Yvonne T let us in on a new book about Tolkien by our good pal Douglas A. Anderson, ‘On Tolkien: Interviews, Reminiscences, and Other Essays is described as an extraordinary glimpse into the world of J.R.R. Tolkien through his own words and those of family, friends, and colleagues. [Amazon.com]
A collection of rare interviews and personal reminiscences found nowhere else. Beginning with a short interview with Tolkien from 1957 and continuing with remembrances and essays up through Peter Jackson’s films, the book gives a developing picture of Tolkien the man and writer, first in his own voice and later from recollections of his friends and family.
Among the unique pieces are two lengthy recorded interviews that reveal Tolkien’s conversation style. Also included are a discussion by Priscilla of her father’s painting and drawing, and Christopher’s description of the making of The Silmarillion.We hear, too, from Tolkien’s colleagues and contemporaries at Oxford and in publishing, who discuss how Tolkien felt about his work’s reception in the wider world. And we read previously unpublished reflections from the man who arguably knew Tolkien as well as anyone, Humphrey Carpenter, his biographer.
About the Author (From Amazon.com)
Douglas A. Anderson, a leading American Tolkien scholar, is acknowledged as the worldwide expert on the textual history of The Hobbit. He has contributed the text notes for all Houghton Mifflin Tolkien editions for more than a decade. He is also a bookseller, formerly in Ithaca, New York, now in northern Indiana.
Marjorie J. Burns has taught nineteenth- and twentieth-century British literature at Portland State University for thirty years. She has published and lectured extensively on Tolkien and is the author of Perilous Realms: Celtic and Norse in Tolkien’s Middle-earth.
