Product Description

The definitive critical study of Tolkien's greatest works by the respected and world renowned Tolkien scholar Professor T.A. Shippey. Following the unprecedented and universal acclaim for The Lord of the Rings, the respected academic and world-renowned Tolkien scholar, Professor Tom Shippey, presents us with a fascinating and informed companion to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien, in particular focusing on The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. Written in a clear and accessible style, Tolkien: Author of the Century reveals why all of these books will be timeless, and shows how even such complex works as The Silmarillion can be read enjoyably. Taking issue with the uninformed criticism that has often been levelled at Tolkien and fantasy in general, Professor Shippey offers a new approach to Tolkien, to fantasy and to the importance of language in literature, and demonstrates how his books form part of a live and continuing tradition of storytelling that can trace its roots back through Grimm's Fairy Tales to the Elder Edda and Beowulf.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #233183 in Books
• Published on: 2001-08-20
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Review
'Shippey's exploration of Tolkien's themes, especially the nature of evil, is superb' Independent 'A timely, erudite and eminently readable book' Evening Standard 'Shippey's research seems limitless. He writes with unusual clarity and presents his arguments well' Sunday Times 'Scholarly and thorough examination of Tolkien's work!a definitive study' Catholic Herald

About the Author
Professor Tom Shippey taught at Oxford, overlapping chronologically with Professor Tolkien and teaching the same syllabus, giving him an intimate familiarity with the poems and the languages which formed the main stimulus to Tolkien's imagination. He subsequently held the same Chair of English Language and Medieval Literature at Leeds University which Tolkien held early in his career, and currently holds the Walter J. Ong Chair of Humanities at Saint Louis University, USA.

Customer Reviews

A must-read for Tolkien fans!
Although a fair amount of this book's content has appeared previously--in "The Road to Middle-Earth"--I nevertheless recommend it highly. No author has done more to deepen my appreciation of Tokien's works than Tom Shippey. His knowledge of philology, especially, and explorations of Middle-Earth's philological roots are invaluable for helping one understand the sense one gets, while reading The Lord of the Rings, that Middle-Earth was real. Also, his study of Tolkien's conception of evil--and of the Ring as addictive--confirms what I myself thought about Gollum: that never elsewhere have I seen a better depiction of an addict, one that rang true for my personal experience. Even if you've read "The Road to Middle-Earth" there's enough new here--and in any case, Shippey's ideas are worth reading again--to make it worth purchasing. Highly recommended!

Tolkien's critics answered
Tom Shippey does not only answer Tolkiens critics in this book, which he does very well, demonstrating the inconsistencies of their approaches which appear to arise from an inherent bias against a totally invented world - as they see it, he also describes in some detail the sources of Tolkien's inspiration in the old English and Norse legends of a thousand or more years ago. Spoiler alert - this book should not be read before the Lord of the Rings itself, or the Hobbit, since Tom Shippey discusses the plot in some detail as part of his analysis. An excellent book for Tolkien fans to read, since it contains enough obscure refrerences to deepen anyone's enjoyment of LOTR. Even better than The Road to Middle Earth - and contrary to what some people have said, the second book is not simply a rehash of the first to tie in with the film.

The book that makes you want to read more
Tom Shippey has produced a masterpiece justification of why J.R.R.Tolkien deserves the honor of the title "Author of the Century", not only in the U.K. but on a worldwide basis. While many great books were published in the 20th century none were written by an author as time restrricted as Tolkien. To go one better, besides the magnificent "Lord of the Rings" he found time to write everything from simple poems & short stories to the world loved "The Hobbit". We also learned from the "History of Middle-Earth" series the voluminous amount of background material he developed to guarantee the LotR was as completely believeable with regard to real time, inserting sub-stories with the main text, creating languages for the different races. etc.

The area in which I found this book to shine is Mr.Shippey's referrals to numerous books by many authors which support, or are dismisssed as they relate to, Tolkien and/or his works. Most of all he actually made me want to go and reread many of the books he references, which was both a delight & a burdomsome task. For all the books I've read that relate to J.R.R.Tolkien and/or his works I can honestly say that this one stands out as the best I've read in recent times & from the size of my library that's quite a praise to award.