The Tolkien Shop

Contains:

Palgrave, 2009. 1st edition. Hardback (no dustjacket issued).

This book presents an exploration of the evolution of Tolkien's mythology within the framework of its cultural and historical context. It contributes significantly to Tolkien studies, as well as understanding of many elements of popular culture in the pre-WW1 period. This is the first book to look at issues of race and ethnicity in Tolkien with any kind of historical knowledge Uniquely discusses Tolkien's early poems linking them with the literary/cultural history of the Edwardian period. It discusses Tolkien's most popular works ("The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings") within a wider context of the writer's creativity and personal mythology, and also examines often-neglected works such as the twelve volume "History of Middle-earth" series. This title includes 15 illustrations, including Tolkien's own drawings and sketches, and offers original research based on Tolkien's unpublished manuscripts.Fimi explores the evolution of Tolkien's mythology throughout his lifetime by examining how it changed as a result of his life story and contemporary cultural and intellectual history. This new approach and scope brings to light neglected aspects of Tolkien's imaginative vision and contextualises his fiction. *

Greenwood Press, 2000. 1st edition. Hardback (no dustjacket issued).

As a scholar of mediaeval languages and literature, J.R.R. Tolkien brought to his fiction an intense interest in myth and legend. When he died in 1973, he left behind a vast body of unpublished material related to his fictive mythology. Now edited and published as "The History of Middle-Earth" by his son and literary executor, Christopher Tolkien, these 12 volumes provide a record of the growth of J.R.R. Tolkien's mythology from its beginnings in 1917 to the time of his death more than 50 years later. The material in these volumes offers an insight into Tolkien's process of myth-making and is a guide to the world of his literary works. An opening essay by Rayner Unwin, Tolkien's publisher for many years, surveys the publication history of the collection. The essays that follow, each written by an expert contributor, explore a wide range of topics related to "The History of Middle-Earth". Included are discussions of Tolkien's languages, the evolution of his vision over time, the shifting importance of central characters, and the effect of his mythology on "The Lord of the Rings". By exploring this mythological compendium, the volume sheds further light on the entire body of J.R.R.

OUP, 2006. Study into Tolkien's work on this dictionary. 1st edition. Hardback. Illustrated.*

Tolkien’s Middle-earth and its legendarium have drawn extensive scholarly attention. But there is more to Tolkien than the history and legends of Middle-earth, and there has hitherto been a certain lack of academic criticism focused primarily on his shorter fictional works Farmer Giles of Ham, Smith of Wootton Major, Roverandom and his poetry. Although scholarly evaluations of these works exist, they often deal with the shorter texts more as an afterthought, as footnotes to the ‘major’ texts rather than as demanding attention in their own right. This dearth of studies suggests that it is time for a closer look at Tolkien’s 'Shorter Works'. The current volume collects the findings of a joint conference of Walking Tree Publishers and the German Tolkien Society at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, Germany in 2007. Various interesting aspects, details and connections are unearthed which are likely to broaden not simply the understanding of Tolkien’s Shorter Works, but also of the author’s overall fictional work as well as the man and author J.R.R. Tolkien himself. *