J.R.R Tolkien - A Life Of Gold

Born on 3 January, 1892, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was an English writer, poet, philologist, and professor who wrote all time classic novels and books. Some of the movies that were inspired by his books have been major blockbusters at the box office worldwide. After the death of his parents, Tolkien and his brother grew up under the guidance of Catholic priest and he studied linguistics at Oxford University.

In the year 1915, Tolkien fought as a warrior in the World War I. It is believed that his deep dark novels after that were a reflection of his sad experiences during the war. Most of his work was published by his son Christopher after his demise in September, 1973.

A scholar of his time, Tolkien holds several bachelors and masters degrees and has been awarded the title of doctorates by two universities. His famous writings include “The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings”. However, much of his work was not appreciated by his fellow mates at the university as they were not considered to be ‘scholarly’ enough. But, 1954 saw a change in this mentality when there was finally a paperback published edition of “Lord of the Rings”. This legendary book was Tolkien’s creation which took him more than 14 years to complete. Years later in 1978, this book inspired Ralph Bakshi to create a movie of the same name which was a major blockbuster at the box office.

Being a philologist (the one who studies the history of languages), Tolkien was always intrigued by the origin of languages. He was initially introduced to three languages by his mother, though that was not enough to quench the thirst of Tolkien. He himself learnt several other languages, and in fact, as a child, Tolkien created languages on his own.

Unlike other well – known personalities, Tolkien married only once to ‘Edit Bratt’ in the year 1916 and had 4 children from her. Their marriage ended only after the death of his beloved wife in the year 1971.

The one attributed with the tweed jacket and a pipe, Tolkien is the one behind the teaching of “Little by little, one travels far.” In 2008, The Times ranked him sixth on a list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945". Forbes ranked him the 5th top-earning "dead celebrity" in 2009 because his book “Lord of the Rings” is even today one of the best sellers and was named as “The book of the Millennium” by reader’s votes.