Switzerland in Tolkien's Middle-Earth

Author: Martin S. Monsch
Publisher: Martin S. Monsch
ISBN: 390732305X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 298

Book Description
A journey in search of Middle-earth In 1911, at the age of nineteen, J. R. R. Tolkien embarked on an adventurous journey through the Swiss Alps; with a heavy pack, he hiked over many high passes. More than fifty years later, he mentioned in a letter to his son Michael that this trip had deeply affected him. Bilbo's journey in The Hobbit from Rivendell to the other side of the Misty Mountains, he said, was based on his own adventures in 1911. Tolkien himself named a few specific sources of inspiration, most explicitly the Silberhorn (Silverhorn). So I wondered: Was this perhaps only the tip of the iceberg? Following in Tolkien's footsteps, I myself set out into the spectacular mountain world with its stories, myths, and legends, in search of his sources of inspiration; and little by little, a vivid and mysterious world revealed itself to me: a world that helped shape Middle-earth. More than 100 color images accompany the author's research and discovery journey, along with 11 hiking and 3 road trip suggestions that allow readers to recreate Tolkien's experience with all its impressions themselves in the Swiss mountains. "This book is above all else an invitation to step into Tolkien's hiking shoes, shoulder his pack, and step back a century into a world which is as far from today as Middle-earth is from our world; a guidebook of impressions, a walking tour of the nature of imagination and the imagination of nature." - John Howe

Switzerland in Tolkien's Middle-Earth

Author: Martin Monsch
Publisher: Martin S. Monsch
ISBN: 9783907323021
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 296

Book Description
In J.R.R. Tolkien's footsteps, the author embarks on a breathtaking journey through the Swiss Alps in search of sources of inspiration for Middle-earth, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, illustrated with 127 color images.

Tolkien's Switzerland

Author: Elizabeth Currie
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781689070737
Category : Middle Earth (Imaginary place)
Languages : en
Pages : 284

Book Description
In 1911 a 19 year old J.R.R. Tolkien finished his schooling and had won a place at Oxford University for the coming academic year in October. He was invited to join a party of walkers who were touring Switzerland, including his brother and aunt, his brother's employers family and family friends. They spent the summer in the Bernese Oberland and the Valais in Switzerland. The experiences he had there, the places he saw, opened his mind and provided direct inspiration for his invented world of Middle earth and his major works - The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and The Silmarillion. Those weeks in Switzerland gave him the bedrock of scenery to drawn upon to create his detailed landcapes. Switzerland was the gateway to Faerie.

Tolkien's Worlds

Author: John Garth
Publisher: White Lion Publishing
ISBN: 0711241279
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 211

Book Description
An expertly written investigation of the places that shaped the work of one of the world's best loved authors, exploring the relationship between worlds real and fantastical.

The Maps of Tolkien's Middle-earth

Author: Brian Sibley
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 9780007169702
Category : Middle Earth (Imaginary place)
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Written by the writer and broadcaster Brian Sibley, this slipcase features Tolkien's maps of The Hobbit, Beleriand and Middle-earth. Each map is presented in a box-set illustrated by Tolkien artist John Howe, the conceptual artist employed by Peter Jackson to work on his Lord of The Rings film trilogy. The maps, presented with individual books and wallets show Tolkien's mythical lands in detail - they are also bound with fewer folds, making them suitable for portfolios or framing.

The Science of Middle-earth

Author: Roland Lehoucq
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1643136178
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 460

Book Description
The surprising and illuminating look at how Tolkien's love of science and natural history shaped the creation of his Middle Earth, from its flora and fauna to its landscapes. The world J.R.R. Tolkien created is one of the most beloved in all of literature, and continues to capture hearts and imaginations around the world. From Oxford to ComiCon, the Middle Earth is analyzed and interpreted through a multitude of perspectives. But one essential facet of Tolkien and his Middle Earth has been overlooked: science. This great writer, creator of worlds and unforgettable character, and inventor of language was also a scientific autodidact, with an innate interest and grasp of botany, paleontologist and geologist, with additional passions for archeology and chemistry. Tolkien was an acute observer of flora and fauna and mined the minds of his scientific friends about ocean currents and volcanoes. It is these layers science that give his imaginary universe—and the creatures and characters that inhabit it—such concreteness. Within this gorgeously illustrated edition, a range of scientists—from astrophysicists to physicians, botanists to volcanologists—explore Tolkien’s novels, poems, and letters to reveal their fascinating scientific roots. A rewarding combination of literary exploration and scientific discovery, The Science of Middle Earth reveals the hidden meaning of the Ring’s corruption, why Hobbits have big feet, the origins of the Dwarves, the animals which inspired the dragons, and even whether or not an Ent is possible. Enhanced by superb original drawings, this transportive work will delight both Tolkien fans and science lovers and inspire us to view both Middle Earth—and our own world—with fresh eyes.

A Middle-Earth Traveller

Author: John Howe
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780008226770
Category : Fantasy fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 192

Book Description
Let acclaimed Tolkien artist John Howe take you on an unforgettable journey across Middle-earth, from Bag End to Mordor, in this richly illustrated sketchbook fully of previously unseen artwork, anecdotes and meditations on Middle-earth.

Flora of Middle-Earth

Author: Walter S. Judd
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190276312
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 425

Book Description
"This book catalogs every plant found in J.R.R. Tolkien's Legendarium, showing how these plants influenced Tolkien's stories and characters"--

Middle-Earth in Magic Mirror Maps... Of the Wilderland in Wales... Of the Shire in England

Author: Stephen Ponty
Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd
ISBN: 1780885423
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 388

Book Description
This work is a fresh look at the Maps of the Wilderland in The Hobbit, leading to the discovery that Professor Tolkien drew the imaginary maps from the Map of Wales back to front, or in reverse. The maps of the Shire in The Lord of The Rings are drawn likewise, of England. ‘“They are on their way to visit the land of their fathers, away east beyond Mirkwood,” put in Gandalf...’ Gandalf’s talk of the ‘land of their fathers’ is, by translation of its national anthem, Professor J.R.R. Tolkien’s hidden clue to the geography of Wales, which we learn the Professor loved, including its language. The focal point of The Hobbit, the Lonely Mountain, is identified as Cadair Idris of North-West Wales. Many of the topographical features of the Mountain coincide. The volcano-mouth Lake of the Lonely Mountain so resembles Llyn Cau of Cadair Idris. The marvel is that the lake has been overlooked so long: not only by Smaug the Dragon, but also by most commentators on The Hobbit. Which reader remembers there is a lake at all? Stephen interprets many of the allusions borrowed by Tolkien in his fantastic tale, including Beorn at the Carrock, the herons of Wales at Lake Town, and dragon fire at the Withered Heath. The work is divided into nine parts, with three site groupings. His unique focus on Tolkien’s map-making methodology will make his book relevant not only to Tolkien fans worldwide, but those interested in geography too.

The J. R. R. Tolkien Companion and Guide

Author: Wayne G. Hammond
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780008214531
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 896

Book Description
Volume 2 of the most comprehensive in-depth companion to Tolkien's life and works ever published. This volume includes a superlative day-by-day chronology of Tolkien's life, presenting the most detailed biographical record available. The J. R. R. Tolkien Companion and Guide is a comprehensive handbook to one of the most popular authors of the twentieth century. One of two volumes comprising this definitive work, the Reader's Guide is an indispensable introduction to J. R. R. Tolkien's life, writings, and art. It includes histories and discussions of his works; analyses of the components of his vast 'Silmarillion' mythology; brief biographies of persons important in his life; accounts of places he knew; essays on topics such as Tolkien's interests and attitudes towards contemporary issues, ideas found in his works, adaptations, and invented languages; and checklists of his published works, his poetry, his pictorial art, and translations of his writings.