
J. R. R. Tolkien
A Biography
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Narrated by:
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Roger May
About this listen
The original authorised biography, and the only one written by an author who actually met J.R.R. Tolkien, released for the first time on audio.
In more than 40 years since Tolkien’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 ‘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 Hobbit, 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.
©2018 Humphrey Carpenter (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers LimitedListeners also enjoyed...
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Finally!
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Short sweet and to the point
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Tolkien and the Great War
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Tolkien and the Great War tells for the first time the full story of how he embarked on the creation of Middle-earth in his youth as the world around him was plunged into catastrophe. This biography reveals the horror and heroism that he experienced as a signals officer in the Battle of the Somme and introduces the circle of friends who spurred his mythology to life.
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Excellent Text Frustratingly Recorded
- By Timothy Ortopan on 05-09-18
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The World of J.R.R. Tolkien
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In The World of J.R.R. Tolkien, you will join Dr. Dimitra Fimi to delve into Tolkien’s complex and multilayered mythology, examining all these ingredients and more. In these 10 lectures, you will explore and appreciate Middle-earth as medieval, mythological, and modern, a literary creation that was shaped by forces old and new. And you may be surprised to discover just how much of Tolkien’s legendarium was constructed posthumously, with his son Christopher compiling and publishing many of Tolkien’s later works after his death.
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Calls Tolkien a racist and sexist
- By Kevin on 09-29-22
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During the 1930s at Oxford, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams - remarkable friends, writers, and scholars - met regularly to discuss philosophy and literature and to read aloud from their own works in progress. Calling themselves the Inklings, their circle grew. It was in this company that such classics as The Lord of the Rings, The Screwtape Letters, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe first found an audience.
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A great find for any Inkling fan
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The Fall of Númenor
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J.R.R. Tolkien famously described the Second Age of Middle-earth as a ‘dark age, and not very much of its history is (or need be) told’. And for many years readers would need to be content with the tantalizing glimpses of it found within the pages of The Lord of the Rings and its appendices, including the forging of the Rings of Power, the building of the Barad-dûr and the rise of Sauron.
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A dry compilation of old material, minus images
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The Silmarillion
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- Unabridged
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The complete unabridged audiobook of J.R.R Tolkien's The Silmarillion. The Silmarillion is an account of the Elder Days, of the First Age of Tolkien’s world. It is the ancient drama to which the characters in The Lord of the Rings look back, and in whose events some of them such as Elrond and Galadriel took part.
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Finally!
- By Brian on 11-22-18
By: J. R. R. Tolkien
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The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth
- By: J. R. R. Tolkien
- Narrated by: Christopher Tolkien
- Length: 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son was originally published in the 1953 edition of Essays and Studies. In December of that year, J.R.R. Tolkien took possession of a reel-to-reel tape recorder and, some time during the first few months of 1954, decided to record ‘the whole thing on tape’ as a way of ‘testing’ the performative quality of the dramatic dialogue between Tídwald and Torhthelm.
-
-
Short sweet and to the point
- By Anthony Baker on 04-04-23
By: J. R. R. Tolkien
-
Tolkien and the Great War
- The Threshold of Middle-earth
- By: John Garth
- Narrated by: John Garth
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tolkien and the Great War tells for the first time the full story of how he embarked on the creation of Middle-earth in his youth as the world around him was plunged into catastrophe. This biography reveals the horror and heroism that he experienced as a signals officer in the Battle of the Somme and introduces the circle of friends who spurred his mythology to life.
-
-
Excellent Text Frustratingly Recorded
- By Timothy Ortopan on 05-09-18
By: John Garth
-
The World of J.R.R. Tolkien
- By: Dimitra Fimi, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Dimitra Fimi
- Length: 4 hrs and 42 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The World of J.R.R. Tolkien, you will join Dr. Dimitra Fimi to delve into Tolkien’s complex and multilayered mythology, examining all these ingredients and more. In these 10 lectures, you will explore and appreciate Middle-earth as medieval, mythological, and modern, a literary creation that was shaped by forces old and new. And you may be surprised to discover just how much of Tolkien’s legendarium was constructed posthumously, with his son Christopher compiling and publishing many of Tolkien’s later works after his death.
-
-
Calls Tolkien a racist and sexist
- By Kevin on 09-29-22
By: Dimitra Fimi, and others
-
The Inklings
- C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and Their Friends
- By: Humphrey Carpenter
- Narrated by: Bernard Mayes
- Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
During the 1930s at Oxford, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams - remarkable friends, writers, and scholars - met regularly to discuss philosophy and literature and to read aloud from their own works in progress. Calling themselves the Inklings, their circle grew. It was in this company that such classics as The Lord of the Rings, The Screwtape Letters, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe first found an audience.
-
-
A great find for any Inkling fan
- By TangerineZoso on 04-01-18
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The Fall of Númenor
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- By: J.R.R. Tolkien, Brian Sibley - editor
- Narrated by: Samuel West, Brian Sibley
- Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
J.R.R. Tolkien famously described the Second Age of Middle-earth as a ‘dark age, and not very much of its history is (or need be) told’. And for many years readers would need to be content with the tantalizing glimpses of it found within the pages of The Lord of the Rings and its appendices, including the forging of the Rings of Power, the building of the Barad-dûr and the rise of Sauron.
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A dry compilation of old material, minus images
- By SC on 11-12-22
By: J.R.R. Tolkien, and others
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Learn about the man who wrote The Lord of the Rings in this Middle-earth treasury. Full of answers to common questions about Middle-earth and the fandom, this book about Tolkien celebrates Why We Love Middle-earth.
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Obvious that the authors speak from the heart when talking about Tolkien!
- By amie on 06-09-24
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C.S. Lewis
- A Biography of Friendship
- By: Colin Duriez
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 7 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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An Oxford student of C.S. Lewis' said he found his new tutor interesting and was told by J.R.R. Tolkien, "Interesting? Yes, he's certainly that. You'll never get to the bottom of him." You can learn a great deal about people by their friends and nowhere is this more true than in the case of C.S. Lewis, the remarkable academic, author, popularizer of faith - and creator of Narnia. He lost his mother early in life and became estranged from his father, much to his regret.
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It's a Great Concept
- By James on 08-13-20
By: Colin Duriez
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The Fall of Gondolin
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- Narrated by: Timothy West, Samuel West
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Gondolin, beautiful but undiscoverable, is central to the enmity of two of the greatest powers in the world. Morgoth of the uttermost evil seeks in vain to discover the marvellously hidden city of his Elven enemies, while the gods in Valinor refuse to support Ulmo Lord of Waters' designs to protect it. Into this world comes Tuor, cousin of Túrin, and guided unseen by Ulmo he sets out on the fearful journey to Gondolin to warn them of their coming doom.
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Feels like a research paper
- By D. Limback on 03-18-20
By: Christopher Tolkien, and others
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Tales from the Perilous Realm
- By: J. R. R. Tolkien
- Narrated by: Derek Jacobi
- Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Combined into one volume, this is the definitive collection of Tolkien's five acclaimed modern classic 'fairie' tales in the vein of The Hobbit, read by Derek Jacobi. The five tales are written with the same skill, quality and charm that made The Hobbit a classic. Largely overlooked because of their short lengths, they are joined here in one volume which reaffirms Tolkien's place as a master storyteller for listeners young and old.
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Enjoyable Tolkien short stories
- By Linda Luella on 03-28-17
By: J. R. R. Tolkien
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A Rare Recording of J. R. R. Tolkien
- By: J. R. R. Tolkien
- Narrated by: J. R. R. Tolkien
- Length: 42 mins
- Original Recording
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J. R. R. Tolkien was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor best known as the author of fantasy works like "The Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings." Listen as Tolkien reads "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil," "The Hoard," "Perry-The-Winkle," and "The Man in the Moon Came Down Too Soon." Also included is a reading of "A Elbereth Gilthoniel" in Elvish and "The Road Goes Ever on," sung by William Elvin with music by Donald Swann.
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Not all Tolkien - wish I'd noticed that
- By Tracet on 04-21-15
By: J. R. R. Tolkien
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Unfinished Tales
- By: J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien - editor
- Narrated by: Timothy West, Samuel West
- Length: 21 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Unfinished Tales is a collection of narratives ranging in time from the Elder Days of Middle-earth to the end of the War of the Ring and provides those who have read The Lord of the Rings with a whole collection of background and new stories from the 20th century’s most acclaimed popular author.
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Great, but read all the reviews.
- By Ross on 07-09-21
By: J. R. R. Tolkien, and others
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The Adventures of Tom Bombadil
- By: J. R. R. Tolkien
- Narrated by: Sir Derek Jacobi
- Length: 1 hr and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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The Adventures of Tom Bombadil is a collection of poetry written by J. R. R. Tolkien and was first published in 1962. The audio is read by Sir Derek Jacobi and is a collection of 16 poems that contain an assortment of bestiary verse and fairy tale rhyme. It is a stunning recording that captures all the characters in their own charming and mysterious ways.
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Almost disappointing
- By Christopher on 11-19-19
By: J. R. R. Tolkien
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Leaf by Niggle
- By: J. R. R. Tolkien
- Narrated by: Derek Jacobi
- Length: 49 mins
- Unabridged
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'Leaf by Niggle' recounts the strange adventures of the painter Niggle, who sets out to paint the perfect tree. But he senses that he will be snatched away from his work long before it is finished - if indeed it could ever be finished in this world. For it is in another and brighter place that Niggle finds his tree is finished and learns that it is indeed a real tree, a true part of creation.
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My Favourite Tolkien
- By M. J. Palmer on 05-16-17
By: J. R. R. Tolkien
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Remaking the World
- How 1776 Created the Post-Christian West
- By: Andrew Wilson
- Narrated by: Andrew Wilson
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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With dizzying social transformations in everything from gender to social justice, it may seem like there's never been a more tumultuous period in history. But a single year in the late 18th century saw a number of influential transformations—or even revolutions—that changed the social trajectory of the Western world. By understanding how those events influenced today's cultural landscape, Christians can more effectively bear witness to God's truth in a post-Christian age.
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EXTRAORDINARY
- By Wade on 09-26-23
By: Andrew Wilson
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Letters from Father Christmas
- By: J. R. R. Tolkien
- Narrated by: Derek Jacobi, John Moffatt, Christian Rodska
- Length: 2 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Can you imagine writing to Father Christmas and actually getting a reply? Every year, the children of J.R.R. Tolkien would write to Father Christmas, and the letters they received told wonderful stories of his adventures at the North Pole. These humorous tales are brought to life by Derek Jacobi as Father Christmas, John Moffatt as Polar Bear, and Christian Rodska as Ilbereth the Elf, complete with specially composed music.
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A fun little read.
- By James on 06-30-14
By: J. R. R. Tolkien
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J.R.R. Tolkien
- The Making of a Legend
- By: Colin Duriez
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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J.R.R. Tolkien's creations, imagination, and characters captured the attention of millions of readers. But who was the man who dreamt up the intricate languages and perfectly crafted world of Middle-earth? Tolkien had a difficult life, for many years: orphaned and poor, his guardian forbade him to communicate with the woman he had fallen in love with, and he went through the horrors of the First World War. An intensely private and brilliant scholar, he spent over 50 years working on the languages, history, peoples, and geography of Middle-earth,
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Very insightful
- By Luke B. on 10-27-20
By: Colin Duriez
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Beren and Lúthien
- By: Christopher Tolkien, J. R. R. Tolkien
- Narrated by: Timothy West, Samuel West
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Beren was a mortal man, but Lúthien was an immortal Elf. Her father, a great Elvish lord, was deeply opposed to Beren, and imposed on him an impossible task that he must perform before he might wed Lúthien. Undaunted by Lord Thingol’s challenge, Beren and Lúthien embark on the supremely heroic attempt to rob Morgoth, the greatest of all evil beings, of a Silmaril, one of the hallowed jewels that adorn the Black Enemy’s crown.
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very disappointing
- By Ms. Rhiannon on 07-02-20
By: Christopher Tolkien, and others
Critic reviews
‘One of the most interesting and readable biographies of a literary figure.’ The Times
‘The story is rich and beautifully told.’ Sunday Times
‘Absolutely fascinating.’ Daily Mail
‘A painstaking and often moving account.’ Times Literary Supplement
‘Humphrey Carpenter’s plain, unvarnished tale is absolutely gripping.’ Times Literary Supplement
What listeners say about J. R. R. Tolkien
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- Nerine Dorman
- 12-25-22
Highly informative
As a lifelong fan of JRR Tolkien, an author to whom I owe an immense debt for inspiration, it's kinda scandalous that I've not delved into his history up until quite recently. The 2019 biopic can, in my opinion, only loosely nod at Tolkien's earlier years and does not in the least do any justice to the man and his immense literary output. When I encountered JRR Tolkien – A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter on Audible, I popped it onto my wishlist and eventually got around to giving it a listen.
Narrator Roger May does a sterling job bringing the words to life, and I was surprised by how quickly I ate my way through the book. It of course helps that I find the subject matter absolutely fascinating, but the production quality is excellent, which most certainly adds value to the overall experience.
Put simply, Tolkien had an incredibly intense, focused intellect – words really were his jam, if we excuse my dreadful abuse of idiom. He was also very much a product of his time, something that we who live in a more liberal society should keep in mind. Tolkien's milieu was mostly divided along strict gender roles – and he was very much a man's man in terms of where he sought his friendships. Yet by equal measure, he adored his wife Edith – in a way I feel that saw her placed upon a pedestal. Humphrey does touch upon the tensions that occasionally arose between Tolkien and Edith – the man really did inhabit two worlds.
It's my opinion this gender-based segregation was a product of the then educational institutions in a largely patriarchal society, which was further reinforced by Tolkien's experiences fighting in the trenches during WW1. This life-and-death camaraderie between men is echoed quite clearly in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It is what it is – cultural artefact of an era.
What Humphrey further unpacks is Tolkien's fascination with languages, which infuses everything from his academic work all the way to his ambitious fiction writing. Whether it's digging into the old Germanic languages upon which English has its foundations laid to the creation of imaginary languages in Middle-Earth, it's clear that this was a topic that engaged his imagination – and mine, too! I've often heard complaints that Tolkien's writing is too slow, too detailed, too boring, but for those with the patience and the love of the sound of words, each paragraph is a carefully crafted work of literary art. And this is a hill I'm prepared to die on.
In short, if you're looking for an introduction into the Prof's life and writing, and are curious about how works like The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings went from hand-written manuscript to final product, that went on to spawn a popular multi-media fandom, then this is a good place to start. We even get to see the kindling and cooling of his friendship with another literary luminary – CS Lewis.
I can't help but wonder how things would have been different for the fantasy genre if Tolkien had more time (or the wherewithal) to expand on the other stories that exist as mere synopses in The Silmarillion. Although he is not the first to write fantasy, he most certainly ushered the genre into popularity, and many authors who followed in his wake were most certainly heavily inspired by his Middle-Earth.
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- Jeffrey
- 07-13-23
Authentically Oxford
Humphrey Carpenter does a wonderful job describing Tolkien's world, especially Oxford, and he is especially good at capturing the background note of high grumpiness, which Oxford dons are known for. The narration is superb and itself very English.
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- Anonymous User
- 02-13-24
Excellently done!
The contents of the book are fantastic but, as I am listening, I am much more impressed with the quality of the narration. It is really one of the best I have encountered so far!
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- Daniel Morlan
- 08-04-23
Deep Insight, Masterfully Narrated
An excellent deep dive I to the mind and experiences of the author J. R. R. Tolkien. It is a masterpiece and for me hands down the most comprehensive and relevant biography of a man I admire and relate to so well, in spite of our differences.
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- Asgeir Beinteinsson
- 09-13-19
The Hobbiter
This biography is far the best I have read of Tolkiens life because it is full of speculation, like the author is with you and having Tea. It does shed light on the relationship between the man and his creation. It is charming, warm and so true. I Thank the author and narrator for bringing Tolkien to life.
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- Amazon Customer
- 08-18-22
A must read
A must read for any Tolkien fan. An excellent biography. Very well told and well written.
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- Amazon Customer
- 02-29-24
The story behind the saga
Mr, Carpenter elegantly and subtly tells us about one of the world's greatest modern authors, his life, his struggles, and the pressures that molded the man as he wrote a world-renowned masterpiece. It is a must-read for LOTR fans or anyone who wants to know more about John Tolkien.
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- ReviewAmazon384
- 12-08-23
Glad Audible added this long-awaited title!
Humphrey Carpenter's biography of J. R. R. Tolkien is the classic biography of that author. It has been criticized lately for downplaying Tolkien's Catholicism and his knowledge of modern literature (post-Chaucerian literature). Fair enough. I hope Audible uploads some more recent books on Tolkien as well, which fill in these gaps, but I'd say this book is very worthwhile. It gives a broad and reasonably deep overview of his life. It is respectful of the author—neither hagiographical nor iconoclastic—and shows a surprising understanding of his theological outlook, which would be difficult for more recent authors to replicate, even if I do wish it gave more information about his religious / spiritual life.
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- Anonymous User
- 02-29-24
Wholesome
Beautiful, wholesome book, and the narrator made it even better. I enjoyed it so much.
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- LC Belargent
- 10-08-23
One of the world’s greatest authors
A touching look into the life and mind of one of the world’s greatest authors. Clearly and engagingly narrated.
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