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JRR Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892–1973) was a major scholar of the English language, specialising in Old and Middle English. Twice Professor of Anglo-Saxon (Old English) at the University of Oxford, he also wrote a number of stories, including most famously The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955), which are set in a pre-historic era in an invented version of our world which he called by the Middle English name of Middle-earth. 

In the 1960s he was taken up by many members of the nascent "counter-culture" largely because of his concern with environmental issues. In 1997 he came top of three British polls, organised respectively by Channel 4/Waterstone's, the Folio Society, and SFX, the UK's leading science fiction media magazine, amongst discerning readers asked to vote for the greatest book of the 20th century. Please note also that his name is spelt Tolkien (there is no "Tolkein").

Books

  • The Fellowship of The Ring

    The Fellowship of The Ring

    Author: JRR Tolkein
    Publisher: HarperCollins
    Interest age: 11+
    Reading age: 12+

    The first part of J R R Tolkien's epic masterpiece The Lord of the Rings, this is the story of young hobbit Frodo Baggins, who finds himself faced with an immense and terrible duty.

  • The Hobbit

    The Hobbit

    Author: JRR Tolkein
    Publisher: HarperCollins Children's
    Interest age: 8+
    Reading age: 10+

    This well-loved fantasy story has delighed readers ever since its first publication in 1937.

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