Tolkien and the Great War
The Threshold of Middle-earth
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Narrated by:
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John Garth
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Written by:
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John Garth
About this listen
“To be caught in youth by 1914 was no less hideous an experience than in 1939 … by 1918 all but one of my close friends were dead.”
So J.R.R. Tolkien responded to critics who saw The Lord of the Rings as a reaction to the Second World War. Tolkien and the Great War tells for the first time the full story of how he embarked on the creation of Middle-earth in his youth as the world around him was plunged into catastrophe. This biography reveals the horror and heroism that he experienced as a signals officer in the Battle of the Somme and introduces the circle of friends who spurred his mythology to life. It shows how, after two of these brilliant young men were killed, Tolkien pursued the dream they had all shared by launching his epic of good and evil.
John Garth argues that the foundation of tragic experience in the First World War is the key to Middle-earth’s enduring power. Tolkien used his mythic imagination not to escape from reality but to reflect and transform the cataclysm of his generation. While his contemporaries surrendered to disillusionment, he kept enchantment alive, reshaping an entire literary tradition into a form that resonates to this day.
This is the first substantially new biography of Tolkien since 1977, meticulously researched and distilled from his personal wartime papers and a multitude of other sources.
©2011 John Garth (P)2011 HarperCollins Publishers LimitedWhat the critics say
What listeners say about Tolkien and the Great War
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Nick McCoy
- 2022-12-19
An Excellent Listen
The reader performs excellently and captures the spirit of the work perfectly. The story is an English one and demands an English voice, though at times the subject matter can be difficult to follow due to the complexity of Tolkien's lore it is the most authentic look at the man you will ever find.
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