Photo: Unknown photo studio commissioned by Tolkien's students 1925/6 (private communication from Catherine McIlwaine, Tolkien Archivist, Bodleian Library) · Dominio público · Source
Author
J. R. R. Tolkien
1892–1973
J. R. R. Tolkien was born in 1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa, and died in England in 1973. He was a professor of philology at Oxford, and his love of ancient languages lies at the root of everything he wrote: first he invented languages, and then he needed a world where they were spoken.
That world is Middle-earth. The Hobbit, published in 1937, began as a story for his children and is still the gentlest way in. The Lord of the Rings, whose first volume appeared in 1954, turned that tale into an epic about friendship, power and the cost of giving power up. The Silmarillion, edited by his son Christopher in 1977, gathers the oldest myths of that universe.
Reading Tolkien means accepting a pace of its own: songs, family trees, landscapes described at leisure. In return, few invented worlds feel so lived in.
Their books in our catalogue
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The Lord of the RingsJ. R. R. Tolkien
The Lord of the RingsJ. R. R. Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings
J. R. R. Tolkien
From the quiet green hills of the Shire, an unlikely hobbit takes on a burden that could decide the fate of Middle-earth: a ring its maker, the Dark Lord Sauron, will do anything to reclaim. Hobbits, men, an elf, a dwarf and a wizard set out together on a long and perilous road. It is a vast, immersive read, rich in landscapes, languages and old legends, where friendship and courage weigh as much as battles.
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The HobbitJ. R. R. Tolkien
The HobbitJ. R. R. Tolkien
The Hobbit
J. R. R. Tolkien
Bilbo Baggins asks nothing more of life than a full pantry and a quiet afternoon, until a wizard and thirteen dwarves turn up with a wild plan to win back treasure guarded by a dragon. Trolls, goblins, elves and giant spiders lie along the road, and so does a surprising courage Bilbo never knew he had. A warm, witty quest that reads like a story told by the fireside.
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The SilmarillionJ. R. R. Tolkien
The SilmarillionJ. R. R. Tolkien
The Silmarillion
J. R. R. Tolkien
Long before hobbits and the One Ring, Tolkien imagined the beginning of everything: the music that shaped the world, the powers who watch over it, and the long struggle for three jewels holding a stolen light. It reads like an ancient chronicle, grave and sweeping, closer to the old sagas than to a novel. It asks for patience and repays it with a world of astonishing depth.
