Twenty-First-Century Tolkien

'Fascinating.... Wonderfully exhilarating.' Mail on Sunday An engaging, original and radical reassessment of J.R.R. Tolkien, revealing how his visionary creation of Middle-Earth is more relevant now than ever before. What is it about Middle-Earth and its inhabitants that has captured the imagination of millions of people around the world? And why does Tolkien's visionary creation continue to fascinate and inspire us eighty-five years on from its first appearance? Beginning with Tolkien's earliest influences and drawing on key moments from his life, Twenty-First-Century Tolkien is an engaging and radical reinterpretation of the beloved author's work. Not only does it trace the genesis of the original books, it also explores the later adaptations and reworkings that cemented his reputation as a cultural phenomenon, including Peter Jackson's blockbuster films of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and the highly anticipated TV series The Rings of Power. Delving deep into topics such as friendship, failure, the environment, diversity, and Tolkien's place in a post-Covid age, Nick Groom takes us on an unexpected journey through Tolkien's world, revealing how it is more relevant now than ever before. Review Fascinating... Wonderfully exhilarating ...In a rousing finale, Groom suggests that Tolkien is exactly the writer we need at this particularly perilous moment, as we emerge, Hobbit-like, from our holes and try to imagine a new kind of life in this post-pandemic age. ― Mail on Sunday Each chapter displays a mastery of both the works in question - whether books or adaptations - and of the vast corpus of Tolkien scholarship . Narratives of literary production or of Hollywood bureaucratic processes rarely come as absorbing as Groom's... Illuminating ... Groom's explorations of Tolkien's sources... are always provocative and often ingenious. ― Literary Review Groom's enthusiasm is hard to resist, and his garnering of folklore and customs that, for centuries, guided life through the changing seasons bulges with fascination. -- John Carey ― Sunday Times on The Seasons It's no exaggeration to say that this is a volume I have been waiting for all my life... This is a rich celebration of traditions and a plea for them not to be forgotten. -- Bel Mooney ― Daily Mail on The Seasons Wonderful and timely. -- Philip Hoare ― Independent on The Seasons About the Author Nick Groom is Professor in English at the University of Exeter, and Director of ECLIPSE (Exeter Centre for Literatures of Identity, Place, and Sustainability). He has written widely on literature, music, and contemporary art in both academic and popular publications, and is the author of several books including Introducing Shakespeare and The Forger's Shadow. He lives on Dartmoor. The Union Jack was published by Atlantic in 2006.