Simon Tolkien

From Tolkien Gateway
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Simon Tolkien
Biographical information
Born12 January 1959
EducationTrinity College, Oxford
OccupationAuthor, barrister
LocationSouthern California
WebsiteSimonTolkien.com

Simon Mario Reuel Tolkien (b. 12 January 1959) is the eldest son of Christopher Tolkien and grandson of J.R.R. Tolkien. He is the only child of Christopher's first marriage, to Faith Faulconbridge. Starting in 2011, he has acted as an director of the Tolkien Estate, along with Baillie Tolkien, and Michael George Tolkien.[1]

Life[edit | edit source]

He studied modern history at Oxford and was a barrister in London, specializing in violent crime. Later, he moved to California with his wife, Tracy Steinberg, and their two children. Tracy is known for the store in vintage clothing she had with her mother, Steinberg & Tolkien.

Simon Tolkien's first novel, The Stepmother (published in the United States as Final Witness), was published in 2003. The Inheritance, his second novel, was published on April 13th, 2010 by Minotaur Books.

Simon Tolkien disagreed with the then policy of his grandfather's estate over the adaptations of his grandfather's works. As a result, he had a strained relationship with his father over that point,[2] however they subsequently reconciled.[3]

He was consulted on the development of the television series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and he helped develop it's story and the character arcs. As a result, he is credited as a "series consultant".[4]

Family Tree[edit | edit source]

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
J.R.R. Tolkien
1892-1973
 
Edith Bratt
1889-1971
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
John Tolkien
1917-2003
 
Michael Tolkien
1920-1984
 
Faith Faulconbridge
1928-2017
 
Christopher Tolkien
1924-2020
 
Baillie Klass
b. 1941
 
Priscilla Tolkien
1929-2022
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tracy Steinberg
 
SIMON TOLKIEN
b. 1959
 
Adam Tolkien
b. 1969
 
Rachel Tolkien
b. 1971
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Nicholas Tolkien
b. 1990
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Bibliography, selected[edit | edit source]

Novels (non-Tolkien)[edit | edit source]

  • 2003: The Stepmother
  • 2010: The Inheritance
  • 2011: The King of Diamonds
  • 2012: Orders from Berlin
  • 2017: No Man's Land

Articles[edit | edit source]

J.R.R. and Simon Tolkien

Interviews[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]

References

  1. "The Tolkien Estate Limited", https://www.gov.uk (accessed 18 August 2022)
  2. Devan Coggan, "Tolkien's son denies rift" dated 16 January 2022, BBC News (accessed 29 January 2023)
  3. Devan Coggan, "'Being Tolkien's grandson blocked my writing ...'" dated 20 October 2022, the Guardian (accessed 29 January 2023)
  4. Devan Coggan, "How Simon Tolkien helped guide 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" dated 19 July 2022, Entertainment Weekly (accessed 1 August 2022)