englishmen " ) History . Early life . During World War I , Tyler was enlisted as a soldier and stationed in France . In 1917 , he was wounded and taken to a hospital in Whitby . While recovering , he began writing the book which would eventually become " The True History of Planets " and met Enid Tyler , who would eventually become his wife . ( PROSE : " Mad Dogs and Englishmen " ) Professorship . After the war , Tyler became a professor at either Cambridge ( PROSE : " Mad Dogs and Englishmen " ) or Darkholmes . His address was 199 Steps Lane . Tyler hired Brenda as a maid . ( PROSE : " Fellowship of the Ink " ) Starting in either 1928 or the 1930s , Tyler established the Smudgelings , a group of Tyler ' s " most valued colleagues and fellow scribblers " who met once a week at the Book and Candle . One account indicated Tyler had already met Cleavis by the time he founded the Smudgelings , ( PROSE : " Mad Dogs and Englishmen " ) while another indicated this was not the case . ( PROSE : " Fellowship of the Ink " ) Tyler had lunch with Cleavis before every meeting of the Smudgelings . ( PROSE : " Mad Dogs and Englishmen " ) Shortly after Tyler first met Cleavis , they became involved in the incidents surrounding a series of breaks in the Very Fabric of Time and Space around Darkholmes . ( PROSE : " Fellowship of the Ink " ) In 1942 , William Freer infiltrated the Smudgelings , trying to influence Tyler into changing " The True History of Planets " into a propaganda piece to help Princess Margaret take over dogworld . He cast a spell to supposedly allow the Smudgelings to see into Tyler ' s imagination . However , it went wrong and erased his face . It took three months for it to grow back . ( PROSE : " Mad Dogs and Englishmen " ) Later life . After he retired from his position at the university , Reginald moved to Bournemouth with Enid . He continued to write " The True History of Planets " in their bungalow ' s garage . In either 1972 or 1974 , Reginald slipped into an icy lake while taking a morning hike in the wilderness near his bungalow . In the official version of history , Tyler cracked his hip in the fall and slowly died in the water . However , as part of the paradoxical events involving dogworld , a blue Poodle rescued Tyler from death and took him to dogworld in 2077 . At the palace of the emperor of dogworld , Tyler witnessed the final confrontation between Princess Maragret and William Freer , Noël Coward , the Eighth Doctor , Fitz Kreiner , Anji Kapoor , Fritter , Char , and Mida Slike . With everyone on Earth believing him to be dead , Tyler was offered a place to live on dogworld . The emperor suggested that Tyler use the final years of his life to write an accurate history of dogworld . ( PROSE : " Mad Dogs and Englishmen " ) Behind the scenes . Reginald Tyler is a fictionalised version of J . R . R . Tolkien . " The True History of Planets " is Tyler ' s version of " The Lord of the Rings " , John Cleavis acts as a stand - in for C . S . Lewis - who was a good friend of Tolkien - and the Smudgelings are the novel ' s equivalent of the Inklings . Tolkien ' s wife was named Edith . Tolkien moved to Bournemouth in his later later life and died in 1973 .