A Tolkien Bestiary: Difference between revisions

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{{book|
{{book
title=A Tolkien Bestiary|
| title=A Tolkien Bestiary
image=|
| image=[[File:A Tolkien Bestiary.jpg|275px]]
author=[[David Day]]|
| author=[[David Day]]
publisher=Mitchell Beazley|
| foreword=
date=1979|
| introduction=
format=Paperback/Hardcover|
| editor=
pages=288|
| contributors=
isbn=0517120771 |
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amazon=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0517120771/sr=8-1/qid=1145405062/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-6025778-4717761?%5Fencoding=UTF8|
| illustrator=
amazonprice=$9.99
| publisher=Mitchell Beazley
| publisherUK=
| publisherUS=
| date=[[1979]]
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| format=Hardback<br/>Paperback
| pages=288
| isbn=0517120771
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'''''A Tolkien Bestiary''''' is an A-Z guide to the flora and fauna of [[Middle-earth]], written by [[David Day]] and first published in 1979. The book contains monochrome and full-colour illustrations by Michael Foreman, Lidia Postma, Ian Miller, Allan Curless, Sue Porter, Victor Ambrus and John Davis.


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==Reception==
The book has been accused of containing extrapolations and thus deviating from [[J.R.R. Tolkien|Tolkien]]'s writings.<ref>{{webcite|author=Steuard Jensen|articleurl=http://tolkien.slimy.com/essays/DayBooks.html|articlename=Notes on David Day's Tolkien Books|dated=|website=FAQ|accessed=11 April 2012}}</ref>
For example, there is a reference to "[[Wikipedia:Kraken|Kraken]]" referring to the [[Watcher in the Water]], but the word does not appear as a species in Tolkien's works.<ref>{{webcite|author=|articleurl=http://www.thetolkienforum.com/showthread.php?647-Tolkien-Bestiary|articlename=Tolkien Bestiary (forum thread)|dated=|website=[http://www.thetolkienforum.com/ The Tolkien Forum]|accessed=11 April 2012}}</ref>


While [[Tolkien fandom|fans]] have argued that the book is less reliable as a [[J.R.R. Tolkien|Tolkien]] reference than similar works by [[Robert Foster]] and [[J.E.A. Tyler]], many are fond of its illustrations.<ref>{{webcite|author=|articleurl=http://www.lotrplaza.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=215574&OB=DESC|articlename=A guide to Tolkien by David Day (forum thread)|dated=|website=[http://www.lotrplaza.com/forum/default.asp The Lord of the Rings Fanatics Plaza]|accessed=11 April 2012}}</ref>


'''Description:'''  
==Editions==
A number of books have been derived from ''A Tolkien Bestiary'' and have been published under many different titles:
*''Tolkien: The Illustrated Encyclopedia'' ([[25 November]] [[1993]])
*''A to Z of Tolkien'' ([[8 February]] [[1996]])
*The following are identical to each other:
**''The Tolkien Companion'' (1993)
**''A Guide to Tolkien'' ([[10 October]] [[2001]])
**''Guide to Tolkien's World: A Bestiary'' ([[3 September]] [[2010]])
**''Tolkien: A Dictionary'' ([[10 September]] [[2013]])
*''Characters from Tolkien'' ([[17 October]] 2001)


This is an A-Z guide to the flora and fauna of [[Middle-earth]], first published in 1979. Day's sources are [[The Hobbit]], [[The Lord of the Rings]], [[The Silmarillion]], [[The Adventures of Tom Bombadil]] and his own imagination, and he can be accused of being a little too liberal in his interpretation: where, for example, does a "Kraken" appear in Tolkien's work? Although the book is less reliable as a [[J.R.R. Tolkien|Tolkien]] reference than similar works by [[Robert Foster]] and [[J.E.A. Tyler]], it does include an impressive series of monochrome and full-colour illustrations. One for the collector; definitely not one for the purists.
{{references}}
 
{{title|italics}}
[[Category:Books]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tolkien Bestiary, A}}
[[Category:Books by David Day]]
[[Category:Publications by title]]
[[Category:Reference books]]
[[fi:Tolkienin maailma]]

Latest revision as of 17:40, 10 February 2023

A Tolkien Bestiary
A Tolkien Bestiary.jpg
AuthorDavid Day
PublisherMitchell Beazley
Released1979
FormatHardback
Paperback
Pages288
ISBN0517120771

A Tolkien Bestiary is an A-Z guide to the flora and fauna of Middle-earth, written by David Day and first published in 1979. The book contains monochrome and full-colour illustrations by Michael Foreman, Lidia Postma, Ian Miller, Allan Curless, Sue Porter, Victor Ambrus and John Davis.

Reception[edit | edit source]

The book has been accused of containing extrapolations and thus deviating from Tolkien's writings.[1] For example, there is a reference to "Kraken" referring to the Watcher in the Water, but the word does not appear as a species in Tolkien's works.[2]

While fans have argued that the book is less reliable as a Tolkien reference than similar works by Robert Foster and J.E.A. Tyler, many are fond of its illustrations.[3]

Editions[edit | edit source]

A number of books have been derived from A Tolkien Bestiary and have been published under many different titles:

References