A Brief Look at the Life of JRR Tolkien

British Legends: J.R.R. Tolkien by Charles River Editors
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This little edition gives anyone unfamiliar with JRR Tolkien a good over view of his life. This short little Ebook was purchased for free via amazon.com. Let me tell ya it is worth taking the time. It will give you a start if you want to go beyond just reading the Hobbit, Lord of the Rings and the Simarrillion.

John Ronald Reul Tolkien had roots in England in fat that is where his family was from. At the time of his birth on January 3, 1892 his family was living in South Africa. His father had to take advantage of a banking opportunity in that country as none were available in England.

Tolkien had deep roots in England. On his mother’s side were the Suffields who were middle class merchants based in Birmingham.. And owned a shop in the city’s center. Tolkien’s father’s family traced their lineage to Lower Saxony which was located in Lower Saxony, part of today’s Germany. They were Anglo Saxons. Jrr Tolkien’s parents were named Arthur and Mabel. Tolkien spent the first three years of his life South Africa where he spen lots of time in the family garden. There were a few fun incidents like being brought to a servants home and being bit by a tarantula. Tolkien had no hostility to spiders.

At the age of three Mabel Tolkien took the family back to England. Arthur was supposed to join them but he died of pneumatic fever. The family never went back to Bloemfontein. Growing up in Birmingham JRR spent lots of time in the country side. Many elements would find their way into his writing, elements that originated in Birmingham. For example Sam Gamgee, Frodo’s best friend originated from a piece of cotton wool called a Gamgee. His aunt’s farm was Bag End which helped formulate the name Baggins. His mother Mabel taught him French and Latin which instilled at an early age a love of languages. She also instilled in him a love of trees and plants by teaching him botany and landscapes.

Tolkien was rather gifted as a child. He was reading by four and was writing soon after that. Later on JRR’s mother would adopt Catholicism a move which isolated her from her family. This altered their lifestyle. The family would move to Birmingham center so as to be closer to King Edward’s School. In 1904 JRR and his sibling found themselves completely orphaned as their mother died from diabetes. Father Francis was their guardian .

At King Edwards School Tolkien joined the Tea Club and Barrovian Society. It was here that they discussed poetry and drank Tea all afternoon. With Chris Wiseman Tolkien was able to engage in religious debate without any problems. While going to school at King Edward he took a hiking trip From Interlakken to Lauterbrunnen. This provided the inspiration for the Misty Mountains which would be featured in the Hobbit. Tolkien had a love for language he invented some 20 languages for his mythos. He first feel in love with languages when reading Norse Mythology at a young age.

Tolkien later went to Oxford and got his doctorate and he went off to war right after ward. Before going he decided to marry Edith, who he met at the orphanage before going off. His experiences impacted him. All along the way he was writing his mythopia which was originally elvish based. The hobbit was meant for his children and whjen it was publish people wanted more Hobbits so he had to retrofit the Hobbits and adopt his mythology. Tolkien lived until 1973 when he died at 81 years of age. He is the father of fantasy.


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