Tolkien, Race and Cultural History: From Fairies to Hobbits [Paperback]

Dimitra Fimi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2010 | ISBN-10: 0230272843 | ISBN-13: 978-0230272842

Tolkien, Race and Cultural History, in paperback for the first time, explores the evolution of Tolkien's mythology by examining how it changed as a result of Tolkien's life story and contemporary cultural and intellectual history. The book considers Tolkien's creative writing as an ever-developing 'legendarium': an interconnected web of stories, poems and essays, from his early poems in the 1910s to his latest writings in the early 1970s. Consequently, the book is not restricted to a discussion of Tolkien's best-known works only (The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion) but examines the whole corpus of his legendarium, including the 12-volume History of Middle-earth series, which has received little attention from critics. This new approach and scope brings to light neglected aspects of Tolkien's imaginative vision and addresses key features of Tolkien's creativity: the centrality of the Elves and the role of linguistic invention in his legendarium, as well as race and material culture in Middle-earth.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Accessible, sensible, and intellectually rich.' - Janice M. Bogstad, Seven: An Anglo-American Literary Review Winner of the 2010 Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies Short listed for the Katharine Briggs Award 2009 'Dimitra Fimi's Tolkien, Race and Cultural History traces the evolution of the legendarium with admirable care...This scholarly yet approachable book is filled with...surprising fragments.' - Jon Barnes, Times Literary Supplement 'Fimi's book reads so well that it's hard to believe that it's an academic tome.' - Henry Gee, Mallorn 'Fimi's study is well worth reading for the specialist as well as (or even more so) for the general reader...Fimi's book has given us some answers but has also opened up some avenues for future research.What more can we ask for?' - Thomas Honegger, Friedrich-Schiller-Universitat, Germany 'This book is a fantastic and original work on Tolkien and I highly recommend it to all serious Tolkien fans and lovers.' - www.tolkienlibrary.com '...a rich study into Tolkien's creative impulses and the influences that worked on those impulses in the course of a long creative life...any reader interested in the work of J. R. R. Tolkien...is in for a treat. The book is intelligently argued and full of interesting ideas and approaches, offering fresh insights into Tolkien's authorship...you will find plenty of stimulating and thought-provoking material to make the book well worth reading.' - Nils-Lennart Johannesson, English Today 'Until now, Tolkien as generally been studied in isolation, or as the father of modern fantasy-writing, but this book shows how his work was rooted in the mental world of his contemporaries and the immediately preceding generation. As Tolkien scholarship becomes more analytical, Fimi's study provides essential new insights.' - Jacqueline Simpson, Folklore 'Fimi's book is one of the most interesting and original analyses of Tolkien's subcreation that has been published for a long time...[and] should form part of the reading of any serious student of Tolkien.' - Charles E. Noad, Festival in the Shire Journal

About the Author

DIMITRA FIMI lectures in English Literature at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC). Her research interests include the history of fantasy literature, folklore and popular culture, literary adaptations, and the interaction between literature and visual culture.

Product Details

• Paperback: 252 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (September 15, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0230272843
• ISBN-13: 978-0230272842
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,485,414 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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