A Brief Introduction to J.R.R. Tolkien & The Hobbit After retirement, Tolkien and his wife lived first in the Headington area of Oxford, then moved to Bournemouth, but after his wife's death in 1971, Tolkien returned to Oxford and died after a very brief illness on 2nd September 1973, leaving his great mythological van legendary cycle The Silmarillion to be edited for publication by his son, Christopher. A Brief Introduction to J.R.R. Tolkien & The Hobbit

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973) TOLKIEN BIOGRAPHY John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973) Spent a happy childhood in the English countryside His sensibility to the rural landscape can clearly be seen both in his writings and in his pictures.

Sample Tolkien Drawings…

TOLKIEN BIOGRAPHY Ronald was twelve when his mother died He and his brother became wards of a kindly priest. They both attended Kind Edward's School, Birmingham Ronald achieved distinction in Classics, and also encountered Anglo-Saxon and Middle English. At this time also, he began to develop his linguistics abilities by inventing languages which he related to 'fairy' or 'elvish' people.

TOLKIEN BIOGRAPHY He was also commissioned in the Lancashire Fusiliers and served in the battle of Somme (World War I, 1916) Two of his three closest friends were killed.

TOLKIEN BIOGRAPHY After the war, he obtained a post on the New English Dictionary, and began to write the mythological and legendary cycle which he originally called "The Book of Lost Tales“ This book eventually became known as The Silmarillion.

TOLKIEN BIOGRAPHY In 1920 Tolkien was appointed as Reader in the English Language at the University of Leeds This post was converted to a Professorship four years later. He distinguished himself by his lively and imaginative teaching, and in 1925 was elected Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford Meanwhile, his family, now numbering four children, encouraged Tolkien to use his mythological imagination to deal with more homely topics.

TOLKIEN BIOGRAPHY For his children, Tolkien wrote and illustrated The Father Christmas Letters, and to them he told the story of The Hobbit published some years later in 1937 At first, Tolkien applied himself only unwillingly to the requests for sequels to The Hobbit However, soon he was inspired, and what meant to be another book for children grew into The Lord of the Rings, truly a sequel to the Silmarillion than to the Hobbit. This huge story took twelve years to complete, and it was not published until Tolkien was approaching retirement. When it did reach print, its extraordinary popularity took him by surprise.

TOLKIEN BIOGRAPHY After his wife's death in 1971, Tolkien returned to Oxford and died after a very brief illness on 2nd September 1973. He left his great mythological legendary cycle The Silmarillion to be edited for publication by his son.

The Hobbit

The Hobbit J.R.R.Tolkien's fantasy classic, originally told to his children. The Hobbit is Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit of substance and somewhat sedentary habits. One day he is visited by a wizard, Gandalf, and a gaggle of dwarves. By supper time he has accepted a challenge to go on an expedition to steal back a fortune from a live dragon, and liberate the ancient home of his companions. Fire and swords lie before him - but, fortunately, he doesn't know that…