J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography
by Humphrey Carpenter
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Book Summary Information
Author: Humphrey CarpenterEditor: J.R.R. Tolkien
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2000-06
ISBN: 0618057021
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: Mariner Books
Book Reviews of J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography
Book Review: the road goes ever on
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm fairly sure that I first read THE HOBBIT in 1977, the year this first biography of it's author was published. I was eleven; Tolkien had been dead for four years, but his works were gaining new life even in that year, as THE SILMARILLION was published in the fall, becoming the biggest bestseller of the Christmas season on both sides of the Atlantic. Thirty-three years later, Tolkien is as big as ever, with the films of THE LORD OF THE RINGS having grossed billions, and his influence on popular literature still, unbelievably, growing year by year. And now this first book about his life has been joined by several others, most notable among them being Tom Shippey's J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century - a more specificially literary biography than Carpenter's, and quite well regarded.
How then does this first book hold up? Quite well I'd say as a general look at the man, from birth until death; at his everyday life, his passions for philology, nature and good companionship; his loving but often problematic marriage to his beloved Edith; and at the strange, incredible creation of Middle-Earth and it's peoples which gave him fame and, towards the end of his life, fortune. It is as I say a "general" biography, aiming to cover all the bases but not stopping for too long a moment at each one. Carpenter describes the early years fairly quickly but with feeling - the brief moment of South African prosperity followed by a childhood of near-poverty, early losses of both parents, the religious faith (Catholicism) of his mother which sustained him and affected every aspect of his life, his meeting with Edith, his early friends at school - and the loss of most of them in the trenches of World War I.
Tolkien's early sufferings and reversals (Edith at one point broke off their engagement and planned to marry another; Tolkien's passion for language wasn't always enough to keep up his grades, and his marks were just enough to keep him afloat in the academic world at first) helped to mark him with a deep and lifelong pessimismm, and there's a great deal of sadness and bleakness in THE LORD OF THE RINGS to go along with the moments of joy and triumph. Carpenter focuses on what made Tolkien the man he was, on his relations and friends, and thereby does manage to give us more than a glimmer of what personal idiosyncracies and quirks went into the creation of his private world. What he does not focus on particularly is the literary heritage of the writer or his work; you won't find a detailed analysis here of how exactly the stories of Middle-Earth relate the the old Icelandic, Norse and Finnish legends that so excited their author, and you won't find more than a few paragraphs attempting to explain why they caught on with the English, and later American and world imagination as they did. Carpenter's examination is of Tolkien the individual, the curmudgeonly and cranky, sometimes petty and arrogant and just as often overly modest and unconfident academic and intellectual, who spoke and read in the rarified tongues of dead peoples but wanted nothing more much of the time than a plain life of plain English food and English ale. And he describes such a man in a work that never heads toward hagiography but also is never venomous; Carpenter admires, even loves his subject, but is sometimes frustrated with him, sometimes doesn't understand him, and sometimes wonders at him. He leaves the deep textual analysis to later critics like Mr. Shippey, but his work remains of great value I think to all admirers of Tolkien who just want to get a sense of what the man was like.
This is not to say that what Carpenter does have to say concerning Tolkien's literary heritage and his aims in his writing isn't valuable - merely that it isn't the primary focus. I suppose I do wish there had been more of it, more of the book overall; as I said in my comments on The Inklings, Carpenter's 1978 follow-up of sorts to this book, to paraphrase the Bard of Middle-Earth himself (when talking about THE LORD OF THE RINGS): it's too short. Carpenter is an engaging and likeable writer, as engaging as his subject, and I was sorry to have this come to a close. I would highly recommend it to all lovers of Tolkien, and I would further recommend THE INKLINGS as a thematic sequel, especially if your interest runs to the writings of C.S. Lewis and Charles Williams as well. That's an even better book I think, perhaps because Lewis and Williams were somewhat more challenging personalities than the stodgier Tolkien. In any case, Mr. Carpenter deserves a lot of credit in humanizing these writers of fabulous far-off magical lands, and I'll return to both of these books again, and often.
Summary of J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography
The authorized biography of the creator of Middle-earth. In the decades since his death in September 1973, millions have read THE HOBBIT, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, and THE SILMARILLION and become fascinated about the very private man behind the books. Born in South Africa in January 1892, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was orphaned in childhood and brought up in near-poverty. He served in the first World War, surviving the Battle of the Somme, where he lost many of the closest friends he'd ever had. After the war he returned to the academic life, achieving high repute as a scholar and university teacher, eventually becoming Merton Professor of English at Oxford where he was a close friend of C.S. Lewis and the other writers known as The Inklings.
Then suddenly his life changed dramatically. One day while grading essay papers he found himself writing 'In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit' -- and worldwide renown awaited him.
Humphrey Carpenter was given unrestricted access to all Tolkien's papers, and interviewed his friends and family. From these sources he follows the long and painful process of creation that produced THE LORD OF THE RINGS and THE SILMARILLION and offers a wealth of information about the life and work of the twentieth century's most cherished author.
Then suddenly his life changed dramatically. One day while grading essay papers he found himself writing 'In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit' -- and worldwide renown awaited him.
Humphrey Carpenter was given unrestricted access to all Tolkien's papers, and interviewed his friends and family. From these sources he follows the long and painful process of creation that produced THE LORD OF THE RINGS and THE SILMARILLION and offers a wealth of information about the life and work of the twentieth century's most cherished author.
There may be a corner of the world where the name J.R.R. Tolkien is unknown, but you would be hard-pressed to find it. Since their publication, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings have been published in every major language of the world. And though he single-handedly gave a mythology to the English and was beloved by millions, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien remained refreshingly unchanged by his fame and fortune, living out his days simply and modestly among the familiar surroundings of Oxford College. Humphrey Carpenter, who was given unrestricted access to Tolkien's papers, brilliantly puts meat to the bones of the Tolkien legend in J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography, offering a well-rounded portrayal of this quiet, bookish man who always saw himself first and foremost as a philologist, uncovering rather than creating the peoples, languages, and adventures of Middle-Earth.
Carpenter chronicles Tolkien's early life with a special sensitivity; after losing both parents, Tolkien and his brother Hilary were taken from their idyllic life in the English countryside to a poverty-ridden existence in dark and sooty Birmingham. There were bright points, however. A social and cheerful lad, Tolkien enjoyed rugby and was proud of his gift for languages. It was also at this time that he met Edith Bratt, who would later become his wife. Academic life--both as a student and professor--is where this biography shines. Friendship with other men played a huge part in Tolkien's life, and Carpenter deftly reveals the importance these relationships--his complex friendship with C.S. Lewis, membership in the Inklings and the T.C.B.S.--had on the development of his writing.
The only criticism one can make about this book is that Carpenter tends to gloss over Tolkien's contributions to comparative philology. True, there is a chapter devoted to Tolkien's academic pursuits, but it tends to skim too lightly over the surface for this reviewer's tastes. Philology is a terribly methodical science, and the author clearly did not want to alienate readers who were primarily interested in Tolkien as a storyteller. Still, it would be nice to understand why Tolkien was held in such high esteem by his fellow academics. As it stands, Tolkien comes off as a slightly eccentric etymologist.
Fans who want to delve even deeper into Tolkien's life should pick up a copy of Carpenter's The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. --P.M. Atterberry
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