Tolkien's World (by Randel Helms)

From Tolkien Gateway
The name Tolkien's World refers to more than one character, item or concept. For a list of other meanings, see Tolkien's World (disambiguation).


Tolkien's World
Tolkiens world.jpg
AuthorRandel Helms
PublisherHoughton Mifflin
Released1974
FormatHardcover
Pages167
ISBN9780395184905

Tolkien's World is a 1974 book by Randel Helms.

Editions[edit | edit source]

Detailed information about the different editions.[1]

  • 1974: Tolkien's World. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. xi, [4], 167 pp. 21 × 14 cm. ISBN 0-395-18490-8. Jacket photograph by Gwendolyn Stewart.
  • 1974: British edition, slightly shortened: London: Thames and Hudson. 160 pp. 21 × 14.5 cm. ISBN 0-500-01114-1: £2.95 (1975 reprint)
  • 1976: Myth, Magic and Meaning in Tolkien's World. British paperback edition: St Albans: Panther. 142 pp. 18 cm. ISBN 0-586-04365-9 (pbk)

Back cover[edit | edit source]

Tolkien's magical world of Middle-earth - a land inhabited by tobacco-smoking, ale-brewing, Halfling superheroes, eon-old Elven kings, chanting time-travellers, messianic wizards and satanic war-lords - remains unparalleled in its scope and vision and unsurpassed in its appeal and fascination for countless millions of people of all ages the world over.

Now, in this long-awaited study, Professor Helms shows how the master story-teller succeeded in combining a scholarly knowledge of traditional mythological literature with an imaginative genius to create fantasy epics of universal significance.

Table of Contents[edit | edit source]

  • Tolkien's World: An Introduction
  1. "I Desired Dragons": The development of a theory of fantasy
  2. Tolkien's Leaf: The Hobbit and the discovery of a world
  3. The Hobbit as Swain: A world of myth
  4. Frodo Anti-Faust: The Lord of the Rings as contemporary mythology
  5. Tolkien's World: The structure and aesthetic of The Lord of the Rings
  6. The Myth Allegorized: Tolkien's minor prose
  7. Last Gleanings from the Red Book: Scholarly parody in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil
  • Afterword
  • Notes
  • Index

References