Humphrey Carpenter

Carefully traces Tolkien's life, revealing surprising links between his own experience and his written works, especially The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Silmarillion. Reprint.

A Biography

J.R.R. Tolkien

Ryan LaFerney

Humphrey Carpenter's authorized biography of Tolkien is a surprisingly balanced picture of the man. Carpenter clearly admires Tolkien's talent without being blind to his faults. Carpenter simply adores the man for who he was, faults and all, and does not try to paint some mythic portrait of Tolkien. Although Tolkien possessed an extraordinary mind, he was quite - in many aspects - an ordinary man, duty bound to professional obligations and family life. Tolkien preferred the 'quiet life' you see and was in many ways, a Hobbit from the Baggin's side of the tracks in temperament and lifestyle. Yet his mind (I suspect) possessed the longings of a Took...

J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography is immensely readable, and paints a wonderful portrait of a man who in my opinion, is the most important literary figure of the 20th century.

ofgodzeus

I did some digging before picking this up and according to the internet, this is THE Tolkien biography and I have to say it was right. Carpenter's narrative of Tolkien's life made me completely forget I was reading a work of non-fiction sometimes. I enjoyed everything from the way it was told to the parts into which his life was divided and much more. 

I specifically enjoyed part four most of all. It was the period after he grew old and had a family and right before the hobbit was published. I ironically and unexpectedly enjoyed the parts about the hobbit and the lotr less. Maybe it's because I'm flying through it to start reading the hobbit or because I don't want to think of these works as any less than actual real stories because when you go behind the scenes, you're hit with that reality. 

All in all, his biography only made me admire him even more than I already did if that was possible especially after learning his deep interest in language and its relation to literature. In any case, my favorite quote was something I always thought of and related to on so many levels, he says "the prime function of a linguist is to interpret literature, and that the prime function of literature is to be enjoyed."

I highly recommend it. It's definitely something I see myself rereading after going through his work.

The original authorised biography, and the only one written by an author who actually met J.R.R. Tolkien, reissued to mark Tolkienâe(tm)s 125th Anniversary. In more than 40 years since Tolkienâe(tm)s death in September 1973, millions have read The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion and become fascinated about the very private man behind the books. Born in Bloemfontein in January 1892, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was orphaned in childhood, brought up in near-poverty and almost thwarted in adolescent romance. He served in the First World War, surviving the Battle of the Somme, where he lost some of his closest friends, and returned to academic life, achieving high repute as a scholar and university teacher, eventually becoming Merton Professor of English at Oxford. Then suddenly his life changed dramatically. One day while marking essay papers he found himself writing âe~In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbitâe(tm) âe" and worldwide renown awaited him. Humphrey Carpenter was given unrestricted access to all Tolkienâe(tm)s papers, and interviewed his friends and family. From these sources he follows the long and painful process of creation that produced The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion and offers a wealth of information about the life and work of the twentieth centuryâe(tm)s most cherished author.

J. R. R. Tolkien

Katharina Hoffmann

I picked up this biography in preparation for the new Tolkien movie and while I still haven't seen the film, I have read this book and let me tell you: everything you ever wanted to know about JRR Tolkien is in here! Look no further for you have found your eternal source of facts and anecdotes on the man himself.

This biography explores Tolkien's life from his birth (and beyond, as you will also get to know about his parents) to his death and everything in between and it manages to do so in a fun, interesting way, never letting you fall asleep, never boring you with too many numbers or dates or facts.

Carpenter's account of Tolkien's life is not only a perfect start for someone who hasn't read a biography yet and might be scared of doing so but it also gives a great insight into who this man was, how he was like and what it was that he was doing.

Do I remember when Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit was published? No, and although the book provides its readers with the correct dates, that's not what is important to me.
What's important to me is the small things that I took from it. That Tolkien spoke fluent Greek in his debate club in secondary school because he found Latin to be too easy. That he was a notorious perfectionist. That he liked hanging out with his boys' club. That he calculated the phases of the moon and how long the fellowship would take from place A to B and which phase of the moon they would then experience when looking up into the sky.

Those are some of the information I took from this moving and gripping biography of one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. Do yourself a favour and pick this one up.



Be like Legolas. Trust me on this one.

Jeni Enjaian

A review from my old blog...

I absolutely loved this book! For many years I have been an avid fan of all things Lord of the Rings. I have read Lord of the Rings (which is NOT a trilogy :D) many times. I have also read The Silmarillion , The Hobbit and several of the posthumously compiled volumes of the History of Middle Earth.

Carpenter weaves together the different facets of Tolkien's life with the mythology for which Tolkien was most known for and which was so close to Tolkien's heart. The part of the book I enjoyed most was the first part which told about Tolkien's earliest years. This time had the most profound effect on him, or so he says. I tend to agree with him. So many different individual aspects of all of his works can be traced back to Tolkien's childhood and early adolescence.

I heartily recommend this book to anyone who loves Tolkien or learning about influential authors.

Andres Leon

Stefan Ladstätter-Thaa

Asher Black

C. J. Daley 

Emily Joann Bowie

Caroline Besku

Micke Newcomb

Yunus Emre Deligöz

The author of "The Brideshead Generation" and "The Inklings" was given unrestricted access to all of Tolkien's papers for this biography of the author of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings". 14 photos.

Moray Lyle McIntosh

The authorized biography of the creator of Middle-earth. In the decades since his death in September 1973, millions have read THE HOBBIT, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, and THE SILMARILLION and become fascinated about the very private man behind the books. Born in South Africa in January 1892, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was orphaned in childhood and brought up in near-poverty. He served in the first World War, surviving the Battle of the Somme, where he lost many of the closest friends he'd ever had. After the war he returned to the academic life, achieving high repute as a scholar and university teacher, eventually becoming Merton Professor of English at Oxford where he was a close friend of C.S. Lewis and the other writers known as The Inklings. Then suddenly his life changed dramatically. One day while grading essay papers he found himself writing 'In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit' -- and worldwide renown awaited him. Humphrey Carpenter was given unrestricted access to all Tolkien's papers, and interviewed his friends and family. From these sources he follows the long and painful process of creation that produced THE LORD OF THE RINGS and THE SILMARILLION and offers a wealth of information about the life and work of the twentieth century's most cherished author.

J.R.R. Tolkien A Biography

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