Lord of the Rings Background: Tolkien Biography

The Lord of the Rings Background:
Brief J.R.R. Tolkien Biography:

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, on January 3, 1892. On February 15, 1896, his father died. Soon after, he, his mother and brother moved to England. On October 15, 1904, his mother died from diabetes. In 1911, he went to Exeter College in Oxford. On March 22, 1916, he married Edith Bratt after having enlisted in the Lancaster Fuseliers. In the summer of 1916, he was involved in the Somme offensive. After coming down with trench fever, he returned to England in November. On November 16, 1917, John Francis Reuel was born.

In 1920, Tolkien was appointed Reader of English Literature at the University of Leeds. In October 1920, Michael Hilary Reuel was born and Christopher Reuel in 1924. In 1925, he filled the vacant Rawlinson and Bosworth Professorship of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford. In 1929, daughter Priscilla was born. While at Oxford, he founded the Inklings, of whom included Owen Barfield, Charles Williams and C.S. Lewis, a group of like-minded friends.

In 1936, an unfinished typescript of a story for his children found its way to an employee of the publishing firm of George Allen and Unwin. He was asked to complete it. The finished story was given to Stanley Unwin, who had his ten-year old son read it. When the son presented a favorable report, The Hobbit was published in 1937 and was a success. Tolkien then wrote the Silmarillion, which was considered not commercially publishable. He was asked to write a sequel to The Hobbit.

The Lord of the Rings was published in three parts in 1955 and 1956. In 1965, it was published in pirated paperback in 1965, which led to its growing popularity and in the counterculture. He retired from Oxford in 1969. Tolkien and his wife then moved to Bournemouth. On November 22, 1971, Edith died. Tolkien then returned to Oxford to stay in rooms provided by Merton College. Tolkien died on September 2, 1973.

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Available at Amazon.com:

Peter Jackson Films:

Middle Earth Collection:
Theatrical Blu-ray
Extended Blu-ray
Collector's Blu-ray

The Hobbit Trilogy:
Theatrical: Blu-ray + DVD
Extended: Blu-ray | DVD

An Unexpected Journey:
Theatrical Edition:
Blu-ray | BD 3D | Prime Video
Soundtrack: CD | MP3
Extended Edition:
Blu-ray | BD 3D | DVD | Prime Video | Soundtrack: CD | MP3

Desolation of Smaug:
Theatrical Edition:
Blu-ray | BD 3D | Prime Video
Soundtrack: CD | MP3
Extended Edition:
Blu-ray | BD 3D | DVD | Prime Video | Soundtrack: CD | MP3

Battle of the Five Armies:
Theatrical Edition:
Blu-ray | BD 3D | DVD | Prime Video | Soundtrack: CD | MP3
Extended Edition:
Blu-ray | BD 3D | DVD | Prime Video | Soundtrack: CD | MP3

LotR Trilogy:
Theatrical: Blu-ray | DVD
Extended: Blu-ray | DVD
Posters

Animated Film Adaptations:

The Hobbit:
DVD | DVD (SE) | Prime Video
The Lord of the Rings:
Blu-ray | DVD | Prime Video
The Return of the King:
DVD

Books by J.R.R. Tolkien:

The Lord of the Rings Set
The Hobbit
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King
The Silmarillion
The Unfinished Tales
Beren and Luthien
The Children of Hurin
The Fall of Gondolin

Audio Presentations:
The Lord of the Rings:

BBC Dramatization (CD)
NPR Dramatization (CD)
Unabridged Reading (CD)

The Hobbit:
BBC Dramatization (CD)
NPR Dramatization (CD)
Unabridged Reading (CD)

The Fellowship of the Ring:
BBC Dramatization (CD)
NPR Dramatization (CD)
Unabridged Reading (CD)

The Two Towers:
BBC Dramatization (CD)
NPR Dramatization (CD)
Unabridged Reading (CD)

The Return of the King:
BBC Dramatization (CD)
NPR Dramatization (CD)
Unabridged Reading (CD)

The Silmarillion:
Unabridged Reading (CD)

The Children of Hurin:
Unabridged Reading (CD)