Tolkien family
[1][2] John Ronald Reuel Tolkien CBE (3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English philologist, writer and professor at the University of Oxford.Much of Tolkien's published fiction is a connected body of tales, fictional histories, invented languages, and literary essays about an imagined world called Arda, and Middle-earth (derived from the Old English word middangeard, the lands inhabitable by humans) in particular, loosely identified as an "alternative" remote past of our own world.While Tolkien was preceded by other fantasy authors,[6] his enduringly popular and successful works have had a remarkable influence on the genre.[9] L. Sprague de Camp and others consider him the father of modern fantasy together with sword and sorcery author Robert E. Howard (creator of Conan the Barbarian).He was the eldest child of John Benjamin Tolkien and Mary Jane Stow,[11][12] who had married on 16 February 1856 in All Saints Parish Church, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England.[13] Arthur did not follow his father into the traditional Tolkien trade in pianos, which many of his London cousins also followed; instead he became a bank clerk and ended up moving to Bloemfontein in the Orange Free State (now part of South Africa), where he became manager of the Bloemfontein branch of the Bank of Africa.[14] A furniture shop[15] now occupies the Bradlow's Building on the site where the bank once stood, on the corner of West Burger and Maitland Streets.Arthur remained in South Africa, where he died of severe haemorrhage following rheumatic fever, on 15 February 1896, before he had the opportunity to join his family in England.Her parents, John Suffield and Emily Jane Sparrow, lived in Stirling Road, Birmingham and owned a shop in the city centre.[16] Her husband Arthur Tolkien's death in South Africa in 1896 left her and their two young sons without a source of income.[21] Mabel Tolkien converted to Catholicism in 1900 despite vehement protests by her Baptist family[22] who then stopped all financial assistance to her.As a child, J. R. R. Tolkien used to tell stories to his younger brother Hilary, making ogres out of the adult people in the village.The contents of the notebook were published as a book titled Black & White Ogre Country: The Lost Tales of Hilary Tolkien in 2009.When their mother became ill with diabetes, Ronald was sent to live with his aunt Jane's fiancé and future husband Edwin Neave.Hilary left school in 1910 and later helped his aunt Jane Neave run Phoenix Farm in the village of Gedling in Nottinghamshire.After his military service, Hilary returned to Gedling and, in 1922, bought an orchard and market garden near Evesham, ancestral town of his mother's family.When young Michael lost his toy dog and became sad about this, his father began to write the story of Roverandom to comfort him.[39] In 1939, with the outbreak of the Second World War, Michael volunteered for the British Army but he was told to continue his university studies.In 1941, Michael Hilary Tolkien served in an anti-aircraft role during the Battle of Britain for which he was awarded the George Medal (GM).In 2001, he received some attention for his stance on New Line Cinema's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, directed by Peter Jackson.[45] Responding to these reports, he said he felt The Lord of the Rings was "peculiarly unsuitable for transformation into visual dramatic form".In the 1976–77 exhibition of paintings held at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and afterwards at the National Book League in London, Baillie contributed a short introduction to the catalogue.[59] She wrote an article titled "My Father the Artist" in December 1976 for Amon Hen, the bulletin of the Tolkien Society.[60] After her eldest brother John returned to Oxford in 1987, the siblings began identifying and cataloging the large collection of family photographs.The same year she unveiled a plaque at the Anglican Cathedral of St. Andrew and St. Michael commemorating the centenary birth anniversary celebrations of her father at his birthplace of Bloemfontein, South Africa.[53] She launched the special Tolkien edition Royal Mail stamps commemorating her father's works in February 2004.[61] In 2012, she along with a coalition of British publishers sued Warner Brothers in her capacity of a trustee of The Tolkien Trust for US$80 million accusing them of exploiting Middle-earth characters to promote online gambling.He has several volumes of published poetry including "Taking Cover", "Outstripping Gravity" and "Reaching for a Stranger".[75] Simon Tolkien notably disagreed with the policy of his grandfather's estate in regard to The Lord of the Rings films.[85] In 2012, Royd, Mike and Peter Jackson made an appearance in an Air New Zealand safety video that was part of a major global promotion linked to the movie The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
Kreuzburg, East PrussiaJ. R. R. TolkienfantasyThe HobbitThe Lord of the RingsThe SilmarillionLow PrussianTolkynenEast PrussiaRed Army invasionEast PrussianKreuzburgKönigsbergDanzigphilologistwriterUniversity of OxfordCatholicMiddle-earthOld Englishmiddangeardhumanslegendariumhigh fantasyL. Sprague de Campsword and sorceryRobert E. HowardConan the BarbarianHandsworthStaffordshireBirminghamWarwickshirebankruptLondonBloemfonteinOrange Free StateSouth AfricaBank of AfricafiancéeSt. George's Cathedral, Cape TownCape ColonyCape Provincehaemorrhagerheumatic feverMabel Suffield TolkienBromsgrovestationerydraperyhosierySareholeHall GreenWorcestershirebotanyscriptBaptistdiabetesdiabetes mellitus type 1insulinRednalmartyrEdith TolkienLúthien TinúvielChildrenIlúvatarFrancis Xavier MorganWolvercote CemeteryOxfordThingolKings HeathEdgbastonSt. Philip's Schoolmeasleswhooping coughpneumoniaKing Edward's SchoolGedlingNottinghamshireWorld War IBritish ArmyRoyal Warwickshire RegimentbuglerEveshamJohn Tolkien (priest)CheltenhamDragon SchoolThe Oratory SchoolCaversham, BerkshireExeter College, OxfordEnglish College, RomeWorld War IIStonyhurstLancashireNorth OxfordcurateCoventrySparkhillNorth StaffordshireKeele UniversitySt Joseph's CollegeTrent ValeHartshillOur Lady of the Angels and St Peter in Chains Church, Stoke-on-TrentEynshamRoverandomBilbo BagginsMirkwoodDutch dollTom BombadilSecond World WarTrinity College, OxfordBattle of BritainGeorge Medalsecond lieutenantDevonshire RegimentlieutenantThe Sunday TelegraphleukaemiaChristopher Tolkienliterary executoreditorlecturerNew College, OxfordNew Line CinemaThe Lord of the Rings film trilogyPeter JacksonSt Anne's College, Oxford