Tolkien: Author of the Century
by Tom Shippey

J.R.R. Tolkien is probably best known as the author of The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings. Less well known are his other works like The Silmarillion, The History of Middle-Earth (both edited by his son, Christopher Tolkien), and various other works and poems. All these, and more, and told in interesting and fascinating detail in the book by Shippey.

The book is not a biography of Tolkien. Instead, it is divided into several parts, each one examining various aspects of Tolkien's work, especially those that make up his most famous works.

Starting with The Hobbit, Shippey reveals various interesting features of this "children's book", like the way the Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, speaks and behaves that makes it clear that he is not like the other characters in the book. A fascinating aspect of this chapter is Bilbo's conversation with Smaug, the Dragon, which Shippey reveals is related to ancient Norse legends on talking to dragons (especially the parts about deceptive dragon speech).

The next few chapters look at The Lord of the Rings from various aspects. Shippey shows that the plot of the book (one book or three or six books, depending on your point of view) was constantly changing and only became fixed very late, after Tolkien had worked out the mythology that was the First, Second and Third Ages of Middle-Earth. Even then, the plot for the book is intricate, with characters separating and meeting again on specific dates, usually related to the phases of the moon or to events like the coming of darkness from Mount Doom.

One aspect of The Lord of the Rings that Shippey examines is its concept of 'Evil'. He shows that both types of evil (internal and external evil) are present in the story and manifest themselves in the One Ring, the Dark Lord and various other characters. He also shows that while the Ring is Evil, it acts via temptation which explains why Gandalf (the Wizard) was reluctant to take it and why Frodo has to use his willpower to resist using the ring. The Ring is like a drug; it's power lies in tempting people to use it and, thus, revealing themselves to the Dark Lord.

The Languages of Middle-Earth are also examined in this book and Shippey shows why a philologists like Tolkien, who is fond of words (their meaning and their roots), can let us distinguish in the 'Council of Elrond' scene, the voice of the various characters. Each character has his own way of speaking that matches the created culture and background of that character in Middle-Earth (noble sounding Elves, for instance), allowing the reader to distinguish and to imagine the story the character is telling from his point of view.

Shippey then looks at Tolkien's The Silmarillion and Tolkien's other works and poetry which were dearest to Tolkien's heart. Shippey shows that The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings were developed quite late in Tolkien's literary career. Tolkien was working on his mythology for Middle-Earth for much of the time and it was only after the latter works were published could Tolkien (through his son, Christopher) get his other works on Middle-Earth published. After his death, Christopher compiled and published The History of Middle-Earth, showing the various twists and turns and dead-ends that Tolkien took before The Lord of the Rings took the form that it has today.

Critics were quick to dismiss Tolkien's book but Shippey shows that most of the criticisms are misplaced and can be attributed to critics wishing for a literary work that would be popular but were aghast to find it in a work of fantasy. Objections to the books are raised but demolished by Shippey.

Finally, Shippey shows why Tolkien's books captured the public imagination and why they still remain in print many years after their original publication. While many authors of Fantasy have attempted to emulate or to distance themselves from Tolkien's work, Shippey shows that most of them have been unsuccessful although some have come close. Shippey shows that one factor is Tolkien's background in philology and his attention to detail, which few Fantasy authors are now able to do, that distinguish Tolkien's books from others in the field.

Shippey also shows why Tolkien wrote the books; he was interested in creating a consistent mythology for England which Tolkien felt was missing. Other than the poem, Beowulf, not much of ancient English text remains. Tolkien wanted to create something like the Norse "Kalevala" for English and the result was the mythology that now known to us as Middle-Earth.

This is an interesting book to read, whether you have a passing interest in Tolkien's books or wish to delve deeper into the mythology of Middle-Earth. Depending on your interests, some part may be less interesting than other parts but by the end, you may find yourself appreciating Tolkien's body of work and probably keen to re-read them based on what Shippey has revealed in this book. A recommended read.

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Tolkien: Author of the Century by Tom Shippey

Tolkien: Author of the Century
by Tom Shippey