Hope you’ve had your elevenses because we are travelling through Middle Earth this month, with our friend Rebecca and the Fellowship of the Ring! …and The Two Towers, and The Return of the King… We look at how Tolkien was influenced by his experience in WWI, his Catholic Faith, and mythology, as well as the psychology of the characters and the series’ lasting influence, from the hippies of the 1960s and 1970s to the popular fantasy fiction of today.

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Links

Tolkien movie review

The Battle of the Somme

The Inklings

The Inklings by Humphrey Carpenter

Catholic and Christian themes in The Lord of the Rings

Tolkien’s essay “On Fairy Stories”

How mythology influenced Tolkien

The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson

Smeagol’s psychology

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)

Tolkien and Hippie Culture

Newsweek story on Tolkien’s influence on fantasy

Rolling Stone interview with George R. R. Martin

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