J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography. Humphrey Carpenter

      J.R.R. TOLKIEN

      A BIOGRAPHY

      HUMPHREY CARPENTER

      Dedicated to the memory of ‘The T.C.B.S.’

      Contents

       Cover

       Title Page

Part One

A VISIT

PART TWO: 1892–1916: Early years

CHAPTER I: BLOEMFONTEIN

CHAPTER II: BIRMINGHAM

CHAPTER III: ‘PRIVATE LANG.’ – AND EDITH

CHAPTER IV: ‘T.C, B.S., ETC.’

CHAPTER V: OXFORD

CHAPTER VI: REUNION

       CHAPTER VII: WAR

       CHAPTER VIII: THE BREAKING OF THE FELLOWSHIP

       PART THREE: 1917–1925: The making of a mythology

       CHAPTER I: LOST TALES

       CHAPTER II: OXFORD INTERLUDE

       CHAPTER III: NORTHERN VENTURE

       PART FOUR: 1925–1949(i):‘In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit’

       CHAPTER I: OXFORD LIFE

       CHAPTER II: PHOTOGRAPHS OBSERVED

       CHAPTER III: ‘HE HAD BEEN INSIDE LANGUAGE’

       CHAPTER IV: JACK

       Additional Images

       CHAPTER V: NORTHMOOR ROAD

       CHAPTER VI: THE STORYTELLER

       PART FIVE : 1925–1949(ii): The Third Age

       CHAPTER I : ENTER MR BAGGINS

       CHAPTER II: ‘THE NEW HOBBIT’

       PART SIX : 1949–1966: Success

       CHAPTER I : SLAMMING THE GATES

       CHAPTER II : A BIG RISK

       CHAPTER III: CASH OR KUDOS

       PART SEVEN: 1959–1973: Last years

       CHAPTER I: HEADINGTON

       CHAPTER II: BOURNEMOUTH

       CHAPTER III: MERTON STREET

       POSTSCRIPT: THE TREE

       APPENDIX A

       APPENDIX B

       APPENDIX C

       APPENDIX D

       INDEX

       About the Author

       AUTHOR’S NOTE

       ALSO BY HUMPHREY CARPENTER

       Copyright

       About the Publisher

Part One

       A VISIT

      It is mid-morning on a spring day in 1967. I have driven from the centre of Oxford, over Magdalen Bridge, along the London road, and up a hill into the respectable but dull suburb of Headington. Near a large private school for girls I turn left into Sandfield Road, a residential street of two-storey brick houses, each with its tidy front garden.

      Number seventy-six is a long way down the road. The house is painted white and is partially screened by a tall fence, a hedge, and overhanging trees. I park the car, open the arched gate, go up the short path between rose bushes, and ring the front door bell.

      For a long time there is silence, except for the rumble of distant traffic in the main road. I am beginning to think of ringing again or of turning away when the door is opened by Professor Tolkien.

      He is slightly smaller than I expected. Tallness is a quality of which he makes much in his books, so it is a little surprising to see that he himself is slightly less than the average height – not much, but just enough to be noticeable. I introduce myself, and (since I made this appointment in advance and am expected) the quizzical and somewhat defensive look that first met me is replaced by a smile. A hand is offered and my own is firmly grasped.