Tolkien A Cultural Phenomenon [Paperback]

This comprehensive and discriminating account of Tolkien's work has been revised and expanded, to take account both of recent developments in scholarship, and of the recent films directed by Peter Jackson. Tracing the development of Tolkien's creative technique over several decades, it explores the bewildering profusion of shorter works, as well as devoting an extended analysis to The Lord of the Rings . Chapters consider Tolkien's contribution to the history of ideas, and review the reception of the Lord of the Rings film adaptations and other popular adaptations of his work.Introduction The Lord of the Rings: Conception The Lord of the Rings: Execution Shorter and Posthumous Writings Tolkien and theTwentieth Century Tolkien in the History of Ideas Reception and Adaptation Index

'Brian Rosebury's book offers a compelling analysis of Tolkien as a thinker. Especially convincing are his accounts of Tolkien's views on free will, moral choice, and creativity, as these are woven into The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. Rosebury also deftly exposes Tolkien's often disregarded skills in narrative and description, and he does it, like Tolkien, in plain English. The chapter on Tolkien's reception and transformation into the movies is the best available.' - Dr Tom Shippey, Walter J. Ong, S.J., Chair, Saint Louis University

'In this revised version of a book first published over a decade ago, Brian Rosebury sets out to reclaim Tolkien from the bestseller lists and reposition him as a serious literary figure. It is an attempt both largely convincing and long overdue...The book offers a necessary corrective to decades of misplaced snobbery and belittlement.' - Jon Barnes, Times Literary Supplement

BRIAN ROSEBURY is the author of Art and Desire: A Study in the Aesthetics of Fiction (Palgrave/Macmillan, 1988), and of articles in Victorian Poetry, Philosophical Review, Political Quarterly and the &lë