John Ronald Reuel Tolkien(English) John Ronald Reuel Tolkien)- English writer, linguist and philologist. He is best known as the author of The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, the Lord of the Rings trilogy and their prequel, The Silmarillion.
Born in Bloemfontein, Orange Free State (now Free State, South Africa). His parents, Arthur Ruel Tolkien (1857-1896), an English bank manager, and Mabel Tolkien (Suffield) (1870-1904), arrived in South Africa shortly before their son's birth.
In early 1895, after the death of his father, the Tolkien family returned to England. The family settled in Sarehole, near Birmingham. Mabel Tolkien had a very modest income, which was just enough to live on.
Mabel taught her son the basics of Latin and instilled in him a love of botany. Tolkien loved to draw landscapes and trees from an early age. He read a lot, and from the very beginning he disliked “Treasure Island” and “The Pied Piper of Hammel” by the Brothers Grimm, but he liked “Alice in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll, stories about Indians, fantasy works by George MacDonald and “The Fairy Book” by Andrew Lang .
Tolkien's mother died of diabetes in 1904, at the age of 34. Before her death, she entrusted the upbringing of her children to Father Francis Morgan, a priest of the Birmingham Church, a strong and extraordinary personality. It was Francis Morgan who developed Tolkien's interest in philology, for which he was later very grateful.
Before entering school, Tolkien and his brother spent a lot of time outdoors. The experience of these years was enough for Tolkien for all the descriptions of forests and fields in his works. In 1900, Tolkien entered King Edward's School, where he learned Old English and began to study others - Welsh, Old Norse, Finnish, Gothic. He showed early linguistic talent, and after studying Old Welsh and Finnish, he began to develop “Elvish” languages. He subsequently studied at St. Philip's School and Oxford Exeter College.
In 1908 he met Edith Marie Brett, who had a great influence on his work.
Falling in love prevented Tolkien from immediately entering college; besides, Edith was a Protestant and three years older than him. Father Francis took John's word of honor that he would not date Edith until he turned 21 - that is, until he came of age, when Father Francis ceased to be his guardian. Tolkien kept his promise by not writing a single line to Mary Edith until he reached this age. They didn't even meet or talk.
On the evening of the same day, when Tolkien turned 21, he wrote a letter to Edith, declaring his love and proposing his hand and heart. Edith replied that she had already agreed to marry another person because she decided that Tolkien had long forgotten her. Eventually, she returned the engagement ring to her groom and announced that she was marrying Tolkien. In addition, at his insistence, she converted to Catholicism.
The engagement took place in Birmingham in January 1913, and the wedding took place on March 22, 1916 in the English city of Warwick, in St. Mary's Catholic Church. Their union with Edith Brett turned out to be long and happy. The couple lived together for 56 years and raised 3 sons - John Francis Ruel (1917), Michael Hilary Ruel (1920), Christopher Ruel (1924), and daughter Priscilla Mary Ruel (1929).
In 1915, Tolkien graduated with honors from the university and went to serve; soon John was drafted to the front and participated in the First World War.
John survived the bloody Battle of the Somme, where two of his best friends died, and then came to hate war. Then he fell ill with typhus, and after long treatment was sent home with disability. He devoted the following years to his scientific career: first he taught at the University of Leeds, in 1922 he received the position of professor of Anglo-Saxon language and literature at the University of Oxford, where he became one of the youngest professors (at 30 years old) and soon earned a reputation as one of the best philologists in world.
At the same time, he began to write the great cycle of myths and legends of Middle Earth, which would later become The Silmarillion. There were four children in his family, for whom he first composed, narrated and then recorded The Hobbit, which was later published in 1937 by Sir Stanley Unwin.
The Hobbit was a success, and Anuin suggested that Tolkien write a sequel, but work on the trilogy took a long time and the book was completed only in 1954, when Tolkien was about to retire. The trilogy was published and was a huge success, which surprised both the author and the publisher. Anuin expected to lose significant money, but he personally loved the book and was eager to publish his friend's work. The book was divided into 3 parts, so that after the publication and sale of the first part it would become clear whether the rest were worth printing.
After his wife's death in 1971, Tolkien returned to Oxford. Soon he became seriously ill and soon, on September 2, 1973, he died.
All of his works published after 1973, including The Silmarillion, were published by his son Christopher.
J. R. R. Tolkien(full name - John Ronald Reuel Tolkien) (1892-1973) - English writer. He became famous for his books The Hobbit or There and Back Again and The Lord of the Rings, although he published many other works. After his death, the book “The Silmarillion” was published based on the surviving records; Subsequently, his other texts were published, and they continue to be published to this day.
The name John was traditionally given in the Tolkien family to the eldest son of the eldest son. His mother named him Ronald instead of Rosalind (she thought it would be a girl). His close relatives usually called him Ronald, and his friends and colleagues called him John or John Ronald. Ruel is the surname of a friend of Tolkien's grandfather. This name was borne by Tolkien's father, Tolkien's brother, Tolkien himself, as well as all his children and grandchildren. Tolkien himself noted that this name is found in the Old Testament (in the Russian tradition - Raguel). Tolkien was often referred to by his initials JRRT, especially in his later years. He liked to sign with a monogram of these four letters.
1891 March Mabel Suffield, Tolkien's future mother, sails from England to South Africa. On April 16, Mabel Suffield and Arthur Tolkien get married in Cape Town. They go to live in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Boer Orange Republic (now part of South Africa).
1894 17 February Hilary Arthur Reuel Tolkien, second son of Mabel and Arthur, is born in Bloemfontein.
1896 February 15 In Africa, Arthur Tolkien unexpectedly dies of illness. Mabel Tolkien and her children remain to live with their parents. In the summer, Mabel Tolkien and her children rent an apartment and live separately with the children.
1900 spring Mabel Tolkien converts to the Catholic faith (along with her children), as a result of which she quarrels with most of her relatives. In the fall, Tolkien goes to school.
1902 Father Francis Xavier Morgan, Tolkien's future guardian, becomes Mabel Tolkien's confessor.
1904 November 14 Mabel Tolkien dies of diabetes, father Francis, in her will, becomes the guardian of her children.
1908 Tolkien, sixteen, meets nineteen-year-old Edith Bratt, his future wife.
1909 Having learned about Tolkien's novel, Father Francis forbids him to communicate with Edith until he comes of age (twenty-one years old).
Tolkien achieves considerable success in the school rugby team.
1913 January 3 Tolkien comes of age and proposes to Edith Bratt. Edith breaks off her engagement to someone else and accepts Tolkien's proposal.
1914 January 8 Edith Bratt converts to the Catholic faith for Tolkien's sake. Soon the engagement takes place. On September 24, Tolkien writes the poem “The Voyage of Eärendel,” which is considered the beginning of the mythology, the development of which he subsequently devoted his whole life to.
1915 July Tolkien receives a bachelor's degree at Oxford and joins the army as a second lieutenant in the Lancashire Fusiliers.
1916 Tolkien studies to become a signalman. He is appointed battalion signalman. On March 22, Tolkien and Edith Bratt are married in Warwick.
On June 4, Tolkien leaves for London and from there to the war in France. On July 15, Tolkien (as a signalman) takes part in battle for the first time. On October 27, Tolkien falls ill with “trench fever” and is returned to England. He himself never fought again.
1917 January-February Tolkien, recovering, begins to write “The Book of Lost Tales” - the future “Silmarillion”. November 16 Tolkien's eldest son, John Francis Ruel, is born.
1920 autumn Tolkien receives a position as a lecturer in English at the University of Leeds and moves to Leeds. In October, Tolkien's second son, Michael Hilary Ruel, is born.
1924 Tolkien becomes Professor of English at Leeds. November 21 Tolkien's third and youngest son, Christopher John Ruel, is born.
1925 Tolkien is elected professor of Old English at Oxford and moves there with his family early next year.
1926 Tolkien meets and becomes friends with Clive Lewis (future famous writer).
1929 end of the year Tolkien's only daughter, Priscilla Mary Ruel, is born.
1930-33 Tolkien writes The Hobbit.
In the early 30s. An informal literary club, the Inklings, gathers around Lewis, which includes Tolkien and other people who later became famous writers.
1936 The Hobbit is accepted for publication.
1937 On September 21, The Hobbit is published by Allen & Unwin. The book is a success and publishers are asking for a sequel. Tolkien offers them The Silmarillion, but the publishers want a book about hobbits. By December 19, Tolkien is writing the first chapter of the sequel to The Hobbit - the future Lord of the Rings.
1949 autumn Tolkien finishes the main text of The Lord of the Rings. He does not want to give it to the Allen & Unwin publishing house, since they refused to print The Silmarillion, and in 1950-52 he tries to give The Lord of the Rings along with The Silmarillion to the Collins publishing house, which initially shows interest.
1952 Collins refuses to publish The Lord of the Rings and Tolkien agrees to give it to Allen & Unwin.
1954 July 29 The first volume of The Lord of the Rings is published in England. November 11 The second volume of The Lord of the Rings is published in England. Tolkien is urgently required to complete the appendices, which should be published in the third volume.
1955 October 20 In England, the third volume of The Lord of the Rings is published with appendices, but without an alphabetical index.
1959 summer Tolkien retires.
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa, the son of Arthur Tolkien and Mabel Suffield Tolkien. After Arthur Tolkien's death from peritonitis, Mabel moved in with 4-year-old J.R.R. (at that time he was called Ronald) and his younger brother Hilary to a village called Sayrehole, near Birmingham, England.
Mabel Tolkien died in 1904 and the Tolkien brothers were sent to live in a boarding school with a distant family relative and Catholic priest in Birmingham, who took guardianship of them. J.R.R. received a first-class education at Exeter College, where he specialized in the study of Anglo-Saxon and Germanic languages and in classical literature. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Lancashire Fusiliers and served in the First World War, while trying to continue writing. He survived the bloody Battle of the Somme, which brought enormous casualties, and was exempt from military service due to illness. At the height of his military service in 1916, he married Edith Brett.
Career as a scientist and writer
Continuing his research in linguistics, Tolkien began teaching at the University of Leeds in 1920, and a few years later became a professor at Oxford University. There he founded a writing group called the Inklings, which included writers such as C.S. Lewin and Owen Barfield. It was at Oxford, while checking student papers, that he suddenly wrote a short sentence about “the hobbit.”
The award-winning fantasy novel The Hobbit follows Bilbo Baggins, who is short and has thick fur on his legs, and his adventures. The novel was published in 1937 and was classified as children's literature, although Tolkien himself stated that the book was not intended for children. He also created more than 100 illustrations to accompany the narrative.
Over the years, while working in scientific publishing, Tolkien created what is considered his masterpiece - the Lord of the Rings series of books, partly inspired by ancient European myths, but with its own set of maps, lore and languages.
Tolkien released the first part of The Fellowship of the Ring in 1954; "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King" in 1955, thus completing the trilogy. The books became a rich literary treasure for readers, populated by elves, goblins, talking trees and all sorts of other fantastic creatures, including characters such as the wizard Gandalf and the dwarf Gimli.
Although The Ring received its share of criticism, many reviewers and movements among the influx of readers embraced Tolkien's world, resulting in his books becoming global bestsellers and fans forming Tolkien clubs to study his fictional language.
Tolkien resigned as professor in 1959 and published essays, the poetry collection Tree and Leaf, and the fantasy tale The Blacksmith of Great Wootton. His wife Edith died in 1971, and Tolkien himself died on September 2, 1973, aged 81. They left four children.
Heritage
"The Hobbit" and the "Lord of the Rings" series have taken their place among the most popular books, selling tens of millions of copies around the world. The Rings trilogy was filmed by director Peter Jackson and became an incredibly popular, award-winning trio of films starring the likes of Ian McKellen, Elijah Wood, Cate Blanchett and Viggo Mortensen, among others. Jackson also directed a three-part film adaptation of The Hobbit starring Martin Freeman, the first part of which was released in late 2012.
Tolkien's son, Christopher, edited several works that were not completed by his father before his death, including The Silmarillion and The Children of Hurin, which were published posthumously. Drawings for The Hobbit were published in 2012, in celebration of the novel's 75th anniversary, featuring Tolkien's original illustrations of his work.
Quotes
“Do you really want to know how I created Middle-earth? “This is my surprise and delight at our planet as it is, especially its living nature.”
“Hobbits are what I would like to be, but never have been. They don’t know how to fight and always get together to come to an agreement.”
Biography score
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John Ronald Reuel Tolkien- English writer, linguist and philologist. Best known as the author of the story “The Hobbit, or There and Back Again”, the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and their prehistory - the novel “The Silmarillion”.
Born in Bloemfontein, Orange Free State (now Free State, South Africa). His parents, Arthur Ruel Tolkien (1857-1896), an English bank manager, and Mabel Tolkien (Suffield) (1870-1904), arrived in South Africa shortly before their son's birth.
In early 1895, after the death of his father, the Tolkien family returned to England. The family settled in Sarehole, near Birmingham. Mabel Tolkien had a very modest income, which was just enough to live on.
Mabel taught her son the basics of Latin and instilled in him a love of botany. Tolkien loved to draw landscapes and trees from an early age. He read a lot, and from the very beginning he disliked “Treasure Island” and “The Pied Piper of Hammel” by the Brothers Grimm, but he liked “Alice in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll, stories about Indians, fantasy works by George MacDonald and “The Fairy Book” by Andrew Lang .
Tolkien's mother died of diabetes in 1904, at the age of 34. Before her death, she entrusted the upbringing of her children to Father Francis Morgan, a priest of the Birmingham Church, a strong and extraordinary personality. It was Francis Morgan who developed Tolkien's interest in philology, for which he was later very grateful.
Before entering school, Tolkien and his brother spent a lot of time outdoors. The experience of these years was enough for Tolkien for all the descriptions of forests and fields in his works. In 1900, Tolkien entered King Edward's School, where he learned Old English and began to study others - Welsh, Old Norse, Finnish, Gothic. He showed early linguistic talent, and after studying Old Welsh and Finnish, he began to develop “Elvish” languages. He subsequently studied at St. Philip's School and Oxford Exeter College.
In 1908 he met Edith Marie Brett, who had a great influence on his work.
Falling in love prevented Tolkien from immediately entering college; besides, Edith was a Protestant and three years older than him. Father Francis took John's word of honor that he would not date Edith until he turned 21 - that is, until he came of age, when Father Francis ceased to be his guardian. Tolkien kept his promise by not writing a single line to Mary Edith until he reached this age. They didn't even meet or talk.
On the evening of the same day, when Tolkien turned 21, he wrote a letter to Edith, declaring his love and proposing his hand and heart. Edith replied that she had already agreed to marry another person because she decided that Tolkien had long forgotten her. Eventually, she returned the engagement ring to her groom and announced that she was marrying Tolkien. In addition, at his insistence, she converted to Catholicism.
The engagement took place in Birmingham in January 1913, and the wedding took place on March 22, 1916 in the English city of Warwick, in St. Mary's Catholic Church. Their union with Edith Brett turned out to be long and happy. The couple lived together for 56 years and raised 3 sons - John Francis Ruel (1917), Michael Hilary Ruel (1920), Christopher Ruel (1924), and daughter Priscilla Mary Ruel (1929).
In 1915, Tolkien graduated with honors from the university and went to serve; soon John was drafted to the front and participated in the First World War.
John survived the bloody Battle of the Somme, where two of his best friends died, and then came to hate war. Then he fell ill with typhus, and after long treatment was sent home with disability. He devoted the following years to his scientific career: first he taught at the University of Leeds, in 1922 he received the position of professor of Anglo-Saxon language and literature at the University of Oxford, where he became one of the youngest professors (at 30 years old) and soon earned a reputation as one of the best philologists in world.
At the same time, he began to write the great cycle of myths and legends of Middle Earth, which would later become The Silmarillion. There were four children in his family, for whom he first composed, narrated and then recorded The Hobbit, which was later published in 1937 by Sir Stanley Unwin.
The Hobbit was a success, and Anuin suggested that Tolkien write a sequel, but work on the trilogy took a long time and the book was completed only in 1954, when Tolkien was about to retire. The trilogy was published and was a huge success, which surprised both the author and the publisher. Anuin expected to lose significant money, but he personally loved the book and was eager to publish his friend's work. The book was divided into 3 parts, so that after the publication and sale of the first part it would become clear whether the rest were worth printing.
After his wife's death in 1971, Tolkien returned to Oxford. Soon he became seriously ill and soon, on September 2, 1973, he died.
All of his works published after 1973, including The Silmarillion, were published by his son Christopher.
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, also known as Tolkien (January 3, 1892 - September 2, 1973) - English writer, linguist, philologist, best known as the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Tolkien was Oxford Professor of Anglo-Saxon Language (1925–1945) and English Language and Literature (1945–1959). An orthodox Catholic, he was a member of the Inklings literary society with his close friend C.S. Lewis. On March 28, 1972, Tolkien received the title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire from Queen Elizabeth II.
Anyone who knows the language can say “green sun.” Many people can imagine or draw this. But that's not all - although even this may turn out to be much more impressive than all the numerous stories and stories “from life” that are awarded literary prizes.
Tolkien John Ronald Ruel
After Tolkien's death, his son Christopher published several works based on his father's notes and unpublished manuscripts, including The Silmarillion.
This book, along with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, forms a single collection of tales, poems, histories, artificial languages and literary essays about the fictional world called Arda and its part of Middle-earth. From 1951 to 1955, Tolkien used the word "legendarium" to refer to much of this collection.
Many authors wrote fantasy works before Tolkien, but due to his great popularity and strong influence on the genre, many call Tolkien the "father" of modern fantasy literature, meaning mainly "high fantasy".
In Russian, the writer’s surname is spelled both “Tolkien” and “Tolkien” in different sources, which often causes disagreements among fans of his work.
To create a Secondary World, where the green sun would be in its place, where we would gain sincere and unconditional Secondary Faith in it - for this, apparently, it is required to apply both thought and work, and in addition, it requires some special skill, similar to the skill elves.
(Quote from “Tree and Leaf”)
Tolkien John Ronald Ruel
In a letter to Richard Jeffery dated December 17, 1972, Tolkien notes: “My last name is always written as Tolkein... I don’t know why - I always pronounce the ending ‘keen’.” Thus, the spelling "Tolkien" more accurately reflects the original pronunciation of the surname. In English, stress is not fixed; some members of the Tolkien family used stress on the last syllable - "kin".
According to surviving information, most of Tolkien's paternal ancestors were artisans. The Tolkien family comes from Saxony (Germany), but from the 18th century the writer’s ancestors settled in England, quickly becoming “native Englishmen.” The surname "Tolkien" is an anglicization of the nickname "Tollkiehn" (German tollkuhn, "recklessly brave"). Grandmother told little Ronald that their family descended from the famous Hohenzollerns.
Tolkien's mother's parents, John and Edith Suffield, lived in Birmingham, where they owned a large store in the city center from 1812.
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on 3 January 1892 in Bloemfontein, Orange Free State (now Free State, South Africa). His parents, Arthur Ruel Tolkien (1857–1895), an English bank manager, and Mabel Tolkien (née Suffield) (1870–1904), arrived in South Africa shortly before their son's birth in connection with Arthur's promotion. On February 17, 1894, Arthur and Mabel's second son, Hilary Arthur Ruel, was born.
As a child, Tolkien was bitten by a tarantula, an event that later influenced his work. The sick boy was cared for by a doctor named Thornton Quimby, and is believed to have served as the inspiration for Gandalf the Grey.
I must add something about the many theories and conjectures I have heard or read about the motives and meaning of the story. The main motive was the narrator's desire to try to write a truly long story that could hold the attention of readers for a long time, entertain them, give pleasure or inspire...
Tolkien John Ronald Ruel
At the beginning of 1895, after the death of the father of the family, the Tolkien family returned to England. Left alone with two children, Mabel asks her relatives for help. Returning home was difficult: Tolkien's mother's relatives did not approve of her marriage. After the death of his father from rheumatic fever, the family settled in Sarehole, near Birmingham.
Mabel Tolkien was left alone with two small children in her arms and a very modest income, which was just enough to live on. Trying to find support in life, she immersed herself in religion, converted to Catholicism (this led to a final break with her Anglican relatives) and gave her children an appropriate education, as a result, Tolkien remained a deeply religious person all his life.
Tolkien's strong religious beliefs played a significant role in C.S. Lewis's conversion to Christianity, although, to Tolkien's disappointment, Lewis chose the Anglican faith over the Catholic faith.
As for the various kinds of subtext, this was not the author's intention. The book is neither allegorical nor thematic.
(Preface to The Lord of the Rings)
Tolkien John Ronald Ruel
Mabel also taught her son the basics of Latin, as well as a love of botany, and Tolkien loved to draw landscapes and trees from an early age. He read a lot, and from the very beginning he disliked Stevenson's Treasure Island and the Pied Piper of Hammel by the Brothers Grimm, but he liked Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, stories about Indians, George MacDonald's fantasy works and Andrew's Fairy Book Lang.
Tolkien's mother died of diabetes in 1904, at the age of 34; Before her death, she entrusted the upbringing of her children to Father Francis Morgan, a priest of the Birmingham Church, a strong and extraordinary personality. It was Francis Morgan who developed Tolkien's interest in philology, for which he was later very grateful to him.
Children spend their preschool years outdoors. These two years were enough for Tolkien to write all the descriptions of forests and fields in his works. In 1900, Tolkien entered King Edward's School, where he learned Old English and began to study others - Welsh, Old Norse, Finnish, Gothic.
He showed early linguistic talent, and after studying Old Welsh and Finnish, he began to develop “Elvish” languages. He subsequently studied at St. Philip's School and Oxford Exeter College.
In 1911, while studying at King Edward's School, Tolkien and three friends - Rob Gilson, Geoffrey Smith and Christopher Wiseman - organized a semi-secret circle called the ChKBO - " Tea Club and Barrovian Society" (eng. T.C.B.S., Tea Club and Barrovian Society).
This name is due to the fact that friends loved tea, which was sold near the school in the Barrow supermarket, as well as in the school library, although this was prohibited. Even after graduation, members of the Cheka kept in touch, for example, they met in December 1914 at Wiseman's house in London.
Much can be thought out, according to the tastes of lovers of allegories or references to reality. But I have and always have had a sincere dislike of allegory in all its forms, ever since I became old and boring enough to notice it. I much prefer a story, real or fictional, that interacts with the reader's experience in different ways.
(Preface to The Lord of the Rings) Many of the living deserve death, and many of the dead deserve life. Can you give it back to them? Same thing. Then do not rush to condemn him to death. No one, even the wisest of the wise, can see all the intricacies of fate.
(Quote from The Lord of the Rings)
Tolkien John Ronald Ruel
In the summer of 1911, Tolkien visited Switzerland, which he later mentioned in a letter in 1968, noting that Bilbo Baggins's journey through the Misty Mountains was based on the route that Tolkien and twelve companions took from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen. In October of the same year he began his studies at Oxford University, Exeter College.
In 1908 he met Edith Mary Brett, who had a great influence on his work.
Falling in love prevented Tolkien from immediately entering college; besides, Edith was a Protestant and three years older than him. Father Francis took John's word of honor that he would not date Edith until he turned 21, that is, until he came of age, when Father Francis ceased to be his guardian. Tolkien kept his promise by not writing a line to Mary Edith until this age. They didn't even meet or talk.
In the evening, on the same day that Tolkien turned 21, he wrote a letter to Edith, declaring his love and proposing his hand and heart. Edith replied that she had already agreed to marry another person because she decided that Tolkien had long forgotten her. Eventually, she returned the engagement ring to her groom and announced that she was marrying Tolkien. In addition, at his insistence, she converted to Catholicism.
The engagement took place in Birmingham in January 1913, and the wedding took place on March 22, 1916 in the English city of Warwick, in St. Mary's Catholic Church. Their union with Edith Brett turned out to be long and happy. The couple lived together for 56 years and raised 3 sons: John Francis Ruel (1917), Michael Hilary Ruel (1920), Christopher Ruel (1924), and daughter Priscilla Mary Ruel (1929).
In 1914, Tolkien enlisted in the Military Training Corps in order to delay conscription in order to earn his bachelor's degree. In 1915, Tolkien graduated with honors from the university and went to serve as a lieutenant in the Lancashire Fusiliers; John was soon called up to the front and participated in the First World War.
John survived the bloody Battle of the Somme, where two of his best friends from the Cheka (“tea club”) were killed, after which he hated war, fell ill with typhus, and after long treatment was sent home with disability.
He devoted the following years to a scientific career: first teaching at the University of Leeds, in 1922 he received the position of professor of Anglo-Saxon language and literature at Oxford University, where he became one of the youngest professors (at 30 years old) and soon earned a reputation as one of the best philologists in world.
At the same time, he began writing the great cycle of myths and legends of Middle-Earth, which would later become The Silmarillion. There were four children in his family, for whom he first composed, narrated and then recorded The Hobbit, which was later published in 1937 by Sir Stanley Unwin.
The Hobbit was a success, and Anuin suggested that Tolkien write a sequel, but work on the trilogy took a long time and the book was completed only in 1954, when Tolkien was already preparing to retire.
The trilogy was published and was a tremendous success, which greatly surprised the author and publisher. Anuin expected to lose significant money, but he personally loved the book and was eager to publish his friend's work. For ease of publication, the book was divided into three parts, so that after the publication and sale of the first part it would become clear whether the rest were worth printing.
After the death of his wife in 1971, Tolkien returned to Oxford.
At the end of 1972 he suffered greatly from indigestion, and an x-ray showed dyspepsia. Doctors prescribe him a diet and demand that he completely avoid drinking wine. On August 28, 1973, Tolkien travels to Bournemouth to visit an old friend, Denis Tolhurst.
On Thursday 30 August, he attends Mrs. Tolhurst's birthday party. I didn’t feel very well, I ate little, but I drank a little champagne. It got worse at night and in the morning Tolkien was taken to a private clinic, where they discovered a bleeding stomach ulcer.
Despite optimistic predictions at first, pleurisy developed by Saturday, and on the night of Sunday, September 2, 1973, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien died at the age of eighty-one.
All works published after 1973, including The Silmarillion, were published by his son Christopher.
Even as a child, John and his friends came up with several languages to communicate with each other. This passion for learning existing languages and constructing new ones remained with him throughout his life.
Tolkien is the creator of several artificial languages: Quenya, or the language of the High Elves; Sindarin is the language of the gray elves. Tolkien knew several dozen languages, and composed new languages, largely guided by the beauty of sound.
He himself said: “No one believes me when I say that my long book is an attempt to create a world in which a language consistent with my personal aesthetics could appear natural. However, it is true."
You can read more about Tolkien’s linguistic hobbies in the lecture The Secret Vice (Russian), which he gave at Oxford in 1931.
Works
- Published during his lifetime
* 1925 - “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” (co-authored with E. B. Gordon)
* 1937 - “The Hobbit, or There and Back Again” / The Hobbit or There and Back Again - with this book Tolkien entered literature. The book originally appeared as a work for the family circle - Tolkien began telling the fairy tale about the hobbit to his children. Almost accidentally getting into print, the story about the adventures of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins unexpectedly gained wide popularity among readers of all ages. Already in this fairy tale a huge mythological layer was laid. Now the book is known more as a kind of prologue to The Lord of the Rings.
* 1945 - “Leaf by Niggle” / Leaf by Niggle
* 1945 - “The Ballad of Aotrou and Itroun” / The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun
* 1949 - Farmer Giles of Ham
* 1953 - “The Return of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son” / The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son (play)
* 1954–1955 - “The Lord of the Rings” / The Lord of the Rings. A book that, back in the mid-1970s, was one of the most read and published books in the world. Tolkien's central work. The epic, which tells the story of Middle-earth, was published in 1954-1955 in England and after some time gave birth to a real Tolkien cult, which began in America in the 60s.
1954 - “The Fellowship of the Ring” / The Fellowship of the Ring
1954 - “The Two Towers”
1955 - The Return of the King
* 1962 - “The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book” (cycle of poems).
* 1967 - “The Road Goes Ever On” / The Road Goes Ever On (with Donald Swann)
* 1967 - “The Blacksmith of Big Wootton” / Smith of Wootton Major
Published posthumously
* 1977 - “The Silmarillion” / The Silmarillion
* 1980 - “Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth” / Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth
* 1983–1996 - “The History of Middle-earth” / The History of Middle-earth
* 1997 - “Roverandom” / The Roverandom
* 2007 - “The Children of Hurin” / The Children of Hurin
* 2009 - “The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun” / The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun
Tolkien's works had a huge influence on world culture of the 20th and even 21st centuries. They have been repeatedly adapted for cinema, animation, audio plays, theater stage, and computer games. Concept albums, illustrations, and comics were created based on them. A large number of imitations of Tolkien’s books, their continuations or antitheses have been created in literature.
Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings was filmed several times, first in the form of animated films by Ralph Bakshi (1978) and Rankin/Bass (1980), and in 2001–2003 Peter Jackson directed three big-budget Lord of the Rings blockbusters, which received numerous awards and grossed more than 2 billion dollars.
There is also a film adaptation of The Hobbit (1977). A number of computer games are based on Tolkien’s books and their film adaptations, the most famous of which are the strategy Battle for Middle-Earth and the MMORPG Lord of the Rings Online. Musical groups such as Blind Guardian, Battlelore, Summoning have composed many songs about characters and events from Tolkien's books.
Many famous fantasy writers admit that they turned to this genre under the influence of Tolkien’s epic, for example Robert Jordan, Nick Perumov, Terry Brooks, Robert Salvatore. Professor Ursula Le Guin, a contemporary of the Professor, notes the poetry and rhythm of his style.
However, many famous authors criticize Tolkien. In particular, China Miéville, while acknowledging that “The Lord of the Rings is undoubtedly the most influential genre of fantasy,” calls it “rural, conservative, anti-modern, terribly Christian and anti-intellectual.”
Objects named after Tolkien
* asteroid (2675) Tolkien;
* sea crustacean Leucothoe tolkieni from the system of underwater ridges Nazca and Sala y Gomez (Pacific Ocean);
* rove beetle Gabrius tolkieni Schillhammer, 1997 (Lives in Nepal (Khandbari, Induwa Khola Valley));
* genus of fossil trilobites Tolkienia from the family Acastidae (Phacopida).
The names of geographical features of Middle-earth and the names of characters appearing in Tolkien's works are named after many real geographical features and animals.
Prizes and awards
* 1957, International Fantasy Award in the Fiction category for The Lord of the Rings (1955)
* 1974, Hugo Award. Gandalf Award “Grand Master of Fantasy”
* 1978, Locus Award in the Fantasy Novel category for The Silmarillion (1977)
* 1978, Hugo Award. Gandalf Award "Book-Length Fantasy" for The Silmarillion (1977)
* 1979, Balrog Awards. Professional Achievement
* 1981, Balrog Awards in the Collection/Anthology category for “Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth” (1980)
* 1981, Mythopoeic Awards in the Mythopoetic Fantasy Award category for Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth, edited by Christopher Tolkien (1980)
* 1989, Mythopoeic Awards in the category "Mythopoetic Award for Research into the Work of the Inklings" for "The Return of the Shadow (The History of The Lord of the Rings. Part I)" (1988)
* 1990, Great Ring in the category "Large Form (translation)" for "The Two Towers" (1954)
* 1991, Great Ring in the category "Large Form (Translation)" for "The Lord of the Rings" (1955)
* 2000, Mythopoeic Awards in the category “Mythopoetic Award for Research into the Work of the Inklings” for “Roverandom” (1998)
* 2002, Deutscher Phantastik Preis in the category "Best Author"
* 2003, Mythopoeic Awards in the category "Mythopoetic Award for Research into the Work of the Inklings" for "Beowulf and the Critics" (2002)
* 2009, Mythopoeic Awards in the category "Mythopoetic Award for Research into the Work of the Inklings" for "The History of The Hobbit" (2007)
* 2009, Prometheus Awards. Inducted into the Hall of Fame for The Lord of the Rings (1955)
Evil uses enormous forces and with constant success - but only in vain; it only prepares the soil on which unexpected goodness will sprout. This is how it happens in general; this is how it happens in our own lives... 
