Humphrey Carpenter
It had to be Coaxed Out of him
It features wizards and magic, it sells in millions worldwide, and now a lavish movie version of it is adding hordes of new fans to the already spectacular total. No, I’m not talking about Harry Potter. Since the mid-1950s – approximately forty years before J K Rowling dreamt up Hogwarts – J R R Tolkien’s Middle-earth, with its hobbits, dwarves and elves, has been acquiring fans who treat The Lord of the Rings with almost religious devotion.
As Michael White points out in this so-called new biography of Tolkien, timed to coincide with the release of the film, the book’s persistently vast popularity has long been a cause of irritation to most of the literary world. One of its first attackers was Philip Toynbee, who alleged in
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
'In 2007, German scientists analysed the soil of this lunar landscape and found that 17 per cent of its weight was made up of arsenic. The ground wasn’t poisoned – it was poison.'
http://ow.ly/Ck7j50Er3mu
'Rivalries are intense and dangerous, and someone has to die.'
@NJCooper_crime on new thrillers by @HenryCPorter, @k_faulkner, @annafbailey, @mserinkelly, @JoelDicker, @AlanJParks, @whartonswords and more.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/april-2021-crime-round-up
This spring, give the gift of reading.
Give a friend a gift subscription to Literary Review for only £33.50.
https://www.mymagazinesub.co.uk/literary-review/promo/spring21/