Description
Tolkien’s sprawling fantasy worlds full of hobbits, elves and orcs have delighted millions of readers – yet the man himself remains a mystery. Discover Tolkien’s own story arc from our panel of experts.
Despite coming from a privileged background Tolkien faced a great deal of hardship, from being orphaned in childhood, to nearly losing the love of his life, and surviving the horrors of the battlefield during the First World War. Here we delve into how Middle Earth was shaped by Tolkien’s lived experiences, and explore the inspiration for his memorable characters.
To help answer these questions, we’ve gathered a group of Tolkien experts and enthusiasts, including Professor Adam Roberts, sci-fi writer and lecturer, and Tolkien biographer John Garth, and Grace Khuri, the first Oxford postgraduate to write a PhD solely on Tolkien. Join them as they shed fresh light on the man behind the fame.
About the Authors
John Garth
John Garth is known worldwide for his award-winning writing on Tolkien’s life and work. His books Tolkien and the Great War and The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien are available in 18 languages in all. John read English at St Anne’s College, Oxford, and was a newspaper journalist for many years. He talks and teaches on Tolkien internationally.
Grace Khuri
Grace Khuri is a doctoral researcher at the University of Oxford writing the first D.Phil dissertation on J.R.R. Tolkien at that institution. Her thesis considers the intersecting influences of Old Norse myth and The First World War on Tolkien’s ‘Silmarillion’ corpus. Her general research covers J.R.R. Tolkien, First World War history and culture, Old Norse myth and sagas, medieval literature, and Victorian and Edwardian medievalism. She earned her B.A. in English Language and Literature (Course II, Medieval strand) and M.Phil (Medieval English 550-1550) from Merton College, Oxford. She has been interviewed for BBC Culture and speaks regularly at events on Tolkien and medieval literature. Her podcast on the Silmarillion corpus for the Fantasy strand of Oxford University’s Great Writers Inspire series – What is the Silmarillion? can be found here.
Dr Adam Roberts
Adam Roberts is Professor of Nineteenth-Century Literature at Royal Holloway University of London. He is the author of 24 novels, and many non-fiction and academic works, including The Riddles of the Hobbit. His most recent novel is The This. He is presently writing The Short History of Fantasy.
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