Who is Tolkien John Ronald Ruel? Even children, and first of all they, know that this is the creator of the famous “Hobbit”. In Russia, his name became very popular with the release of the cult film. In the writer’s homeland, his works became famous back in the mid-60s, when the circulation of a million copies of The Lord of the Rings was not enough for the student audience. For thousands of young English-speaking readers, the story of the hobbit Frodo has become a favorite. The work that John Tolkien created sold out faster than Lord of the Flies and The Catcher in the Rye.
Hobbit Passion
Meanwhile, in New York, youths were running around with homemade badges that read: “Long live Frodo!”, and stuff like that. Among young people there is a fashion for organizing hobbit-style parties. Tolkien societies were created.
But not only students read the books that John Tolkien wrote. Among his fans were housewives, rocket scientists, and pop stars. Respectable fathers of families discussed the trilogy in London pubs.
Talk about who you were in real life fantasy author John Tolkien, not easy. The author of the cult books himself was convinced that the true life of the writer is contained in his works, and not in the facts of his biography.
Childhood
Tolkien John Ronald Ruel was born in 1892 in South Africa. The father of the future writer was there due to his occupation. In 1895, his mother went with him to England. A year later, news arrived announcing the death of his father.
Ronald's childhood (that's what the writer's relatives and friends called him) passed in the suburbs of Birmingham. At the age of four he began to read. And just a few years later he experienced an inexpressible desire to study ancient languages. Latin was like music for Ronald. And the pleasure of studying it could only be compared with reading myths and heroic legends. But, as John Tolkien later admitted, these books existed in the world in insufficient quantities. There was too little such literature to satisfy his reading needs.
Hobbies
At school, in addition to Latin and French, Ronald also studied German and Greek. Quite early on, he became interested in the history of languages and comparative philology, attended literary circles, studied Gothic, and even tried to create new ones. Such hobbies, unusual for teenagers, predetermined his fate.
In 1904, his mother died. Thanks to the care of his spiritual guardian, Ronald was able to continue his studies at Oxford University. His specialty was
Army
When the war began, Ronald was in his last year. And after brilliantly passing his final exams, he volunteered for the army. The junior lieutenant suffered several months of the bloody Battle of the Somme, and then two years of hospitalization with a diagnosis of trench typhus.
Teaching
After the war, he worked on compiling a dictionary, then received the title of professor in English. In 1925, his account of one of the ancient German legends was published, and in the summer of the same year, John Tolkien was invited to Oxford. He was too young by the standards of the famous university: only 34 years old. However, behind him John Tolkien, whose biography is no less interesting than his books, had rich life experience and brilliant works on philology.
Mysterious book
By this time, the writer was not only married, but also had three sons. At night, when family chores were over, he continued the mysterious work he began as a student - the history of a magical land. Over time, the legend became filled with more and more details, and John Tolkien felt that he had an obligation to tell this story to others.
In 1937, the fairy tale “The Hobbit” was published, bringing the author unprecedented fame. The popularity of the book was so great that the publishers asked the writer to create a sequel. Then Tolkien began work on his epic. But the three-part saga came out only eighteen years later. Tolkien spent his entire life developing the Elvish dialect and is still working on it today.
Tolkien characters
Hobbits are incredibly charming creatures that resemble children. They combine frivolity and perseverance, ingenuity and simplicity, sincerity and cunning. And oddly enough, these characters give the world created by Tolkien authenticity.
The main character of the first story constantly takes risks to get out of the whirlpool of all sorts of misadventures. He has to be brave and inventive. With this image, Tolkien seems to be telling his young readers about the limitless possibilities they have. And another feature of Tolkien’s characters is their love of freedom. Hobbits get along well without leaders.
"Lord of the Rings"
Why did the Oxford professor so captivate the minds of modern readers? What are his books about?
Tolkien's works are dedicated to the eternal. And the components of this seemingly abstract concept are good and evil, duty and honor, great and small. In the center of the plot is a ring, which is nothing more than a symbol and instrument of unlimited power, that is, what almost every person secretly dreams of.
This topic is always very relevant. Everyone wants power and is confident that they know exactly how to use it correctly. Tyrants and other terrible figures in history, as contemporaries believe, are stupid and unjust. But the one who today wants to acquire power will supposedly be wiser, more humane and more humane. And perhaps it will make the whole world happier.
Only Tolkien's heroes refuse the ring. In the work of the English writer, there are kings and brave warriors, mysterious magicians and all-knowing sages, beautiful princesses and gentle elves, but in the end they all bow to a simple hobbit who was able to fulfill his duty and was not tempted by power.
IN last years The writer was surrounded by universal recognition and received the title of Doctor of Literature. Tolkien died in 1973, and four years later the final version of The Silmarillion was published. The work was completed by the writer's son.
John Tolkien is a famous English writer and philologist. One of the founders of modern fantasy. Author of the novels "The Hobbit, or There and Back Again", "The Lord of the Rings", "The Silmarillion".
Biography of the writer
John Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein in the Orange Republic. Now this is the territory of South Africa. In 1892. He worked at Pembroke College and Oxford University. He taught Anglo-Saxon language. He held the position of professor. He was a researcher of English language and literature. Together with his friend and writer Clive Lewis, he was a member of the informal literary society "Inklings", which valued novelties fiction and were especially fond of fantasy.
His most famous novels- "The Hobbit", "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Silmarillion". His son Christopher published the last one after his father’s death. These three novels form a collection of works about the fictional world of Middle-earth. John Tolkien himself united his novels with the word “legendarium”. This is a literary collection of fairy tales or legends.
It is worth noting that before Tolkien, many authors wrote fantasy novels. However, his popularity was so great, and his novels had such an influence on the development of the entire genre, that today Tolkien is officially called the father of fantasy. Speaking primarily about high fantasy.
In the list of the greatest writers of the 20th century, according to the authoritative British newspaper The Times, John Tolkien ranks sixth.
At war
The English writer did not remain aloof from the key military conflicts of the 20th century. Although in 1914 he literally shocked his relatives by not immediately enlisting as a volunteer for the front. He first decided to get a degree. Only after this did John R.R. Tolkien enter the army with the rank of second lieutenant.
In 1916, as part of the 11th Expeditionary Battalion, he arrived in France. He served as a signalman in northern France, near the Somme River. In these places he took a direct part in the battle on the Thiepval ridge. Stormed the Swabian redoubt.
At the end of 1916, he fell ill with trench fever, or as it is also called Volyn fever. Its carriers were lice that bred in British dugouts at that time. In November 16th he was commissioned and sent to England.
During World War II he was considered for a position as a codebreaker. He even received training at the London headquarters of the Government Communications Centre. However, in the end, the government declared that it did not need his services. So he never served again.
Death of Tolkien
By the middle of the 20th century, John Tolkien, whose books sold in large quantities, was a famous and successful writer. In 1971 he lost his wife and returned to Oxford.
A little over a year later, doctors diagnosed him with dyspepsia, a disorder of the normal functioning of the stomach. The disease was accompanied by constant indigestion. Doctors prescribed him a strict diet and forbade him to drink wine.
In the summer of 1973 he was visiting friends in Bournemouth. On August 30, at Mrs. Tolhurst's birthday party, he hardly ate, but drank some champagne. Late in the evening I felt bad. By morning he was hospitalized. Doctors diagnosed him with a stomach ulcer. A few days later pleurisy developed.
"The Hobbit, or There and Back Again"
The very first famous novel Tolkien's story about the world of Middle-earth, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, was published in 1937. It tells fascinating story travels of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins. He sets off on his journey after meeting the powerful wizard Gandalf. The goal of his campaign is the treasures that are stored on the Lonely Mountain, guarded by the terrible dragon Smaug.
Initially, Tolkien wrote this book with only one purpose - to entertain his own children. However, the manuscript of this fascinating novel catches the eye first of his friends and relatives, and then of British publishers. The latter immediately became interested in the new original work and asked the author to finish the manuscript and provide it with illustrations. Which is what John Tolkien did. The Hobbit first appeared on bookstore shelves in the fall of 1937.
This novel was the first about the Middle-earth universe, which the author developed over several decades. The reviews were so positive from both critics and readers that the novel brought fame and profit to the author.
In their reviews, readers noted that for many this novel is in first place in their personal reading rating, that it is not like any other work, despite its large volume, everyone should read it.
"Lord of the Rings"
John Tolkien, whose biography was closely connected with the fantasy genre, released his new novel"Lord of the Rings". This is already a whole epic, which the publishers had to divide into several independent parts. The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King.
The main character of the previous work, the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, retires. He leaves his nephew Frodo a magic ring that can make anyone who possesses it invisible. The powerful magician Gandalf appears again in the story, who initiates Frodo into all the secrets of this ring. It turns out that this is the Ring of Omnipotence, created by the dark lord of Middle-earth himself, Sauron, who lives in Mordor. He is the enemy of all free peoples, which includes hobbits. At the same time, the Ring of Omnipotence has its own will, capable of enslaving its owner or extending his life. With its help, Sauron hopes to subjugate all other magic rings and conquer power in Mordor.
There is only one way to prevent this - to destroy the ring. This can only be done in the place where it was forged, in the mouth of the Fire Mountain. Frodo sets off on a dangerous journey.
"The Silmarillion"
The Silmarillion was published after Tolkien's death. The book was published by his son Christopher.
The new work is, in fact, a collection of legends and myths of Middle-earth, describing the history of this fictional Universe from the very beginning of time. "The Silmarillion" tells about the events that occurred from the creation of the world during the Middle Ages.
For example, the first part is called Ainulindale. It tells how the Universe of Middle-earth was born. It turns out that music played a key role in this. This part of the novel is framed as a legend written by the elf Rumila.
The second part describes the characteristics of the main divine beings of this world. One of the parts is dedicated to the founding and fall of one of the largest states in Middle-earth, Numenor.
English science fiction writer and linguist John Ronald Ruel Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892 in the city of Bloemfontein, Orange Republic (now South Africa). His father was a manager of an English bank; his parents settled in South Africa shortly before John's birth due to his father's promotion.
In February 1896, the father died, the mother and children returned to England and settled in Sarehole near the city of Birmingham. In 1904, his mother died, and John and his younger brother remained under the care of the Catholic priest Francis Morgan.
Since 1920, Tolkien taught at the University of Leeds, in 1924 he was confirmed as a professor, and from 1925 to 1959 he taught at the University of Oxford.
In 1922, Tolkien's Dictionary of Medieval English was published. He researched the works of Geoffrey Chaucer and the medieval epic Beowulf, and prepared editions of three Middle English monuments: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, with Eric Gordon, and Ancrene. Wisse) and "Sir Orfeo" (Sir Orfeo). Tolkien even “finished” the lost verses of the famous “Elder Edda,” a collection of Old Icelandic myths from the 13th century.
Tolkien invented several of his own languages - for example, Quenya (the language of the High Elves), Sindarin (the language of the Gray Elves), Khuzdul (the secret language of the Dwarves). Their invention influenced his literary work.
In the 1920s, he began writing the cycle of myths and legends of Middle-earth that later became The Silmarillion (published after Tolkien's death in 1977).
In the early 1930s, an informal literary club "Inklings" (Inklings; inkling - "hint"; sometimes the name of the circle is considered as a derivative of the word ink - "ink") gathered around Tolkien's friend, the writer Clive Lewis, a number of whose members were fond of northern mythology. The club soon disbanded, but a new one was formed with the same name by Oxford graduate Tanji Lin, which also included Tolkien and Lewis. The Inklings met regularly for two decades, reading excerpts from their writings and discussing them. It is known that Tolkien read to the Inklings chapters from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, which he was writing at the time.
The Hobbit was published in 1937 and was illustrated with over one hundred drawings by Tolkien that explained the story. "The Hobbit" was an extraordinary success immediately after its publication, receiving a New York Herald Tribune award for best book of the year.
In 1954-1955, Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King) was published. The epic novel was translated into many languages of the world and first sold a million copies, and today it has surpassed the twenty million mark. The novel gave impetus to the development of the fantasy genre and the role-playing movement. The book has become a cult among young people in many countries. Detachments of Tolkienists, dressed in knightly armor, to this day in the USA, England, Canada, New Zealand. There is also a Tolkienist movement in Russia.
The film rights to the novel were sold by Tolkien in 1968, but the film epic appeared only in 2001. In 2012-2014, a film trilogy based on The Hobbit was released, which describes the story preceding the events of The Lord of the Rings.
During John Tolkien's lifetime, the story "Leaf by Niggle" (1945), the poem "The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun" (1945), and the fairy tale "Farmer Giles" were also published. of Ham, 1949), a collection of poems “The Adventures of Tom Bombadil” (The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, 1962), the story “The Blacksmith of Big Wootton” (Smith of Wootton Major, 1967), etc.
In the last years of his life, Tolkien was surrounded by universal recognition. In June 1972, he received the title of Doctor of Letters from Oxford University, and in 1973, at Buckingham Palace, Queen Elizabeth awarded the writer the Order of the British Empire, second class.
All of his works published after 1973 were published by his son Christopher. Among them are “The Father Christmas Letters” (1976), “The Silmarillion” (1977), “Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth” (1980), “Monsters and Critics” “(The Monsters And The Critics And Others Esseys, 1983), “The History of Middle-earth” in 12 volumes (The History of Middle-earth, 1983-1986), “Tales from the Perilous Realm” (1997) , “The History of The Hobbit” (2009), “The Fall of Arthur” (2013), etc.
John Tolkien's previously unpublished novella, The Tale of Beren and Luthien, is expected to be published in the UK in May 2017.
John Tolkien was married to Edith Brett in 1916; the couple lived together for 55 years and raised three sons and a daughter.
The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien; UK, Birmingham; 01/03/1892 – 09/02/1973
Tolkien's books have had a huge influence on world literature. They have been filmed more than once different countries peace. A huge number of games, cartoons, comics and fan fiction have been created based on Tolkien’s books. The writer is rightly called the father of the modern fantasy genre and he consistently ranks high in the ranking of the most influential and popular writers of the 20th century.
Biography of Tolkien by John Ronald Ruel
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892 in the Republic of South Africa. His family ended up there thanks to the promotion of his father, who worked as a manager of one of the branches of an English bank. In 1894, the second child in the family was born - Hilary's brother Arthur Ruel. John Tolkien lived in the Republic of South Africa until 1896, when, due to the death of his father, the boys' mother was forced to return to England. The family's income was small and the mother, in search of consolation, became a deeply religious person. It was she who instilled in the children a love of Catholicism, taught them the basics of the Latin language, botany, and taught Tolkien to read and write at the age of 4. But when John was only twelve years old, their mother died of diabetes. Since then, the priest of the Birmingham church, Francis Morgan, took up the upbringing of the brothers.
In 1900, John Tolkien entered King Edward's School, where his considerable abilities for languages were almost immediately discovered. Thanks to this, by the time he graduated from school, the boy already knew Old English and began studying four more languages. In 1911, John Tolkien visited Switzerland where, together with his comrades, he covered 12 km in the mountains. The impressions received during this journey formed the basis of his books. In October of the same year he entered Oxford University, first to the department classical literature, but is soon transferred to the Department of English Language and Literature.
In 1913, John Tolkien announced his engagement to Edith Mary Brett, whom he had known for more than five years, but at the insistence of Francis Morgan did not communicate with whom until he came of age - 21 years old. Despite the fact that by this time Mary had already given her consent to marry another person, the engagement took place, and three years later the wedding took place. They lived together for 56 years, raising three sons and a daughter.
In 1914 the First World War. To complete his education, Tolkien enlisted in the Military Corps. But after receiving a bachelor's degree in 1915, he was recognized as a lieutenant in the army. He served in the army until November 1916 and managed to take part in the Battle of the Somme and many other battles. He was discharged due to trench fever and was subject to bouts of illness for more than two years.
After the end of the war, John Tolkien worked as a professor at Leeds and then Oxford universities. It was at this time that he began work on his novel The Hobbit, or There and Back Again. The book was originally written for her children, but then it received unexpected recognition with its publication in 1937. During the Second World War, John Tolkien was asked to take up the work of a codebreaker if necessary, but his services were not in demand.
After the war in 1945, Tolkien became a professor at Oxford's Merton College, as well as an examiner at the University of Dublin. Here he worked until his retirement. At the same time, he begins work on his most famous book, The Lord of the Rings. It has been released in parts since 1954. It was a widespread success, and against the backdrop of the emerging hippie movement, it was perceived as a revelation. Tolkien's books and the writer himself became widely known, which is why he even had to change his phone number. After this, several more of Tolkien’s books were published, but many of the writer’s sketches remained sketches and were published by his son after the writer’s death. The writer's death occurred as a result of a stomach ulcer in 1973. Nevertheless, new Tolkien books are still coming out to this day. The writer’s son, Christoph Tolkien, took up the task of finalizing his father’s unfinished works. Thanks to this, the books “The Silmarillion” and “The Children of Hurin” were published. Tolkien's last book was The Fall of Gondolin, which was published in August 2018.
Tolkien's books on the Top books website
John Tolkien’s books are still popular to read today, and recently released film adaptations only fuel interest in his work. This allowed them to occupy high places in ours. And given their so-called academic nature in this genre, we predict that in the future Tolkien’s books will be read with the same enthusiasm.
J. R. R. Tolkien book list
Middle Earth:
- The Fellowship of the Ring
- Two fortresses
- Return of the King
- The Silmarillion
- Children of Hurin
- The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Poems from the Scarlet Book
- Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (English John Ronald Reuel Tolkien; January 3, 1892, Bloemfontein, Orange Republic - September 2, 1973 Bournemouth, England) - English writer, poet, philologist, professor at Oxford University. Best known as the author classical works"high fantasy": "The Hobbit, or There and Back Again", "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Silmarillion".
Tolkien served as Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College. Oxford University (1925-1945), Merton's English Language and Literature at Merton College (English) Russian. Oxford University (1945-1959). Together with his close friend C.S. Lewis, he was a member of the informal literary society “Inklings”. On 28 March 1972 he received the title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) from Queen Elizabeth II.
After Tolkien's death, his son Christopher produced several works based on his father's extensive corpus of notes and unpublished manuscripts, including The Silmarillion. This book, along with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, forms a single collection of tales, poems, histories, artificial languages and literary essays about the fictional world called Arda and its part of Middle-earth. From 1951 to 1955, Tolkien used the word "legendarium" to refer to most of this collection. Many authors wrote fantasy works before Tolkien, but due to his great popularity and strong influence on the genre, many call Tolkien the "father" of modern fantasy literature, meaning mainly "high fantasy".
In 2008, the British newspaper The Times ranked him sixth on its list of the "50 greatest British writers since 1945". In 2009, the American magazine Forbes named him the fifth highest-earning deceased celebrity.