Tolkien: Man and Myth - Softcover

Pearce, Joseph

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0898708257 ISBN 13: 9780898708257

Publisher: Ignatius Press, 2001

Synopsis

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings took first place in a nationwide British poll to find the greatest book of the century! He may be the most popular writer of our age, but Tolkien is often misunderstood. This major new study of his life, his character and his work reveals the facts and confronts the myths. It explores the background to the man and the culture in which he wrote.

Tolkien: Man and Myth observes the relationships that the master writer had with his closest literary colleagues. It reveals his unique relationship with C.S. Lewis, the writer of the Narnia books, and the roots of their estrangement. In this original book about a leading literary life, Joseph Pearce enters the world created by Tolkien in the seven books published during his lifetime. He explores the significance of Middle Earth and what it represented in Tolkien's thinking. Myth, to him, was not a leap from reality but a leap into reality.

About this title

Review:

‘This fine apologia will certainly shift to some degree our polarised view of Ronald Tolkien... Pearce writes beautifully and with great depth... Even Germaine Greer, the great Tolkien-basher, might have second thoughts after reading him.’
Ronald Blythe in
‘The Tablet’

From the Back Cover:

'Tolkien: Man and Myth' takes a controversial approach to Tolkien’s imaginative literature. Unlike the conventional view that his fantasy writing was an escape from reality, Pearce argues that Tolkien saw his great epics about Middle-earth as a leap into reality. Understanding Tolkien’s view of life, faith and the supernatural is crucial to fully appreciating the deep levels of meaning in his three major works: 'The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings,' and 'The Silmarillion'.

J. R. R. Tolkien had no more than seven books published during his lifetime and yet he is a towering literary figure around the world. Tolkien: 'Man and Myth' considers him in the context of his time and also his beliefs. It examines his influence upon other story tellers such as C. S. Lewis and the influence upon him of the writers group called the Inklings. Here is a valuable book for all the many fans of ‘the Century’s most popular writer’.

About this edition

• Publisher: Ignatius Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0898708257
• ISBN 13: 9780898708257
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 242