Overview
To be caught in youth by 1914 was no less hideous an experience than in 1939 ... by 1918 all but one of my close friends were dead. So J. R. R. Tolkien responded to critics who saw The Lord of the Rings as a reaction to the Second World War. Tolkien and the Great War tells for the first time the full story of how he embarked on the creation of Middle-earth in his youth as the world around him was plunged into catastrophe. This biography reveals the horror and heroism that he experienced as a signals officer in the Battle of the Somme and introduces the circle of friends who spurred his mythology to life. It shows how, after two of these brilliant young men were killed, Tolkien pursued the dream they had all shared by launching his epic of good and evil. John Garth argues that the foundation of tragic experience in the First World War is the key to Middle-earth's enduring power. Tolkien used his mythic imagination not to escape from reality but to reflect and transform the cataclysm of his generation. While his contemporaries surrendered to disillusionment, he kept enchantment alive, reshaping an entire literary tradition into a form that resonates to this day. This meticulously researched biography is distilled from Tolkien's personal wartime papers and a multitude of other sources.
Full Product Details
Author: John Garth
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Imprint: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
ISBN: 9780008347390
ISBN 10: 0008347395
Publication Date: 07 May 2019
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Audio
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Available To Order
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Reviews
Very much the best book about J. R. R. Tolkien that has yet been written. -- Evening Standard (London) A highly intelligent book...Garth displays impressive skills both as researcher and writer. -- Max Hastings, New York Times bestselling author
Very much the best book about J. R. R. Tolkien that has yet been written. Even if you are not a Lord of the Rings fan, I commend this book to you. -- Evening Standard (London)
A highly intelligent book...Garth displays impressive skills both as researcher and writer. -- Max Hastings, New York Times bestselling author Very much the best book about J. R. R. Tolkien that has yet been written. -- Evening Standard (London)
Author Information
John Garth studied English at Oxford University and worked as a newspaper journalist in London. He is an acknowledged expert on J. R. R. Tolkien, and his long-time interest in the works of Tolkien, combined with an interest in the First World War, fueled the five years of research that went into his book Tolkien and the Great War.
