J.R.R. Tolkien (Writers and Their Work)

From Tolkien Gateway
The name J.R.R. Tolkien refers to more than one character, item or concept. For a list of other meanings, see J.R.R. Tolkien (disambiguation).
J.R.R. Tolkien
J.R.R. Tolkien - Writers and Their Work.jpg
AuthorCharles Moseley
PublisherNorthcote House
ReleasedDecember 1, 1995
FormatHardcover
Pages96
ISBN0746307632

J.R.R. Tolkien is a part in Northcote House's Writers & Their Work series. This relatively short work (96 pages) was written by Charles Moseley.

From the Publisher[edit | edit source]

Tolkien was a specialist in a recherché field. He did not, at least initially, write for a mass audience. Yet for many in the 1960s his books, particularly Lord of the Rings, became a political badge and an interpretative text. Widely translated, his fiction won the accolade both of parody and of its own learned journal; and "Tolkien" - or how he was read - demonstrably affected modern fantasy. This book explores how his work came to be so diversely received. Charles Moseley's critical discussion examines Tolkien's view of fiction as "sub-creation", exploring his analysis of mythopoeia and of the status of art and literature in relation to his own practice. He argues that in the critical concerns of Tolkien and his circle lie the key to important issues in his fiction. His use of linguistic game and literary pastiche is explored without obscuring his emotional commitment to the making of myths that expressed some of his deepest fears about the world he experienced.