Tag Archives: Tolkien research

The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien: The Places that Inspired Middle-earth

Posted on 26 January 2021 by John Garth

‘Magnificent. The commentary is great, really thoroughly researched; the pictures are stunning’ — Tom Shippey, author of The Road to Middle-earth and J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century From world-renowned Tolkien expert John Garth comes the authoritative exploration of the … Continue reading →

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Tolkien’s last friend in Oxford when the world went to war

Posted on 29 July 2019 by John Garth

    ‘Not a single man I know is up except Cullis,’ Tolkien lamented at the start of his final year as an Oxford student. It was 1914, war had just broken out, and their friends had left in droves … Continue reading →

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Teaching Tolkien in Las Vegas

Posted on 7 October 2016 by John Garth

Vegas brought out my worst vices. Handed carte blanche to indulge recklessly and obscenely for twelve months, I borrowed books from the university library in such numbers that when it came to returning them, I had to use a suitcase. I even … Continue reading →

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Tolkien’s death of Smaug: American inspiration revealed

Posted on 9 December 2014 by John Garth

My latest article for the Guardian: As well as its familiar roots in Icelandic mythology, this Middle-earth story also has some surprising transatlantic sources The dragon soars overhead, its underside armoured with gems from its hoard. The bowman has one … Continue reading →

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Middle-earth turns 100

Posted on 24 September 2014 by John Garth

It is 100 years since Middle-earth began. The earliest glimpse of any character or situation from his mythology was in a poem, ‘The Voyage of Éarendel the Evening Star’, which J.R.R. Tolkien dated 24 September 1914. He wrote it at … Continue reading →

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Secrets of The Hydra: how Tolkien research uncovered lost Wilfred Owen magazines

Posted on 17 June 2014 by John Garth

Historic missing issues of a magazine edited by First World War poet Wilfred Owen have been found and donated to archives in Oxford, in a move hailed as ‘a stunning discovery’. When copies also went to an Edinburgh university, it … Continue reading →

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