J.R.R. Tolkien, the English writer and scholar who achieved fame with his children’s book The Hobbit (1937) and his richly inventive epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings (1954–55), died of pneumonia on Sept. 2, 1973, at age 81. His death marked the end of a remarkable life and career that spanned two world wars, several academic disciplines, and a vast imaginative world of Middle-earth.
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Early Life and World War I
Tolkien was born on Jan. 3, 1892, in Bloemfontein, South Africa, to English parents. His father, Arthur, was a bank manager who died when Tolkien was only three years old. His mother, Mabel, moved with him and his younger brother, Hilary, to England, where she converted to Catholicism and raised her sons in the faith. She died of diabetes when Tolkien was 12, leaving him and his brother under the guardianship of a Catholic priest.
Tolkien showed an early interest in languages and literature, and excelled at school. He won a scholarship to study at Oxford University, where he met his future wife, Edith Bratt, and his lifelong friend, C.S. Lewis. He graduated with a degree in English language and literature in 1915, and enlisted in the British Army as a second lieutenant. He fought in the Battle of the Somme, one of the bloodiest battles of World War I, where he witnessed the horrors of trench warfare and lost many of his friends. He contracted trench fever, a typhus-like infection, and was sent back to England to recover. During this time, he began to write stories and poems that would later form the basis of his legendarium, the connected body of tales, poems, fictional histories, invented languages, and literary essays about a fantasy world called Arda and, within it, Middle-earth.
Academic Career and The Hobbit
After the war, Tolkien pursued an academic career as a philologist, a scholar of languages and their history. He worked as a lexicographer for the Oxford English Dictionary, and taught at the University of Leeds, where he became the youngest professor at the age of 32. He returned to Oxford in 1925 as the Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon, and later became the Merton Professor of English Language and Literature. He was an expert in Old and Middle English, Old Norse, Gothic, Welsh, and other languages, and published several scholarly works on them. He also joined a group of writers and intellectuals called the Inklings, who met regularly to discuss and critique their works. Among them was his friend C.S. Lewis, the author of The Chronicles of Narnia.
Tolkien’s interest in languages and mythology led him to create his own, which he used to enrich his stories of Middle-earth. He wrote The Hobbit, a children’s book about the adventures of a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins, who finds a magic ring and joins a group of dwarves on a quest to reclaim their treasure from a dragon. He wrote the book for his own children, and did not intend to publish it, but a friend persuaded him to send it to a publisher, who accepted it. The book was published in 1937 and became an instant success, winning several awards and selling millions of copies. The publisher asked Tolkien for a sequel, which prompted him to start working on what would become his magnum opus, The Lord of the Rings.
The Lord of the Rings and Later Works
The Lord of the Rings is a three-volume epic fantasy novel that follows the journey of Frodo Baggins, a hobbit who inherits the ring from his uncle Bilbo, and his companions, who must destroy the ring in the fires of Mount Doom, where it was forged by the Dark Lord Sauron. The novel is set in the Third Age of Middle-earth, a fictional period of history that Tolkien created, and features a rich and complex world of cultures, races, languages, histories, legends, and maps. The novel took Tolkien 12 years to write, and was published in 1954–55. It received mixed reviews from critics, but was immensely popular with readers, who formed fan clubs and societies dedicated to the study and appreciation of Tolkien’s works. The novel has been translated into over 50 languages, and has sold over 150 million copies worldwide. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential works of literature of the 20th century, and has inspired countless adaptations, imitations, and parodies in various media.
Tolkien continued to write and revise his stories of Middle-earth until his death, but did not publish most of them. He also wrote other works of fiction and poetry, such as Farmer Giles of Ham, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, Smith of Wootton Major, and Leaf by Niggle. He retired from his academic post in 1959, and received several honorary degrees and awards, including the Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 1972. He was also nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature, but did not win.
Death and Legacy
Tolkien’s wife, Edith, died in 1971, and he moved to Bournemouth, a seaside town in England. He developed a gastric ulcer, and was hospitalized for treatment. He contracted pneumonia, and died on Sept. 2, 1973. He was buried with his wife in the same grave, with the names Beren and Lúthien inscribed on the tombstone, referring to a pair of lovers from his legendarium.
After Tolkien’s death, his son Christopher, who was also a scholar and a writer, edited and published his father’s unfinished and unpublished works, such as The Silmarillion, The Children of Húrin, The History of Middle-earth, and The Fall of Gondolin. These works revealed the vast scope and depth of Tolkien’s vision, and added to the understanding and appreciation of his legendarium. Christopher also supervised the publication of his father’s letters, essays, and lectures, which shed light on his life, thoughts, and influences.
Tolkien’s works have had a lasting impact on literature, culture, and society. They have inspired generations of writers, artists, musicians, filmmakers, and fans, who have created their own works based on or influenced by Tolkien’s. They have also sparked academic interest and research, leading to the establishment of Tolkien studies as a field of scholarship. They have also contributed to the popularization and development of fantasy as a genre, and have been credited with influencing the rise of environmentalism, neo-paganism, and other social movements. Tolkien’s works have been adapted into various media, such as films, television series, video games, comics, and musicals, some of which have been highly successful and acclaimed, and some of which have been criticized and rejected by fans and scholars. The most notable adaptations are the film trilogies of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, directed by Peter Jackson, which have won multiple awards and grossed billions of dollars at the box office.
Tolkien’s works have also been the subject of controversy and criticism, such as accusations of racism, sexism, colonialism, and plagiarism, as well as disputes over the ownership and interpretation of his works. Despite these issues, Tolkien’s works have remained popular and influential, and have been celebrated and honored in various ways, such as commemorative stamps, coins, statues, festivals, and exhibitions. Tolkien’s works have also been ranked among the best and most loved books of all time by various polls and surveys, and have been recognized as significant and valuable contributions to literature and culture.
J.R.R. Tolkien cause of death was pneumonia, but his legacy lives on in his works and in the hearts and minds of his fans and admirers. He was a remarkable writer and scholar, who created a world of wonder and beauty, and shared it with the world. He was, in his own words, a “sub-creator”, who used his gifts and talents to reflect and glorify the Creator. He was, and still is, the father of modern fantasy, and the master of Middle-earth.
