Tolkien's Fiction

Tolkien began writing the forerunner of The Silmarillion, then called The Book of Lost Tales, in 1917, as he was recovering from his service in World War I. This work, which delineates the mythology of his fictional world, accompanied him throughout his life, as he revised, edited, and attempted to finish it until his death. While The Silmarillion was only published posthumously, other works of Tolkien’s were already widely popular within his lifetime. The first of these would be The Hobbit, which Tolkien initially wrote to entertain his four children. After encouragements by friends and acquaintances who had read the children’s story, Tolkien published The Hobbit in 1937, featuring his own illustrations, maps, and dust jacket design. The book became an instant success, with the first print run selling out within three months, which led Tolkien’s publisher to request a sequel to the work. Tolkien then – after offering and being rejected for the publication of The Silmarillion – began to work on The Lord of the Rings. This work, however, quickly diverged from its predecessor’s genre of children’s literature, and slowly but surely developed into a three-volume fantasy tale for adults. Over the next twelve years, Tolkien worked on The Lord of the Rings until its publication in 1954 and 1955. These works, too, were an instant success, and have been translated into over fifty languages. While The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings proved to be his most famous works, Tolkien throughout his life created various other stories and poems that were connected to his famous fantasy world. Among these is the poetry collection The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, the short story Leaf, by Niggle, as well as the fable Farmer Giles of Ham. These works, too, have been published numerous times over the years, both as standalone pieces as well as in collections of Tolkien’s works.