Humphrey Carpenter’s book, J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography, is one of the better biographies I’ve read about Tolkien. By the way, I’ve only read two, but you basically don’t write a book on Tolkien unless you know what you’re saying. Thus, although my sampling is limited, it is nonetheless a valid observation.

The book highlights the world’s most famous philologist and also his interactions with the stuff of life—i.e., pain, love, loss, hope, faith, creativity, etc. I particularly like the historical buildup of Tolkien’s painful childhood, his conversion to the Catholic faith, his falling in love with his wonderful wife, World War I, and then a life spent as a scholar at Oxford. Oh ya, there’s also that part about him writing what is considered to be the best fantasy fiction epic of all time! (Hey, I’m biased) One of the more intriguing issues the book deals with as well is his relationship with C.S. Lewis.

The book is based upon the letters, diaries, and other papers of the late Professor J.R.R. Tolkien, and upon the reminiscences of his family and friends.

Interestingly enough, Tolkien himself did not entirely approve of biography. Or rather, he disliked its use as a form of literary criticism. “One of my strongest opinions,” he once wrote, “is that investigation of an author’s biography is an entirely vain and false approach to his works.” Yet he was undoubtedly aware that the remarkable popularity of his fiction made it highly likely that a biography would be written after his death; and indeed he appears to have made some preparation for this himself, for in the last years of his life he annotated a number of old letters and papers with explanatory notes or other comments. He also wrote a few pages of recollections of his childhood. It may thus be hoped, Carpenter says, that this book would not be entirely foreign to his wishes.

Carpenter’s Note:

In writing it I have tried to tell the story of Tolkien’s life without attempting any critical judgements of his works of fiction. This is partly in deference to his own views, but in any case it seems to me that the first published biography of a writer is not necessarily the best place to make literary judgments, which will after all reflect the character of the critic just as much as that of his subject. I have tried to delineate some of the literary and other influences that came to bear on Tolkien’s imagination, in the hope that this may shed some light on his books. H.C. Oxford, 1976

2 Responses to “Biography recommendation on J.R.R. Tokien”

1. Wyatt Houtz says:

   June 16, 2009 at 1:46 pm

   Did you finish reading this book? How does this biography compare to the other?
2. Phil says:

   June 17, 2009 at 11:13 am

   Ya, I finished it the other day. I thought it was a fantastic read. You could probably read it in a couple of days.

   The biography compares with the other one (Leslie Jones, 2008), in that it focuses more on Tolkien’s faith and how he was a complex man. It doesn’t portray him as a intellectual mammoth, per se, (although he was) but as a real human being who loved his wife, his children, the church, and his work. Additionally, I think Humphrey Carpenter went to Oxford for English, so there’s the writing as well. It’s just splendid!