Christian Encounters: J.R.R. Tolkien, by Mark Horne

Anyone who knows me knows that I adore J.R.R. Tolkien and his works—possibly a bit too much. Once you can recite large portions of The Lay of Luthien and explain—in detail—the difference between goblins, orks, and Urak-Hai, one begins to suspect that there is a small amount of obsession involved.

But I’m getting treatment, so it’s ok. J

Actually, I am, in a way. This semester, I’m taking a class at my college entitled 20^th Century British Literature, fondly known as “The Tolkien and Lewis Class.” It’s a class taught by my favorite professor over the works of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, including Lewis’ Space Trilogy and Till We have Faces, and Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. We’ve also touched a bit on pieces like On Fairy Stories and G.K. Chesterton’s Ethics of Elfland, but that’s another story.

So when I spotted this little biography of Tolkien on the “available for review” list at Thomas Nelson Publishers, I snatched it up right away, figuring that it would be a great thing to have, and might provide some interesting extra material for the class.

Only about seven-by-five inches or so, and only about 130 pages long, this little volume manages to be a pretty complete biography of Tolkien. It starts with his birth and childhood in South Africa in the late 1800s, and finishes with a short examination of his impact on the world of fantasy writing in modern times. While admittedly very brief, this book gives a very readable and interesting account of the great author’s life.

I did have one…not complaint, per say, but perhaps a smidgen of dissatisfaction in the fact that the discussion of his writings is limited almost exclusively to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Yes, yes—I realize that I just said I’m somewhat obsessed with Middle Earth, and now I’m criticizing that they spent most of their time there? But when you remember that Tolkien also had a lot to say on mythology and language and on the Christian views of both, well… Most people only remember Tolkien as the author of The Lord of the Rings, but he was an eminent scholar in his own right—translating Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight into English, besides his work on the Oxford dictionary, etc, etc, etc.—and I would have been interested to see more of that side of him. Especially about how he came to write On Fairy Stories. I may have missed it, but I don’t believe there was any mention of this portion of Tolkien’s work, which has been foundational in forming the Christian fantasy mindset, along with the works of C.S. Lewis and so on.

However, there isn’t really a shortage of books on Tolkien, so what this author chose to leave out can certainly be found in other places.

In short, this small biography of J.R.R. Tolkien is an excellent introduction to the life of this man who had such an impact on Western—and Christian—imagination. I’d especially recommend it for anyone who has a child interested in Tolkien and his works. The text is not written for children, but as I said above: it’s a very readable text, and a child or teenager could probably read it with no problems whatsoever. If it’s a kid who’s managed to get through The Lord of the Rings, then there’s no doubt in my mind that they could handle this.

The Brownie gives Christian Encounters: J.R.R. Tolkien a pleased four quills.

Disclaimer: The Brownie got this book for free from the publisher in return for the review you read above. Now ignore this annoying postscript and go on about your lives, citizens.