Simon Tolkien
 | |
| Simon Tolkien | |
|---|---|
| Biographical information | |
| Born | 12 January 1959 |
| Education | Trinity College, Oxford |
| Occupation | Author, barrister |
| Location | Southern California |
| Website | SimonTolkien.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 a director of the Tolkien Estate, along with Baillie Tolkien, Michael George Tolkien, and Steven Maier.[1]
Life[edit]
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]
| 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 Sternberg | SIMON TOLKIEN b. 1959 | Adam Tolkien b. 1969 | Rachel Tolkien b. 1971 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nicholas Tolkien b. 1990 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bibliography, selected[edit]
Books (non-Tolkien)[edit]
Articles[edit]
- 2003: The Mail On Sunday
- "My Grandfather", 23 February 2003
- 2010: Huffington Post, 26 April 2010
Interviews[edit]
- 2003: The Telegraph, 23 February 2003
- "J R R Tolkien's grandson 'cut off from literary inheritance'" (by Chris Hastings)
- 2010: WAMC Northeast Public Radio, 18 May 2010
- 2010: Mythprint vol. 47, no. 6
- 2010: Mallorn 50
- "A man of mystery" (by Mike Foster)
- 2012: The Telegraph 18 November 2012
- "Simon Tolkien JRR Tolkien's grandson admits Lord of the Rings trauma" (by Andrew Hough)
- 2012: The Guardian, 24 November 2012
- "'Being Tolkien's grandson blocked my writing ..." (by Joanna Moorhead)
- 2017: The Prancing Pony Podcast
External links[edit]
References
- ↑ "The Tolkien Estate Limited", https://www.gov.uk (accessed 18 August 2022)
- ↑ Devan Coggan, "Tolkien's son denies rift" dated 16 January 2022, BBC News (accessed 29 January 2023)
- ↑ Devan Coggan, "'Being Tolkien's grandson blocked my writing ...'" dated 20 October 2022, the Guardian (accessed 29 January 2023)
- ↑ 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)
