J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography

This article is about the book by Humphrey Carpenter. For the the book by Leslie Ellen Jones, see J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography (Greenwood Biographies).

J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography
Author	Humphrey Carpenter
Publisher	George Allen and Unwin (UK) Houghton Mifflin (US)
Released	5 May 1977 (UK) 29 June 1977 (US)
Format	Hardcover; paperback
Pages	304
ISBN	0049280376

J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography is a book by Humphrey Carpenter. Originally published in 1977, it is the official, authorized biography of J.R.R. Tolkien.

From the publisher

The authorized biography of the creator of Middle-earth. In the decades since his death in September 1973, millions have read The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion and become fascinated about the very private man behind the books.

Born in South Africa in January 1892, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was orphaned in childhood and brought up in near-poverty. He served in the first World War, surviving the Battle of the Somme, where he lost many of the closest friends he'd ever had. After the war he returned to the academic life, achieving high repute as a scholar and university teacher, eventually becoming Merton Professor of English at Oxford where he was a close friend of C.S. Lewis and the other writers known as The Inklings.

Then suddenly his life changed dramatically. One day while grading essay papers he found himself writing 'In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit' — and worldwide renown awaited him.

Humphrey Carpenter was given unrestricted access to all Tolkien's papers, and interviewed his friends and family. From these sources he follows the long and painful process of creation that produced The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion and offers a wealth of information about the life and work of the twentieth century's most cherished author.

Contents

• I. A visit

• II. 1892-1916: Early years
  • Bloemfontein
  • Birmingham
  • 'Private lang.' - and Edith
  • 'T.C., B.S., etc'
  • Oxford
  • Reunion
  • War
  • The breaking of the fellowship

• III. 1917-1925: The making of a mythology
  • Lost Tales
  • Oxford interlude
  • Northern venture

• IV. 1925-1949 (i): 'In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit'
  • Oxford life
  • Photographs observed
  • 'He had been inside language'
  • Jack
  • Northmoor Road
  • The storyteller

• V. 1925-1949 (ii): The Third Age
  • Enter Mr Baggins
  • 'The new Hobbit'

• VI. 1949-1966: Success
  • Slamming the gates
  • A big risk
  • Cash or kudos

• VII. 1959-1973: Last years
  • Headington
  • Bournemouth
  • Merton Street

• VIII. The Tree

• Appendix
  • A. Simplified genealogical table
  • B. Chronology of events
  • C. The published writings of J. R. R. Tolkien
  • D. Sources and acknowledgments

• Index

Publication history and gallery

1977 edition   1978 edition   1978 edition alternative cover   1987 edition   1995 edition   1995 edition second impression   2002 edition   2016 edition

• George Allen and Unwin hardcover (1977), pp. 304. ISBN 0049280376
• Unwin Paperbacks paperback (1978), ISBN 0049280392
• Unwin Paperbacks paperback (1987), ISBN 0049280708
• HarperCollins paperback (1995), ISBN 0261102451
  • 1995 edition 2nd impression (1998)
• HarperCollins paperback (2002), ISBN 0007132840
• HarperCollins paperback (2016), ISBN 0008207771

Rejection of the first draft

In a BBC interview with Martin Wainwright in 2003, Carpenter confirmed that Christopher Tolkien rejected the first draft of the biography believing it to be a very boring to read. Carpenter assumed that this was due to the number of letters quoted.

See also

• The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien