Tolkien: Man and Myth

From Tolkien Gateway
Tolkien: Man and Myth
A Literary Life
Tolkien - Man and Myth.jpg
AuthorJoseph Pearce
PublisherHarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Released5 October 1998
FormatHardcoverPaperback
Pages320
ISBN978-0002740180
Tolkien: Man and Myth
AuthorJoseph Pearce
PublisherIgnatius Press
ReleasedFebruary 1999 (Softcover: December 2001)
FormatHardcover/Paperback
Pages242/257
ISBN0898708257

Tolkien: Man and Myth. A Literary Life is a book about J.R.R. Tolkien. It was first released by HarperCollins in hardcover format, and later in the US in both hardcover and paperback editions.

From the publisher[edit | edit source]

Tolkien's Lord of the Rings may be one of the greatest books of the twentieth century, but as an author Tolkien is often misunderstood.This study of his life and work reveals the facts and confronts the myths. It observes his relationships with literary colleagues and his uneasy acquaintance with C.S. Lewis, the author of the Narnia books. It looks at the culture and background in which he wrote, his uneasiness with possessions and his religious faith.It also enters the world created by him in the seven books published during his lifetime, and explores 'Middle Earth' (sic) represented in his thinking. Myth, for Tolkien, was not a leap from reality but a leap into reality. These fascinating insights into the master writer make it possible to understand both the man and the myth he created.

Contents[edit | edit source]

  • Acknowledments
  • Preface
  1. A misunderstood man: Tolkien and the modern world
  2. Cradle convert to the grave: The child behind the myth
  3. Father Francis to Father Christmas: the father behind the myth
  4. True myth: Tolkien and the conversion of C.S. Lewis
  5. A ring of fellowship: Tolkien, Lewis and the Inklings
  6. The creation of Middle-earth: The myth behind the man
  7. Orthodoxy in Middle-earth: The truth behind the myth
  8. The well and the shadows: Tolkien and the critics
  9. Tolkien as hobbit: Englishman behind the myth
  10. Approaching Mount Doom: Tolkien's final years
  • Epilogue: Above all shadows rides the sun
  • Bibliography