J.R.R. Tolkien

Peter Hunt

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9781137263995
• eBook ISBN: 9781350310506
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Modern Literary Criticism
• Index: Literature

J.R.R. Tolkien is arguably the most influential and popular of all fantasy writers. Although his position and status have long been controversial, his popularity has not faded. His best-loved works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, have sold millions of copies around the world and continue to enthral readers young and old. This lively collection of original essays examines The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings in the light of children's literature theory and approaches, as well as from adult and fantasy literature perspectives. Exploring issues such as gender, language, worldbuilding, and ecocriticism, the volume also places Tolkien's works in the context of a range of visual media, including Peter Jackson's film adaptations.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Series Editor’s Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Notes on Contributors
• Introduction
• 1. The Hobbit, the Tale, Children’s Literature, and the Critics
• 2. Sources and Successors
• 3. The Pastoral Impulse and the Turn to the Future in The Hobbit and Interwar Children’s Fiction
• 4. Tolkien and the Traditional Dragon Tale: An Examination of The Hobbit
• 5. Tolkien’s Language
• 6. There and Back Again: The Gendered Journey of Tolkien’s Hobbits
• 7. Tolkien and Worldbuilding
• 8. A Topoanalytical Reading of Landscapes in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit
• 9. Tolkien and Trees
• 10. From Illustration to Film: Visual Narratives and Target Audiences
• Further Reading
• Index