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Biography of John Tolkien

John Ronald Ruel Tolkien is a world-famous science fiction writer. He is better known as the author of works “The Hobbit” and the trilogy “The Lord of the Rings”.

Early years

John Ronald Ruel Tolkien was born January 3, 1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in the family of Arthur Tolkien and Mabel Saffild Tolkien. After Arthur Tolkien’s death from peritonitis, Mabel moved with 4-year-old JRR and his younger brother Hilary to a village called Sairhol, near Birmingham, England.

Mabel Tolkien died in 1904 and the Tolkien brothers were sent to live in a boarding school for a distant relative of the family and a Catholic priest in Birmington, who took care of them. JRR received first-class education at Exeter College, where he specialized in studying Anglo-Saxon and Germanic languages and in classical literature. He was enlisted as a lieutenant in the regiment of the Lancashire Shooters and participated in the First World War while

at the same time trying to continue writing. He survived the bloody battle on the Somme, which brought a huge loss, and was released from military service in connection with the disease. In the midst of military service in 1916, he married Edith Brett.

Career of a scientist and writer

Continuing his studies of linguistics, Tolkien began teaching at the University of Leeds in 1920, and a few years later became a professor at Oxford University. There he founded a writers’ group called Inklings, which included writers such as CS Lewin and Owen Barfield. It was in Oxford, during the examination of student work, that he suddenly wrote a short sentence about the “hobbit”.

Award-winning fantasy novel “The Hobbit” tells about Bilbo Beggins – he is short and his legs are covered with thick fur – and his adventures. The novel was published in 1937 and it was attributed to children’s literature, although Tolkien himself claimed that the book was not intended for children. He also created more than 100 illustrations to accompany the narrative.

For many years,

while working in scientific publications, Tolkien created a work that is considered his masterpiece – a series of books “The Lord of the Rings”, partly inspired by ancient European myths, but with his own set of maps, knowledge and languages.

Tolkien released the first part of the book “Brotherhood of the Ring” in 1954; “Two Towers” and “The Return of the King” in 1955, ending this trilogy. Books became for readers a rich literary find, populated by elves, goblins, talking trees and other all kinds of fantastic creatures, including such characters as the wizard Gandalf and the gnome of Gimli.

Although the Ring was criticized, many reviewers and currents, among the influx of readers, accepted the world of Tolkien, as a result of which his books became world bestsellers, and fans began to create Tolkien’s clubs to study his fictional language.

Tolkien left the post of professor in 1959, published an essay, a poetry collection “Tree and Leaf”, and a fantastic fairy tale “The Blacksmith of Greater Wootton.” His wife Edith died in 1971, and Tolkien himself died on September 2, 1973 at the age of 81 years. They left four children.

Heritage

“The Hobbit” and the series “The Lord of the Rings” took their place among the most popular books, having sold tens of millions of copies worldwide. The “Ring” trilogy was screened by director Peter Jackson and became an incredibly popular, award-winning trio-series of films starring actors such as Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, Keith Blanchett and Viggo Mortensen and others. Jackson also directed the adaptation of the Hobbit film, consisting of three parts, starring with Martin Freeman, the first part of the film was released in late 2012.

The son of Tolkien, Christopher, edited several works that were not completed by his father before his death, including The Silmarillion and The Children of Hurin, they were published posthumously. Figures for the Hobbit were published in 2012, at the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the novel, introducing Tolkien’s original illustrations to his work.

Quotations

“Do you really want to know how I created Middle Earth?” – this is my surprise and enthusiasm for our planet as it is, especially its wildlife. “

“Children are not a category, they are the same people, but at different stages of maturity: they all have the intelligence of a person who, even at its lowest level, is a wonderful thing, and the whole world is open to them.”

“The hobbits are those who I would like to be, but have never been, they do not know how to fight and always get together to come to an agreement.”