J R R Tolkien Books

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J.R.R. Tolkien is considered by many to be the greatest author of fantasy to ever live. Best known for writing the Lord of the Rings books, Tolkien created a legacy that has continued to thrive in the decades since his death.

Even though he was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa in 1892, J.R.R. Tolkien’s childhood was spent in England, the result of his mother’s decision to move to Sarehole, Birmingham following the death of his father Arthur Tolkien.

His mother, Mabel Tolkien, eventually passed away in 1904. The Tolkien children spent a lot of time in boarding houses and under the care of a Catholic Priest. A student of Germanic and Anglo-Saxon languages at Exeter College, not to mention Classic Literature, Tolkien eventually found his way into the First World War.

The author could count events like the Battle of the Somme under his achievements, though Tolkien probably looked more favorably on his military service because of his meeting and marriage to Edith Bratt, which happened during those years.

Illness eventually forced Tolkien to live the military, this opening the doors to his future as a renowned author. It all began with The Hobbit. Life after the military took Tolkien to places like the University of Leeds and Oxford University where, along with working as a professor, he formed a writing group with notable authors like Owen Barfield and C.S. Lewis.

Everyone has heard the story; that Tolkien was grading a student’s paper one day when he wrote a line about a creature known as a Hobbit. And before he knew what was happening, Tolkien had created a furry-footed character known as Bilbo Baggins who would go on to partake in a grand adventure that J.R.R. Tolkien titled The Hobbit.

The book was a massive success amongst children, even though Tolkien never meant for it to be a children’s book. And he proved as much when he produced its sequel, The Lord of the Rings, a series that took the concepts of the Hobbit and gave them a darker twist.

In the Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien did what no other writer had done before him, at least not to such great effect: he created a whole new world, one with its own peoples and cultures and languages.

The books came to life for readers, and while they were initially bashed by critics, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy is considered by most readers to be the greatest series of fantasy novels ever written.

Eventually retiring from teaching in 1959, Tolkien went on to produce more stories set in the Lord of the Rings universe, stories that his children spent the decades following his death in 1973 organizing into cohesive stories.

Christopher, Tolkien’s son, continues to edit his father’s notes, producing more novels in the Lord of the Rings universe that are credited to J.R.R. Tolkien despite the fact that he is dead.

Tolkien meant for the Lord of the Rings Books to act as an allegory of the Two World Wars and the power even the smallest aspects and elements have to bring about great good and unspeakable evil.

J.R.R. Tolkien Awards

Tolkien’s work was the recipient of the Locus Award in 1978. The author also won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature in 1981.

J.R.R. Tolkien Books into Movies/TV

Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series was adapted into an animated film by Ralph Bakshi and Peter S. Beagle in 1978. Few have seen this adaptation which only covered a portion of the lord of the rings story.

Even less popular was the animated musical television movie adaptation of The Hobbit in 1977 and The Return of the King in 1980.

The most popular adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s work to date is the Trilogy of movies released by New Line Cinema between 2001 and 2003 which finally brought The Lord of the Rings series to life in a manner that not only satisfied fans but exceeded expectations financially, this along with winning several Oscars.

Another trilogy of movies adapting The Hobbit novel was eventually produced between 2012 and 2014.

Best J.R.R. Tolkien Books

Tolkien is almost beyond reproach for some literary critics because of the strength of his body of work, with some of the best books from the author’s bibliography including:

The Hobbit: Bilbo Baggins was just another Hobbit living a comfortable life in his hole in the ground. Then he met Gandalf the Wizard and his band of merry dwarves, and he was sucked into an adventure he wouldn’t soon forget.

J.R.R. Tolkien’s first book is a charming story that takes a reluctant hero on a dangerous journey where he finds a ring with dangerous secrets but whose power could help him defeat a cruel dragon.

The Fellowship of the Ring: Long ago, The Dark Lord sought to enslave mankind by creating a ring within which he poured all his evil and Malice. But in a great war, that One Ring was taken from him. With his armies defeated and the ring lost, The Dark Lord was believed defeated. No one knew of the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins and the fact that he had found the ring all those centuries later.

Frodo Baggins is a young hobbit whose life is upended when he is saddled with the task of taking the One Ring to its destruction before The Dark Lord can reclaim it and enslave the world.

This is the Tolkien book that created his legacy, opening the doors to the vast world of the Lord of the Rings by taking a young and clueless hero and thrusting him into a great battle featuring mighty wizards, ancient fire demons and an All-Seeing Eye.

When Does The Next J.R.R. Tolkien book come out?

J.R.R. Tolkien doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is The Battle of Maldon and was released on June, 6th 2023. It is the newest book in the J.R.R. Tolkien Short Story Collections.

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