 | |
| J.R.R. Tolkien:Architect of Middle Earth | |
|---|---|
| Publication Information | |
| Author | Daniel Grotta-Kurska |
| Publisher | Running Press |
| Released | 1976 |
| Format | Hardcover and paperback |
| Pages | 197 |
| ISBN | 0756788285 |
J.R.R. Tolkien: Architect of Middle-earth is a 1976 book by Pennsylvania journalist Daniel Grotta. A revised second edition was published in 1978 under the title The Biography of J.R.R. Tolkien ― Architect of Middle-earth. A new edition was published in 1992, containing a new preface and illustrations by The Brothers Hildebrandt.
History
Grotta came to England in 1975 to research the book, unaware that Humphrey Carpenter had already been comissioned to write an official biography by the Tolkien family, who instructed the people close to Tolkien not to talk to Grotta. [1] Due to this, he mostly conducted his research in libraries and public record offices, managing only to talk to Owen Barfield and Fr. Anthony Gervase Matthew, as well as a few journalists who had met Tolkien. [2] The book is notorious for containing some glaring errors and omissions. For instance, Grotta never mentions the T.C.B.S. and mistakenly concludes that Tolkien's "one friend" that survived the war was Allen Barnett, instead of Christopher Wiseman. [3] A lot of these mistakes and omissions were corrected for the 1978 edition.
Grotta intended to revise and expand the book a third time and publish it digitally to coincide with the release of The Hobbit films,[2] but this never materialized.
From the Publisher
JOHN RONALD REUEL TOLKIEN (1892-1973), author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, is one of this century's most beloved and enigmatic writers. His highly unusual, imaninative works have sold millions of copies on both sides of the Atlantic to readers of all ages. So strikingly original are Tolkien's novels that Tolkien "cults" have sprung up to debate and discuss the reality and mythology of Middle-earth, Hobbits, Elves, and the power of the magic rings.
And yet, surprisingly little is known about the personal life of the creator of Middle-earth. The man who was embarrassed by success lived most of his life as an Oxford scholar in the surrounds of a cloistered academic community. As a child in South Africa, Tolkien was kidnapped by a native and taken into the bush. As a youngster in the English industrial city of Birmingham , Tolkien was raised by a Catholic priest. As a young adult, Tolkien lived through the bloody horror of the trenches of World War I. How much of Tolkien's personal experience fired that incredible imagination is just one of the areas that Daniel Grotta uncovers. J.R.R. Tolkien is one of the literary heroes of our generation. Here, for the first time, the door is opened to the life and thoughts of the masterful creator of Middle-earth.
External links
- The Biography of J.R.R. Tolkien: Architect of Middle-earth at the Internet Archive (available to borrow for free)
References
- ↑ Daniel Grotta, The Biography of J.R.R. Tolkien: Architect of Middle-earth, "Author's Note"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Alex Lewis, "Interview with Daniel Grotta", Festival Arts and Books Journal: Leiden Exhibition Edition (August 2012)
- ↑ Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond (2017), The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide (Second Edition): II. Reader's Guide, Part I , Entry: "Biographies"