J.R.R. Tolkien: Six Decades of Criticism (Bibliographies and Indexes in World Literature) [Hardcover]

Judith A. Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 13, 1986 | ISBN-10: 0313250057 | ISBN-13: 978-0313250057 | Edition: First Edition

J.R.R. Tolkien: Six Decades of Criticism annotates over 1,600 reviews, articles, essays, books, and other commentary on the creator of Middle Earth. Author Judith A. Johnson also provides a bibliography of Tolkien novels, poems, interviews, and other published works; essays describing Tolkien's writings and summarizing the critical response to them; and an appendix listing Tolkien-related organizations, societies, and publications. American Libraries

This bibliography of works by and about one of the foremost fantasy writers of the twentieth century contains notes on hundreds of reviews, articles, essays, theses, dissertations, and books. The book's organization is chronological, each chapter devoted to a particular era and time frame in the Tolkien history. Each chapter contains a brief introductory essay that describes works by Tolkien published within a particular time frame and summarizes the patterns or trends of critical response during the period covered. Following this is an alphabetical by title listing of works by Tolkien and a chronologically organized bibliography of Tolkien criticism. The final chapter offers a preview of the response of future critics to the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. The appendix offers a list of all Tolkien related organizations, societies, and publications. The indexes provide access to the Tolkien criticism by the name of the critic and by individual works.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

[This volume]. . . annotates over 1,600 reviews, articles, essays, books, and other commentary on the creator of Middle Earth. American Libraries

Product Details

• Hardcover: 275 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood; First Edition edition (February 13, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0313250057
• ISBN-13: 978-0313250057
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #667,071 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #92 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > History & Criticism

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding bibliography of Tolkien criticism, September 28, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: J.R.R. Tolkien: Six Decades of Criticism (Bibliographies and Indexes in World Literature) (Hardcover)

This chronologically-organized bibliography provides a list (sometimes descriptive, sometimes not) of Tolkien criticism up through 1984. It also contains brief bibliographical entries for Tolkien's own published works. Needless to say, the overwhelming majority of listings pertain to Tolkien's fiction-- especially his masterwork, _The Lord of the Rings_. However, it does include reviews and responses to his more scholarly publications (for example, it lists reviews of his and Gordon's edition of _Sir Gawain & the Green Knight_ as well as responses to his articles "Chaucer as Philologist" and "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics"). In terms of its comprehensiveness, this book is far more thorough than any other Tolkien criticism bibliographies (e.g Richard C. West's). Johnson is to be praised for including articles that appeared in the major Tolkien fanzines (Mythlore, Orcrist, Amon Hen, Minas Tirith Evening Star, Seven, etc.) and for including information on which university libraries actually have these periodicals. However, it should be noted that her survey of these fanzines is not comprehensive-- reviews of secondary works about Tolkien that appeared in fanzines are not generally listed and there are some even more obscure items that got left out here. Some of those missing, in fairness, are really minor self-published items and are extremeley rare and obscure-- things that only had 100-issue runs and only lasted 1-2 issues. While unlikely to be found even in excellent research libraries, many of them are available for consultation in the Marquette University Special Collections (which has a very large collection of Tolkieniana). If a second edition of this essential bibliography ever appears (and one should-- it's been almost two decades since the first one!)-- I hope it includes not only post-1984 material, but also some more fanzine content from these obscurities.