Hobbits, Elves and Wizards: The Wonders and Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" [Hardcover]

Michael N. Stanton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2001

Stanton provides an intriguing look at Tolkien's fantasyscape that ultimately shows how all of these parts meld into a singularly compelling work of art that lives and breathes.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Hobbits, Elves, and Wizards: Exploring the Wonders and Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Michael N. Stanton, who teaches English literature at the University of Vermont, offers biographical and literary insights about Tolkien and his beloved trilogy. Young Tolkien first worked on the story cycle while on sick leave from military duty in WWI; Middle-earth's weather, seasons and flora recall Earth's Northern Hemisphere, says Stanton, thereby reassuring "readers that fundamentally they are on home territory" amidst "large doses of the marvelous."

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Michael N. Stanton has been teaching English literature at the University of Vermont since 1971 and teaches Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings every year. He has written on science fiction and fantasy literature as well as on Dickens and Melville.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st Palgra edition (November 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312238266
• ISBN-13: 978-0312238261
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,489,721 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars For people who already know LOTR backwards & forwards ONLY!!, February 21, 2002

By 

David Bratman (San Jose, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hobbits, Elves and Wizards: The Wonders and Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" (Hardcover)

This book comes across as the ultimate college English term paper on Tolkien: all the basic lit-class analysis you could possibly want. Prof. Stanton has been teaching Tolkien to undergraduates for many years, and the voice of this book is that of the competent but uninspired freshman-lit teacher, analytically keen but prone to overgeneralization, and hazier than he thinks in his grasp of the facts in a complex novel.
Normally I'd be the last person to object to intelligent scholarly analysis. But this well-meaning book shows the harm it can do. Stanton is so diligent in ferreting out the subtlest threads and connections from =LotR= and laying them out clearly that he sucks all the life out of them, leaving them drab and dead on the page, and denying readers the joy and the vividness of discovering them for themselves.
Stanton makes several good points, and has observed many obscure connections and even loose ends in =LotR=, but that doesn't keep him from stating questionable facts, often through overgeneralization, or highly doubtful interpretations, on almost every page. A good example is his statement that mellifluous languages are spoken by good people and harsh, guttural languages are spoken by bad people. This claim is usually made with the intent (which is not Stanton's) of denigrating Tolkien, and it's not true anyway (what about Dwarvish?).
This book, despite its good points, should on no account be read by anyone who's just finished =LotR= for the first or even second time, and the true newcomer shouldn't even glance in its direction. It should only be read by those with a deep experience and knowledge of =LotR=, who won't be spoiled by it but might still learn something; and, perhaps, by English lit students desperate for term paper topics the night before the deadline.

36 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Superfluous attempt to capitalize on the film, November 6, 2001

By 

Nysocboy (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hobbits, Elves and Wizards: The Wonders and Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" (Hardcover)

I ordered this book with much anticipation -- there hasn't been a good critical study of the LOTR for a decade. Highly disappointing, mostly a retelling of the story. Tolkien fans will find this a superfluous rehash of tired ideas, and non-fans will just be bored. Tolkien's Elves are not the flittery creatures of Victorian storybooks? Middle Earth is a translation of the Old Norse/Anglo-Saxon term for our world? Is there anyone on earth who hasn't known that since 1972 (or if they're under age 30, since they first encountered "The Hobbit" in grade school?)

When Stanton does hit upon an idea that may be interesting, he drops it immediately, with no development. If this book is for Tolkien aficionados, it needs to be about 100 pages longer, with a better scholarly apparatus, or at least an acknowledgement that other people have written about these books before. If it is an attempt to capitalize upon the movie, it needs to be a lot more entertaining.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a WONDERFUL aid to understanding and appreciating LOTR, January 8, 2002

By 

"howdyx3" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hobbits, Elves and Wizards: The Wonders and Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" (Hardcover)

If you want to get more out of your readings of LORD OF THE RINGS, this book will help you a great deal. As a relative neophyte to Tolkien's grand epic, I was occasionally confused by the myriad place and name variants, and the huge vistas of time that are covered and referred to in the books. Stanton's book is extremely useful for all of these concerns, is very readable, and is also organized in a very clear way. If you want to go back and read only about, say, the Ents, you can easily do so. Stanton taught LOTR and Tolkien for 25 years in classes at the Univ. of Vermont, and it shows. He also makes a point of thanking his many students, who over the years have given him additional insights into this great work of literature.
Great reading, and very very helpful. It's going on my shelf next to my LOTR set.