The Road to Middle-earth
Revised and Expanded Edition
HarperCollins · Print & ebook · June 24, 2003
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- Who it’s for
- A close look at Tolkien’s sources and the scholarly habits behind Middle-earth’s making.
- Themes
- Tolkien’s creative influences, Middle-earth’s development, Tolkien’s literary works
- Genres
- SF & Fantasy Criticism, Writers' Lives, Fairy Tale & Myth Criticism
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Start with this bookAbout this book
The Road to Middle-earth, Tom Shippey’s classic work, now revised in paperback, explores J.R.R. Tolkien’s creativity and the sources of his inspiration. Shippey shows in detail how Tolkien’s professional background led him to write The Hobbit and how he created a timeless charm for millions of readers.
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Examining the foundation of Tolkien’s most popular work, The Lord of the Rings, Shippey also discusses the contribution of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales to Tolkien’s great myth cycle, showing how Tolkien’s more “difficult” books can be fully appreciated. He goes on to examine the remarkable twelve-volume History of Middle-earth, written by Tolkien’s son and literary heir Christopher Tolkien, which traces the creative and technical processes by which Middle-earth evolved.
Reading Middle-earth
A close look at Tolkien’s sources and the scholarly habits behind Middle-earth’s making.
Come here for
- Tolkien’s professional background as a key to his imaginative work
- Connections across The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and his wider myth cycle
Expect
- A detailed account of how Middle-earth evolved across Tolkien’s writings
- A path into appreciating Tolkien’s more difficult books
Where it sits
| SF & Fantasy Criticism | 95% |
|---|---|
| Fairy Tale & Myth Criticism | 51% |
| Writers' Lives | 50% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- British & Irish Literary Criticism
- SF & Fantasy Criticism
- Literary Criticism Reference
- Authors
- Tom Shippey
- Publisher
- HarperCollins
- Published
- June 24, 2003
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Theme
- Tolkien’s creative influences · Middle-earth’s development · Tolkien’s literary works
- Reading lane
- British & Irish Literary Criticism