Tolkien in the New Century: Essays in Honor of Tom Shippey (24.07.14 by Pieter Collier) - Comments

Widely considered one of the leading experts on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, Thomas Alan Shippey has informed and enlightened a generation of Tolkien scholars and fans.

In this collection, friends and colleagues honor Shippey with 15 essays that reflect their mentor's research interests, methods of literary criticism and attention to tolkien's shorter works.

In a wide-ranging consideration of tolkien's oeuvre, the contributors explore the influence of 19th and 20th century book illustrations on tolkien's work; utopia and fantasy in tolkien's Middle-earth; the Silmarils, the Arkenstone, and the One Ring as thematic vehicles; the pattern of decline in Middle-earth as reflected in the diminishing power of language; tolkien's interest in medieval genres; the heroism of secondary characters; and numerous other topics.

Also included are brief memoirs by Shippey's colleagues and friends in academia and fandom and a bibliography of Shippey's work.

Anyone interested in to Tolkien and his works sooner or later ends up discovering Tom Shippey. Perhaps in a DVD, at a Tolkien event or start reading one of his remarkable books about the author.

Thomas Alan Shippey (born 9 September 1943) is a scholar of medieval literature, including that of Anglo-Saxon England, and of modern fantasy and science fiction, in particular the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, about whom he has written several scholarly studies, of which many have been put together in Roots and Branches: Selected papers on Tolkien. He is best known for his two books: The Road to Middle-Earth: How J. R. R. Tolkien Created a New Mythology and J.R.R.Tolkien: Author of the Century.

He is widely considered one of the leading academic scholars on Tolkien. His work and life cross paths in many ways with that of Tolkien; like Tolkien, he attended King Edward's School, Birmingham in Birmingham and taught Old English at Oxford University. He occupied tolkien's former chair at the University of Leeds. In addition to writing books of his own, he has edited a number of collections, such as The Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories, and as of 2003 is the editor of the journal Studies in Medievalism. Under the pseudonym of John Holm, he is also the co-author (with Harry Harrison) of The Hammer and the Cross trilogy of alternate history/fantasy novels.

It is so nice to see a book being released to honor this remarkable person, so many have so many to thank to Tom Shippey. He has inspired so many and many can call him a friend, always ready to help out others. Thanks for the hard work by the editors and enjoy this book. Must it be said: this is a must-read book that I can only look forward to treasure.

About the editors

John Wm. Houghton, Firestone Endowment Chaplain and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies and Philosophy at The Hill School in Pottstown, Pennysylvania.

Janet Brennan Croft is Head of Access Services at the University of Oklahoma libraries.

Nancy Martsch is the editor of Beyond Bree, newsletter of the JRR Tolkien Special Interest Group of American Mensa.

An independent scholar, John D. Rateliff has contributed to numerous books and journals such as Tolkien Studies, Mallorn, Mythlore, and VII. He lives in Kent, Washington.

Robin Anne Reid is a professor of literature and languages at Texas A&M University-Commerce. She teaches creative writing, critical theory and marginalized literatures, including tolkien's Lengendarium, and is currently working on the Tolkien Corpus Project.

Enjoyed this post? Click to get the RSS feed.

Spread the news about this J.R.R. Tolkien article: