 First edition | |
| Author | Tom Shippey |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Biography, Literary criticism |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
Publication date | 2000 |
| Media type | Paperback and Hardcover |
| Pages | 384 |
| ISBN | 978-0-618-12764-1 |
J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century is a 2000 book ofliterary criticism written byTom Shippey. It is about the work of thephilologist and fantasy authorJ. R. R. Tolkien. In it, Shippey argues for the relevance of Tolkien today and attempts to firmly establish Tolkien's literary merits, based on analysis ofThe Hobbit,The Lord of the Rings,The Silmarillion, and Tolkien's shorter works.
The book was well received by scholars, who however pointed out that it covered similar ground to his 1983 bookThe Road to Middle-earth, for a more general audience. Reviews in bothThe Independent andThe Observer praised the book, stating that it made a low-key but effective case for Tolkien's quality, and noting that it undercut theBritish literary establishment's hostility to Tolkien. The book won the 2001World Fantasy Award and the 2001Mythopoeic Award.
Shippey begins with a chapter-length "Foreword", introducing the fantasy genre, Tolkien's life, and the "Author of the Century" claim. He notes Tolkien's high ratings in the polls, and his effective creation of a new genre. The book examines in turnThe Hobbit,The Lord of the Rings,The Silmarillion, and Tolkien's shorter works.[S 1]
OnThe Hobbit, Shippey tells how Tolkien came to start to write; its connection to his First World War experience; the possible origins of the wordhobbit, and its parallels with "rabbit";Bilbo's riddle-contest withGollum; its links withOld English andNorse literature; andthe Ring.[S 2]
The Lord of the Rings is analysed in three central chapters. These show how subtly it is constructed, based especially onmaps andlanguages,[S 4] and the conception of evil that it embodies, a tension between theBoethian view (the absence of good) and theManichean (a powerful force opposing good).[S 3] Finally it examines the question ofallegory (something Tolkien denied) versus applicability, and the mythic dimension of the work, with its deep - not instantly obvious -connection to Christianity, indeed toRoman Catholicism, to ancient myth, and to modern life, most evident in the chapterThe Scouring of the Shire.[S 5]
The chapter onThe Silmarillion is subtitled "the work of his heart". Shippey explains the book's long gestation from Tolkien's 'Story ofKullervo' in 1913. He describes Tolkien's purpose and approach in seeking to createa mythology for England.[S 6]
On the shorter works, Shippey concedes that many would have been forgotten, but for the popularity of his Middle-earth books. The works include both prose andpoetry; he considersLeaf by Niggle andSmith of Wootton Major to be autobiographical allegories, full of allusions to Tolkien's own life.[S 7]
The book concludes with an "Afterword" (a whole chapter) repudiating the "intense critical hostility"by the literary establishment in the 20th century. Shippey notes that no "modern writer of fantasy has managed to escape the mark of Tolkien".[S 8]
The book was first published in hardback in 2000 byHarperCollins in London andHoughton Mifflin in Boston. Both publishers brought out paperback editions in 2001. A Spanish edition was published by Minotauro in Barcelona in 2003. A Polish edition was produced by Zysk i S-ka Wydawnictwo in Poznań in 2004, and a French edition was published by Bragelonne in Paris in 2016.[1]
The scholarsMichael Drout and Hilary Wynne, in a review inEnvoi of Tolkien criticism from 1982 to 2000, write that too much of it has repeatedly covered the same ground, while remaining unaware of earlier research. They name Shippey andAuthor of the Century as "the single best thing ever written on Tolkien", and state that he could reasonably see himself as above other critics, but did not. They note that the similarity of his background to Tolkien's gave him "an enormous advantage", and that while he was sometimes polemical, he always remained reasonable and measured, and never "bash[ed] Tolkien fandom" or talked down to readers.[2]
The scholar of literature Charles W. Nelson, reviewing the work inExtrapolation, writes that Shippey asserts that Tolkien was "first and foremost a linguist, then a mythologist, and finally a writer of fantasy", and that he supports this by citing multiple examples of Tolkien's language- and myth-based creation from bothThe Hobbit andThe Lord of the Rings.[3]
The historianBradley J. Birzer, reviewing the book inCatholic Social Science Review, writes that the "British literati"were dismissive of Tolkien, and that reviewers like Andrew Rissik seemed to have "reeled back in shock" in a "knee-jerk" reaction to Shippey's book. Birzer states that Shippey is an expert in medieval literature, and that his view of Tolkien "carries considerable weight". He describes the book as containing similar information as Shippey's scholarly 1983 bookThe Road to Middle-Earth, but aimed at a well-educated general audience.[4]
The scholar Valerie Estelle Frankel, reviewing afestschrift collection of essays in honour of Shippey, wrote that his booksThe Road to Middle-earth andAuthor of the Century lay "at the top of Tolkien scholars' favorite works".[5]
The Tolkien scholarDavid Bratman wrote inMythprint that while the book covers much of the same ground asThe Road to Middle-Earth, the text has been "semi-rewritten and semi-expanded", making some new points. He finds Shippey at his most brilliant and entertaining when discussing the Ring's evil and its addictive nature.[6]
Martin Morse Wooster, forThe American Enterprise, wrote that "Shippey is a crisp, forceful, and intelligent writer who has produced a highly readable appreciation of Tolkien's life and art."[7] The Tolkien scholarPatrick Curry, inThe Independent, wrote that Shippey succeeds brilliantly in rebutting Tolkien's critics and demonstrating that Tolkien's Middle-earth writings are "based on deep learning and a set of values that representchallenge to [the literati's] authority".[8]The author and medieval scholarCharles Moseley, inThe Observer, wrote that Shippey's choice of title is a "sly echo" of the author and public intellectualGermaine Greer's critical remark that "It has been my nightmare that Tolkien would turn out to be the most influential writer of the century". He called the book witty and combative, but also illuminating "especially onThe Silmarillion".[9]Publishers Weekly called the book "a wonderfully readable study aimed at not just the Tolkien fan but any literate person curious about this fantasy author's extraordinary popularity".[10] It described the work as building an "impressive, low-key case" for Tolkien's merit, and called the account "as learned as it is free of academic jargon".[10]
The book won the 2001World Fantasy Award and the 2001Mythopoeic Award, and was nominated for the 2002Hugo Award, the 2001Locus Award.[11]