The Road to Middle-Earth: How J. R. R. Tolkien Created a New Mythology (平装) 0261102753

The Road to Middle-earth is a fascinating and accessible exploration of J.R.R.Tolkien's creativity and the sources of his inspiration. Tom Shippey shows in detail how Tolkien's professional background led him to write The Hobbit and how he created a timeless charm for millions of readers. He discusses the contribution of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales to Tolkien's great myth-cycle, showing how Tolkien's more 'difficult' works can be read enjoyably and seriously by readers of his earlier books, and goes on to examine the remarkable 12-volume History of Middle-earth by Tolkien's son and literary heir Christopher Tolkien, which traces the creative and technical processes through which Middle-earth evolved. The core of the book, however, concentrates on The Lord of the Rings as a linguistic and cultural map, as a twisted web of a story, and as a response to the inner meaning of myth and poetry.

Professor Tom Shippey taught at Oxford, overlapping chronologically with Professor Tolkien and teaching the same syllabus, giving him an intimate familiarity with the poems and the languages which formed the main stimulus to Tolkien's imagination. By following in his footsteps, The Road to Middle-earth offers a new approach to Tolkien, to fantasy, and to the importance of language in literature.

"Shippey's exploration of Tolkien's themes, especially the nature of evil, is superb" Independent"Shippey's research seems limitless. He writes with unusual clarity and presents his arguments well" Sunday Times"Shippey deepens your understanding of the work without making you forget your initial, purely instinctive response to Middle-earth and hobbits" Houston Chronicle Professor Tom Shippey taught at Oxford, overlapping chronologically with Professor Tolkien and teaching the same syllabus, giving him an intimate familiarity with the poems and the languages which formed the main stimulus to Tolkien's imagination. He subsequently held the same Chair of English Language and Medieval Literature at Leeds University which Tolkien held early in his career, and currently holds the Walter J. Ong Chair of Humanities at Saint Louis University, USA.

出版社	HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
作者	Tom Shippey