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J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography Kindle Edition

by Humphrey Carpenter (Author), J.R.R. Tolkien (Editor) Format: Kindle Edition

4.7 1,186 ratings

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The authorized biography of the creator of Middle-earth. “One of the most interesting and readable biographies of a literary figure.” —The Times

In the decades since his death in September 1973, millions have read The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion and become fascinated about the very private man behind the books. Born in South Africa in January 1892, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was orphaned in childhood and brought up in near-poverty. He served in the first World War, surviving the Battle of the Somme, where he lost many of the closest friends he’d ever had. After the war he returned to the academic life, achieving high repute as a scholar and university teacher, eventually becoming Merton Professor of English at Oxford where he was a close friend of C. S. Lewis and the other writers known as “The Inklings.”

Then suddenly his life changed dramatically. One day while grading essay papers he found himself writing “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit”—and worldwide renown awaited him.

Humphrey Carpenter was given unrestricted access to all Tolkien’s papers, and interviewed his friends and family. From these sources he follows the long and painful process of creation that produced The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion and offers a wealth of information about the life and work of the twentieth century’s most cherished author.

“J. R. R. Tolkien left his impress upon a whole generation as few recent writers have done . . . an excellent biography.” —Newsweek

“A panorama of vignettes done with poise and exhaustive command. A man emerges whole.” —The Washington Post Book World

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Amazon.com Review

There may be a corner of the world where the name J.R.R. Tolkien is unknown, but you would be hard-pressed to find it. Since their publication, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings have been published in every major language of the world. And though he single-handedly gave a mythology to the English and was beloved by millions, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien remained refreshingly unchanged by his fame and fortune, living out his days simply and modestly among the familiar surroundings of Oxford College. Humphrey Carpenter, who was given unrestricted access to Tolkien's papers, brilliantly puts meat to the bones of the Tolkien legend in J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography, offering a well-rounded portrayal of this quiet, bookish man who always saw himself first and foremost as a philologist, uncovering rather than creating the peoples, languages, and adventures of Middle-Earth.

Carpenter chronicles Tolkien's early life with a special sensitivity; after losing both parents, Tolkien and his brother Hilary were taken from their idyllic life in the English countryside to a poverty-ridden existence in dark and sooty Birmingham. There were bright points, however. A social and cheerful lad, Tolkien enjoyed rugby and was proud of his gift for languages. It was also at this time that he met Edith Bratt, who would later become his wife. Academic life--both as a student and professor--is where this biography shines. Friendship with other men played a huge part in Tolkien's life, and Carpenter deftly reveals the importance these relationships--his complex friendship with C.S. Lewis, membership in the Inklings and the T.C.B.S.--had on the development of his writing.

The only criticism one can make about this book is that Carpenter tends to gloss over Tolkien's contributions to comparative philology. True, there is a chapter devoted to Tolkien's academic pursuits, but it tends to skim too lightly over the surface for this reviewer's tastes. Philology is a terribly methodical science, and the author clearly did not want to alienate readers who were primarily interested in Tolkien as a storyteller. Still, it would be nice to understand why Tolkien was held in such high esteem by his fellow academics. As it stands, Tolkien comes off as a slightly eccentric etymologist.

Fans who want to delve even deeper into Tolkien's life should pick up a copy of Carpenter's The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. --P.M. Atterberry

From Library Journal

Carpenter's 1977 biography offers a broad look at the Oxford don, who lived a relatively quiet life. This also details his close friendship with C.S Lewis.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00I7JFC7C
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mariner Books (March 4, 2014)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 4, 2014
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 5.1 MB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 385 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #185,253 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #180 in Historical British Biographies
- #198 in Biographies & Memoirs of Authors
- #205 in Biographies of the Rich & Famous

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4.7 1,186 ratings

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Customers find the biography interesting and enjoyable. They appreciate the readable prose and narrative quality, which includes richly imagined worlds. The book provides insights into the mind of a literary genius and offers a welcome window into his life. Overall, customers consider it a good account of Tolkien's life and worth reading.

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Biography quality Enjoyment Pacing Narrative quality Insight Value for money

43 customers mention "Biography quality"43 positive0 negative

Customers find the biography well-researched and interesting. They appreciate the insightful account of how C.S. Lewis came to faith in God. The book provides fascinating components of Tolkien's life while still providing enough background. Readers describe the author as the quintessential biographer for anything Tolkien, describing him as inspiring.

"One of the authoritative works on Tolkien. Truly a classic." Read more

"...ample latitude of background while still providing enough fascinating components of Tolkien’s life...." Read more

"...Not a Tolkien fan as you guessed, but this talks about the man, not just his work. Unlike many bios on authors" Read more

"...There is also an insightful account of how C.S. Lewis came to faith in Christ through his friendship with Tolkien." Read more

36 customers mention "Enjoyment"36 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book. They find it a pleasant reading experience that focuses on the man and his life. Readers say it's an essential read for fans of The Lord of the Rings. It's described as touching, revealing, and worthwhile.

"One of the authoritative works on Tolkien. Truly a classic." Read more

"Charming account of the life of JRR Tolkien. Enjoyed it very much. As the author said, however, Tolkien’s work says it best." Read more

"So far it's a great book but the publishing of it is rather odd. The font used makes it blurry unless it was a bad printing...." Read more

"...The books are amazing in many ways and being able to read about the man behind them was a privilege...." Read more

25 customers mention "Pacing"22 positive3 negative

Customers find the book's pacing good. They appreciate the readable prose and nice biography of Tolkien. The bio is written from a personal and understanding perspective. Readers appreciate the clear, concise, and well-thought-out description of his life and writings.

"...Be that as it may, Tolkien’s skill in poetry, in conjunction with his relentless passion as a philologist to pursue the roots of language and learn..." Read more

"An amazing author and a nicely written bio" Read more

"...if you are interested in where the motivation and inspiration came from to write such masterpieces." Read more

"...This book is a very easy read and uncovers the intriguing life of J.R.R. Tolkien. Three Key Takeaways from the book: 1...." Read more

10 customers mention "Narrative quality"10 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the narrative quality. They find it to be some of the finest storytelling they've encountered, with a richly imagined world and how Tolkien's mind works. The backstory is enjoyed, and readers appreciate the clear, concise, and factual account from a personal and understanding perspective.

"...Still, readers are lucky that Tolkien wrote phenomenal fiction because it allows us to see Tolkien’s soul as it is infused within pages...." Read more

"...This book contains simply some of the finest narrative storytelling one can find anywhere...." Read more

"...Carpenter is as good a storyteller as he is a biographer, and I throughly enjoyed his rendering of what he emphasizes was a pretty routine life...." Read more

"...will find, I believe, the fullness of Tolkien's heart in these great works of fiction, which he believed were actually true..." Read more

8 customers mention "Insight"8 positive0 negative

Customers find the book insightful and entertaining. They say it provides illumination into the underlying reasons that drove Tolkien to write. The book is full of information they never knew but loved. It's a welcome window into the life of one of the best writers of the 20th century. Readers mention the work has changed their lives and will continue to do so.

"...which was featured in the March Book Haul, provides some illumination into the underlying reasons that drove Tolkien to write what he wrote and..." Read more

"...There were many stories I hadn’t read elsewhere and found very helpful to give deeper insight into his books." Read more

"...to "go to the source" and actually read Mr. Carpenter's seminal work is more than satisfying...." Read more

"...His work has changed my life and the lives of many others and will continue to do so." Read more

7 customers mention "Value for money"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book offers good value for money. They say it covers everything from J.R.R. Tolkien's life to his parents' lives. The price is reasonable for a comprehensive account of the author's life.

"I don't give many 5-star ratings, but this book is certainly worth it. Detailed and comprehensive, this is a good account of J.R.R. Tolkien's life...." Read more

"...go for biographies (and neither was Tolkien), but this is a very good one nonetheless." Read more

"...The price is right and I sip from the pages, taking my time. Further praise deponent sayeth not." Read more

"...The price is reasonable for a book that covers everything from his parents' lives before he was born through his amazing development, multi-..." Read more

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Arj Aguirre
Nicely written
Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2025
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One of the authoritative works on Tolkien. Truly a classic.

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ZyPhReX
A Very Reasonable View Into J.R.R. Tolkien's Life
Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2017
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With his high fantasy literature, J.R.R. Tolkien has provided the tinder that stokes the imagination of millions. His books are known around the world, and for great reason. Having read some of his work myself, thought it prudent to see what events provided him with the impetus to create a whole mythology to boot.

In that sense, J.R.R. Tolkien – A Biography by Humphrey Carter, which was featured in the March Book Haul, provides some illumination into the underlying reasons that drove Tolkien to write what he wrote and create what he did.

The biography is split up into 8 parts, some of which are more interesting than others. Admittedly, autobiographies can run quite dry many times, but this still did a reasonable job of showing us Tolkien in his most authentic form.

Tolkien’s growth, his early years, his friendship with C.S. Lewis, and even his penchant for countless revisions are all catalogued within the book. It was particularly interesting to see what a perfectionist Tolkien was. In a sense, this allowed Tolkien to fine tune his writing process while at the same time expanding his Legendarium.

The Legendarium was created by Tolkien to serve as the fictional mythology about Earth’s remote past, and is composed by The Simarillion, The Hobbit, Lord Of The Rings, The History Of The Middle-Earth and more. This however, is not discussed in the book. I only mention it to supply the fervent reader for additional avenues to explore Tolkien’s unbounded work.

My favorite parts of the autobiography were about the creation of his books. Be that as it may, Tolkien’s skill in poetry, in conjunction with his relentless passion as a philologist to pursue the roots of language and learn everything about it was also highly intriguing.

In fact, regarding his penchant for writing Lord Of The Rings and linguistics, Tolkien had this to say:

“One writes such a story not out of the leaves of trees still to be observed, nor by means of botany and soil-science; but it grows like a seed in the dark out of the leaf-mould of the mind: out of all that has been seen or thought or read, that has long ago been forgotten, descending into the deeps. No doubt there is much selection, as with a gardener: what one throws on one’s personal compost-heap; and my mould is evidently made largely of linguistic matter.”[1]

In its entirety, the book provides ample latitude of background while still providing enough fascinating components of Tolkien’s life. Each reader will undoubtedly gain different insights, but regardless, it’s intriguing to note that Tolkien himself was not an avid fan of biographies.

Tolkien believed that biographies wouldn’t provide the truest nature of the person, and perhaps he was right. Just like movies, which are based on books, provide merely a facsimile of the depth which is entirely superficial of what great books provide, autobiographies will likewise never capture in full breadth and scope the life of an individual. Still, readers are lucky that Tolkien wrote phenomenal fiction because it allows us to see Tolkien’s soul as it is infused within pages. And there’s no more authentic biography than a writer’s words.

___________________________________________________________
Source:
[1] Humphrey Carter, J.R.R. Tolkien – A Biography, p. 131.

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Tyrone Martinez
Interesting, informative
Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2024
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I think this book is actually a whole lot better than what Tolkien actually wrote! Not a Tolkien fan as you guessed, but this talks about the man, not just his work. Unlike many bios on authors

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tsmbb
Enjoyed the whole story
Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2024
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An amazing author and a nicely written bio

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T. Hooker
Not an Ordinary Oxford Don
Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2012
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Who was J.R.R. Tolkien? This question has been posed by many over the years, which may explain the plethora of books and articles written about him (especially in light of the Lord of the Rings movies some ten years ago).

In 2010, I read Humphrey Carpenter's The Inklings. I've posted my review of that elsewhere on this site. J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography is of equal quality to that later work, though the primary focus here is on the creator of Middle Earth.

The following are among the "new" insights I found in this work:
1. Edith Tolkien, though a friend of Joy Davidman, felt jealousy over her husband's devotion to C.S. Lewis (perhaps in part because "Jack" was socially awkward in her presence).
2. Though a perfectionist, J.R.R. Tolkien often experienced difficulty in focusing on a given task (which lead to frequent publication delays).
3. Tolkien disliked the adaptation of the Catholic Mass into the vernacular from Latin.
4. Tolkien's mother knew Latin, French, and German, and he related most closely with her side of the family. He and his brother were homeschooled by their mom at a young age, and Tolkien could even read by the age of four.
5. Tolkien lost both parents before he was a teenager; a local priest, Father Francis Morgan, proved indispensable in filling a great gap in both Tolkien boys' lives.
6. He treasured his friendships with other males from school days, time in the army, and career as an academic.
7. J.R.R. Tolkien did not own a car after World War II. Thus, he had to arrange taxis for himself and his wife.
8. He was grieved by the "different breed of men, less discursive, less sociable in the old way, and certainly less Christian" (239) who replaced his generation of scholars at Oxford.
9. Tolkien's great works all developed in a different manner. The Simarillion was the first major story he began, but also the one he never completed. The Hobbit took the shortest amount of time to complete. The Lord of the Rings series suffered from endless starts and stops until he settled on its contents and publisher.

This book contains simply some of the finest narrative storytelling one can find anywhere. Of particular interest is the section on "Tolkien's typical day" that parallels the "imaginary" Inklings meeting in The Inklings. There is also an insightful account of how C.S. Lewis came to faith in Christ through his friendship with Tolkien.

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46 people found this helpful

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Polianokoff
A wonderful book on behalf of a literary giant
Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2024
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Charming account of the life of JRR Tolkien. Enjoyed it very much. As the author said, however, Tolkien’s work says it best.

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Jim Lang
A delight to read.
Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2024
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I bought this to read on a walking trip in the Cotswolds. Immediately upon starting it, I was inspired to re-read The Hobbit before continuing.
Carpenter is as good a storyteller as he is a biographer, and I throughly enjoyed his rendering of what he emphasizes was a pretty routine life. And the picture he paints of the man who gave us such a richly imagined world and how his mind worked. Highly recommended.

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Pedro H. Lima
A delight to read
Reviewed in Brazil on May 18, 2023
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It was a delight to read this biography. Packed with information, very readable, simply great. A look at his life from childhood through old age, his habits, his friends, his writings, all.
Great read for Tolkien fans.

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Justin Wiggins
Profoundly moving biography
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 13, 2024
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This is the first biography every written about J. R. R.Tolkien. What makes it so unique, is that it was written by someone who actually met Tolkien in 1967. Humphrey Carpenter does a brilliant job going into depth about loss of his parents and the intense the trauma Tolkien suffered in WWI, relationship with his beloved wife Edith, the different languages and mythologies that inspired The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion; how long of a process it took for The Lord of the Rings to be published by Allen & Unwin, Tolkien's friendship with C.S. Lewis and The Inklings; the role his Christian faith played in his writings, his academic career as a philologist at Oxford University, and his incredible literary legacy and cultural influence. This biography is certainly the best one that I have read about a writer I have great respect and admiration for, and I found it to be profoundly moving.

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Stanley James Hanna
Tolkien A Must Read
Reviewed in Canada on October 24, 2019
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I read this book when it was first published along with Carpenter's Inklings book. Both are excellently written and very informative. In the intervening years my appreciation of the full body of Tolkien"s work has grown. Now with so much new material and new perspectives offered on Tolkien and Lewis I decided to reread the biography. It was as good or better than the first time I read it. I definitely recommend it to anyone wishing to gain more perspective on this humble genius giant of the literary world.

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Salvatore Mattera
Testo indispensabile per cominciare a studiare Tolkien
Reviewed in Italy on March 27, 2021
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La Biografia di Tolkien a cura di Humphrey Carpenter è uno dei due testi fondamentali da leggere per iniziare a capire e studiare questo autore.

L'altro testo fondamentale è la raccolta di Lettere a cura dello stesso Carpenter edita in Italia in passato col titolo "La Realtà in Trasparenza" e adesso come "Lettere (1914-1973)".

Carpenter forse pecca qui e lì nel suggerire qualche accostamento di troppo tra la vita di Tolkien e la natura delle sue opere ma questo spetterà al lettore giudicarlo, magari dopo aver approfondito il discorso con altra saggistica a riguardo.

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Parfait
Reviewed in France on February 11, 2020
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5.0 out of 5 stars Nicely written

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5.0 out of 5 stars A delight to read

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5.0 out of 5 stars Tolkien A Must Read

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Nicely written

A Very Reasonable View Into J.R.R. Tolkien's Life

Interesting, informative

Enjoyed the whole story

Not an Ordinary Oxford Don

A wonderful book on behalf of a literary giant

A delight to read.

A delight to read

Profoundly moving biography

Tolkien A Must Read

Testo indispensabile per cominciare a studiare Tolkien

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