John Ronald Reuel Tolkien

Web describing adjectives about Tolkien (Made it myself)

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort." (from The Hobbit) To many, these words mean nothing and make no sense; to others, these simple few words lead and inspired many writers and storytellers worldwide. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (also known as JRR Tolkien, or Ronald by his close friends) was the creator of an entire mythology and many fan fictions. Tolkien was an English writer who is still considered a giant in modern literature. Tolkien, a Biography is a biography by Michael White about the entire life of JRR Tolkien. The biography was published originally in Great Britain in 2001. Michael is an Australian former science editor and the author of many biographies including: Leonardo da Vinci, Isaac Newton, Darwin, Einstein, Stephen Hawking, (etc.,) This book has 250 pages of biography plus an index and various chapter notes.

Drawing of Ronald (Made it myself)

Ronald's father, Arthur Tolkien was a bank clerk who lived in Birmingham, Arthur's father, John had been a piano manufacturer and sheet music seller. By the time Arthur had come of age, John's pianos had all stopped selling. John had become bankrupt. To make money, Arthur got a job in a local banking branch named Lloyds Bank. In 1888, the offer of a position in a city named Bloemfontein in South Africa working for the Bank of Africa. Although, before he set sail for Bloemfontein, he met and got engaged with lovely woman named Mabel Suffield. Moving to Africa would mean that seeing Mabel would be difficult. Arthur did not disappoint By 1890, he had been made manager of the bank branch he had been working at. Feeling better, Arthur sent a letter to Mabel saying she should join him in Bloemfontein so they could be wed. In 1891, Mabel bought herself a ticket for a steamer and was on her way to Africa. They were married on 16 April 1891. When the excitement had passed, Mabel realized that living in Bloemfontein would not simple. Mabel did not like the climate and the difference altogether of Birmingham and Bloemfontein. After Mabel became truly bored, she was pregnant with their first child. She was concerned that the town could not provide adequate health and education for the child and she began to ask Arthur if they could have the baby back in England. Arthur could not afford the time and Mabel decided to take the chances in Bloemfontein rather than having childbirth with no husband. The child was Ronald, born on January 3rd 1892. His earliest days, the start of his childhood in South Africa, was every bit exotic as one would expect. It was certainly a dangerous spot to have raised a child. The weather was always extreme and the flies were incessant, the heat unrelenting. Dangerous snakes and insects aplenty. Once, little Ronald was even bitten by a tarantula. In February 17th 1894, Hilary, the Tolkien's new baby boy was born.

Collage about Tolkien (Made it myself)

In 1896, Arthur Tolkien died from severe haemorrhage and rheumatic fever. In 1904 Mabel Tolkien died from acute complications of diabetes. Growing up, Ronald had many challenges, including poverty and illness. At the age of sixteen, he fell in love with a lovely lady named Edith Bratt. It was a bad time to be falling in love. He had to study hard for his Oxford entry exams at King Edward's School. However, Edith and Ronald remained in contact secretly until Ronald's guardian found out about this and restricted Ronald from seeing Edith anymore. In 1913 they were engaged. They still managed to keep in contact, and that was when Edith told Ronald that in three years, Ronald would be done his time in Oxford and they could get married together. Finally after he finished, they were wed on Wednesday 22 March 1916. Years later, Edith was pregnant with the couple's first child. On November 16, 1917 John Francis Reuel Tolkien was born. Their second child was named Michael Hilary Reuel Tolkien and was born on 22 October 1920. On 21 November 1924, a third boy was born, named Christopher John Reuel Tolkien. At this point, Edith really wanted a baby girl and luckily, Priscilla Marr Anne Reuel Tolkien was born on 18 June, 1929. Ronald got most of his inspiration from his own family, Lothien from the Silmarillion was inspired by Edith. On her tombstone (died 29 November 1971) he even insisted on writing: Lothien. Frodo Baggins from the Lord of the Rings trilogy was inspired by Priscilla and her family of stuffed bears. Frodo's original name was actually, Bingo Bolger-Baggins.

I learned a lot about Tolkien and his family. Before reading this book, I didn't even know he wrote various other books such as The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales (Christopher had to finish and publish these), Leaf by Niggle, and many other stories than the famous stories, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings . If I could ask Ronald three questions, I would ask: "What was your favorite character in all of your stories?", "Would you live in Middle Earth if you could?" and, the last question: "When you wrote all these books, did it feel like you were actually in these magical places?" I would rate this book 7/10 stars because of many less interesting parts near the beginning but overall, Tolkien, a Biography was a good book. I am happy that I read this book because I learned how difficult Ronald's life was. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was, and still is a giant in literature and I hope that he remains one, and his books remain classics for many years to come.