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Original Hobbit artwork on show at The Bodleian Library, Oxford

The Bodleian Library is taking part in World Book Day 2010 by exhibiting a selection of JRR Tolkien’s original artwork which was used to illustrate The Hobbit.

A unique manuscript of Hobbit doodles and a rare first edition of the book will also be on display. The free-of-charge one-day display will take place in the Divinity School of the Bodleian Library on Thursday, 4 March 2010.

“All I can remember about the start of The Hobbit is sitting correcting School Certificate papers … On a blank leaf I scrawled: ‘In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.’”
Excerpt from a letter written by JRR Tolkien to WH Auden (7 July 1955)

Tolkien’s own manuscript of The Hobbit was illustrated throughout with monochrome drawings and maps also printed in the first British edition. At the suggestion of his American publishers, who wanted to include colour plates in their edition, Tolkien painted five watercolours between mid-July and mid-August 1937, four of which were reproduced in the first American edition published in March 1938. Another four appeared in the second British edition published in January 1938.

The display coincides with World Book Day, the biggest annual celebration of books and reading in the UK and Ireland.

Posted: March 3rd, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: JRR Tolkien

See The Hobbit brought to life in Edinburgh this March

Bilbo Baggins, a quiet and contented Hobbit, has his life turned upside down when he is chosen by Gandalf the Sorcerer to join Thorin Oakenshield, exiled King of the Dwarves, on his quest to reclaim their kingdom and treasure.

JRR Tolkien’s classic children’s tale is being brought to life with a thrilling production at the Festival Theatre, Edinburgh this Spring. Following three hugely successful national tours and two acclaimed capacity seasons at The Queen’s Theatre in London’s West End, the incredible magic of The Hobbit can be seen on Tuesday 23 and from Thursday 25 to Sunday 28 March.

This spectacular stage adaptation has been created by Glyn Robbins, known to millions of theatregoers for his adaptations of the CS Lewis classics, including The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The Festival stage will be transformed into Middle Earth for this classic adventure of wizards, magic rings and a dragon’s treasure.

The Hobbit is directed by Roy Marsden, now best known for his portrayal of Inspector Dalgleish in the televised versions of the PD James novels. It is produced by Vanessa Ford. First produced in 1999, it has played to capacity houses across the UK and in London. Vanessa Ford has been producing family theatre for over 20 years, and like many previous productions, this show can be appreciated on many levels by adults and children alike.

Venue: Festival Theatre
Dates: Tue 23 & Thu 25 – Sun 28 March, Tue – Sat 7.30pm / Sat 2.30pm & Sun 3.00pm
Tickets: £16.50 – £24.00
Box Office: 0131 529 6000
Website: www.festivaltheatre.org.uk

JRR Tolkien created a series of literary works set in the fantasy realm of Middle-Earth, populated with wonderfully original and magical characters. These culminated in the trilogy The Lord of the Rings which had its origins in The Hobbit. A firm favourite with both young and old, The Hobbit has sold over 42 million copies worldwide and has been translated into 26 languages.

This production of The Hobbit hasn’t been seen on the British stage for seven years. It is technologically thrilling with dragons and spiders making appearances. Age 8+ recommended.

There will be a press night on Tue 23 March, 7.30pm, phone Ruth Findlay on 0131 622 8088 or email press@eft.co.uk for more details.

Posted: March 3rd, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: JRR Tolkien

Fantasy news round-up – February 11, 2010

The Gruffalo announced as firm favourite of Irish mothers and their children
Two-thirds of Irish mothers begin reading to their child before he or she is a year old and more than a quarter read to their child from birth, according to a new survey. It found that 71 per cent of mothers read a bedtime story to their kids nearly every night. Some 28 per cent of mothers read to their children every night, 30 per cent do so most nights and 13 per cent read to their children every other night. Five per cent of mothers said they never read to their children. Of those, a fifth said they are too busy to do it. The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson was the favourite children’s book of the mothers surveyed, followed by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Cat in the Hat. Roald Dahl was the most popular children’s author, followed by Enid Blyton and Dr Seuss. Eoin Colfer topped the poll of favourite Irish authors.

Fancy a cup of Hobbit tea?
Fans of JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings might want to fire up the kettle and get out their map of Middle-earth. A tiny Wayne County village near Wooster is where seven young Mennonite and Amish workers are mixing and packaging teas, herbs and fruit into three new blends: Hobbiton Meadow Mint, Gandalf the Gray Tea and Bilbo Baggins Breakfast Blend.

Hobbit Teas, named for the peaceable diminutive characters in Tolkien’s books, went for sale exclusively online on www.hobbittea.com two weeks ago. The site got 300 hits from around the world within the first 24 hours.

Wizarding world of Harry Potter website launched
As the spring opening of Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park gets closer and closer a new website has been launched to heighten the anticipation of Potter fans yet further. For more information, visit http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/.

The 2010 Cape and Island Quidditch Cup
Fans of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books will flock to the Cape in March to compete in his favourite game quidditch, the fictional ballgame the wizards played on flying broomsticks, where players perform acrobatic aerial manoeuvres, dodge damaging blows from opponents and, ultimately, seek out the snitch.

The 2010 Cape and Island Quidditch Cup on March 27 and 28 started as an unusual senior fundraiser and may be growing into a New England event that could help boost the local economy in the off-season.

For more information, visit http://sites.google.com/site/2010capeislandsquidditchcup, www.collegequidditch.com and http://sites.google.com/site/savannahquidditchleague/IQARulebook

JK Rowling’s message to donators
Harry Potter author JK Rowling has passed on a message to all those donated to Partners in Health through in the Helping Haiti Heal project which is a multi-fandom effort currently underway to raise funds for the ravaged nation of Haiti. To date, Helping Haiti Heal has raised $112,000.

"To everyone who has helped raise such an incredible amount for the earthquake survivors in Haiti: THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.”

Posted: February 11th, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: Eoin Colfer, JK Rowling, JRR Tolkien, Julia Donaldson

Sussex Centre for Folklore, Fairy Tales and Fantasy to open this month

This month will see the launch of the new Sussex Centre for Folklore, Fairy Tales and Fantasy, a project which will explore the importance of fairy takes in literary and culture.

Professor Bill Gray, an English lecturer at the University of Chichester, is the brainchild behind the centre that will discuss and celebrate the folktales, fairy tales and fantastic imagination from across the world that has led to bestselling fantasy works by writers as diverse as JRR Tolkien, Terry Pratchett, JK Rowling, Angela Carter, Philip Pullman and CS Lewis.

“The heart of this project is a focus on the importance of fairy tales as a creative force both in literature and culture. Literary fairy tales can be seen, in terms of genre, to mediate between, on the one hand, folktales, from which they often derive both form and content; and on the other, the more elaborate narratives of full-blown fantasy novels. The Centre will provide a forum where writers and scholars from various disciplines can discuss folk narratives, fairy tales and fantasy works, both as independent ‘genres’ (the literary fantastic, for example, may not always have obvious folk- or fairy-tale motifs), and also in terms of the resonances and dissonances between them, and other cultural forms.”

For more information, visit http://sussexfolktalecentre.org.

Posted: February 9th, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: CS Lewis, JK Rowling, JRR Tolkien, Philip Pullman, Terry Pratchett

Theatre Sans Fil to brings The Hobbit to life this February

JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit will be brought to life by Théâtre Sans Fil this February. The performance will be staged at Purdue University at 1:30 p.m., February 20 in the Stewart Center’s Loeb Playhouse. The event is presented by Purdue Convocations and is recommended for children ages 7 and older.

Inspired by the ancient Japanese art of Bunraku theatre, Théâtre Sans Fil – literally, "theatre without strings" – uses nearly 50 life-size puppets along with imaginative set design, original music and spectacular effects to tell the story of Bilbo Baggins’ journey through Middle Earth, his quest for treasure and his magical encounters with trolls, goblins, dwarfs and dragons. With an inventive approach to fairy tales, fantasy and science fiction, Théâtre Sans Fil has enchanted audiences around the world for almost four decades.

Tickets are $18 for adults and $12 for children 18 years and younger, Purdue students and Ivy Tech Lafayette students. Tickets are available at the Elliott Hall and Stewart Center box offices at 765-494-3933 or 800-914-SHOW. Tickets also are available through Ticketmaster outlets. Discounted tickets for groups of 10 or more can be ordered at 765-496-1977.

Initiated in 1902, Purdue Convocations is among the oldest collegiate professional performing arts presenters in the United States. Each year, Convocations offers the region 30-40 performances of widely varying genres: Broadway-style shows, theatre, dance, children’s theatre, world music, jazz and chamber music, along with rock, pop, country and comedy attractions. With a vision for connecting artists and audiences in artistic dialogue and for drawing in academic discourse, Purdue Convocations aims to promote frequent exposure to, and familiarity with, human cultural expression in a multitude of forms and media.

About The Hobbit
Poor Bilbo Baggins! An unassuming and rather plump hobbit (as most of these small, furry- footed people tend to be ), Baggins finds himself unwittingly drawn into adventure by a wizard named Gandalf and 13 dwarves bound for the Lonely Mountain, where a dragon named Smaug hordes a stolen treasure. Before he knows what is happening, Baggins finds himself on the road to danger. Wizards, dwarves and dragons may seem the stuff of children’s fairy tales, but The Hobbit is in a class of its own–light-hearted enough for younger readers, yet with a dark edge guaranteed to intrigue an older audience. In the best tradition of the archetypal hero’s quest, Bilbo Baggins sets out on his fateful journey a callow, untested soul and returns–tempered by hardship, danger and loss–a better man–er, hobbit.

This book is the predecessor to Tolkien’s masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings, and though that trilogy can be thoroughly enjoyed without first reading The Hobbit, much that happens in the later novels is foreshadowed here. A word of caution, however: as Bilbo discovers early on, travel and adventure are addictive things; embark on this journey to the Lonely Mountain with Tolkien’s reluctant hero, and you might not be able to stop there. And the road taken to the distant mountains of Mordor in the ensuing trilogy is an even more perilous one.

The Hobbit book review on Fantasy Book Review
JRR Tolkien biography

Posted: February 8th, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: JRR Tolkien, Latest News

Audio-book Review: Farmer Giles of Ham, read by Sir Derek Jacobi

Many may be forgiven for thinking that JRR Tolkien wrote The Hobbit, then after taking a breath The Lord of the Rings, and then called it a day. These two works are known in every corner of the world and overshadowed everything that Tolkien penned both before and after. It is easy to forget that the great Professor also wrote other delightful stories, not least Leaf by Niggle and the book that we are reviewing here, Farmer Giles of Ham.

Our book review of The Hobbit
Our book review of The Lord of the Rings

This was not my first experience of Farmer Giles of Ham in the audio format as, many moons ago, I had a copy on tape with the unmistakable voice of Brian Blessed voicing the lead. Sadly, both tape and the means of playing it are no longer open to me so I downloaded another version, this time narrated by Fantasy Book Review favourite, Derek Jacobi.

Farmer Giles of Ham is full of wit and humour, set in the days when giants and dragons walked the earth. He did not look like a hero. He was fat and red-bearded and enjoyed a slow, comfortable life. Then one day a rather deaf and short-sighted giant blundered on to his land. More by luck than skill, Farmer Giles managed to scare him away. The people of the village cheered: Farmer Giles was a hero. His reputation spread far and wide across the kingdom. So it was natural that when the dragon Chrysophylax visited the area it was Farmer Giles who was expected to do battle with it!

This is a simple medieval fable of unexpected heroism told with great aplomb by Derek Jacobi. The farmer and the dragon may be those around whom the story unfolds but it is Giles’s cowardly dog Garm that steals the show with his wheedling ways and the touching devotion and pride he shows for his master.

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.

Sir Derek George Jacobi CBE is an English actor and film director, knighted in 1994 for his services to theatre. Like Laurence Olivier, he bears the distinction of holding two knighthoods, Danish and British. He is regarded to have one of the most outstanding speaking voices ever, with studied tonality and an exceptional elocution in drama.

Posted: January 18th, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: Audio-books, JRR Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings features twice in the list of best films of the decade

LOVEFiLM asked 150,000 members to vote from a shortlist of 100 films said to have defined the last decade of movies. Moulin Rouge, the musical starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor came out top.

However, two of Peter Jackson’s adaptations of JRR Tolkien’s legendary Lord of the Rings trilogy came soon after with Fellowship of the Ring at four and The Return of the King at six.

“The noughties have been a fantastic decade for film, with cinema lovers enjoying technological advances that have allowed viewers to be transported to new worlds like never before. While a number of big budget blockbusters dominate the top ten lists, it’s encouraging to see cult films such as Donnie Darko recognised for their creative direction as well as foreign language films like Pan’s Labyrinth also making the cut,” commented Helen Cowley, editor of LOVEFiLM.

There was a strong fantasy-theme to the list, with The Dark Knight, Pan’s Labyrinth, Shrek, Batman Begins, Amélie and Finding Nemo all showing that film buffs still love to have their imagination fired.

The Top 20 Films of the Decade, as voted by the members of LOVEFiLM are:

1. Moulin Rouge!
2. The Dark Knight
3. Shaun of the Dead
4. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
5. Gladiator
6. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
7. Pan’s Labyrinth
8. Pirates of the Caribbean
9. Donnie Darko
10. WALL-E
11. Kill Bill Parts 1 and 2
12. Casino Royale
13. Shrek
14. The Bourne Ultimatum
15. Slumdog Millionaire
16. Batman Begins
17. Memento
18. Amélie
19. Sin City
20. Finding Nemo

Posted: January 12th, 2010
Author: Lee
Categories: JRR Tolkien

Canadian books that made a difference over the past decade

Indigo Books & Music Inc. have revealed the 75 books that most impacted booklovers during the past ten years in the Canadian retailer’s first Best of the Decade List. Compiled, considered and debated by the dedicated team of Indigo book buyers who have read, reviewed, recommended and bought a staggering number of books since 2000, the Indigo Best of the Decade List is neither a selection of personal favourites nor a spotlight on overlooked hidden gems. Indigo’s listing of the new millennium’s best books so far is driven by their impact and their popularity, the top titles from more than 140,000 titles that were sold in 2009 alone; books that motivated Canadians to read, to talk and to think about life and the world around them.

On the Indigo Best of the Decade fiction list, the decade’s best fiction told heart-wrenching stories, followed strong female characters like Lawrence Hill’s Aminata Diallo, and harnessed the power of prize winning to heighten the success of bestsellers like Yann Martel’s The Life of Pi. Both Hill’s historical fiction and Martel’s modern fable landed on the top ten list of books that most changed the lives of Canadian booklovers.

Young adult fiction flourished through the past decade with Indigo and Chapters seeing 200% growth through the latter five years. As expected, the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer top the Indigo Best of the Decade List for young readers.

Indigo Best of the Decade 2000-2009

Fiction

• The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen, 2001
• The Life Of Pi, Yann Martel, 2002
• The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold, 2002
• The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini, 2003
• The Time Traveller’s Wife, Audrey Niffenegger, 2003
• The Curious Incident of The Dog In The Nighttime, Mark Haddon, 2003
• Shadow Of The Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon, 2004
• Runaway, Alice Munro, 2004
• The Birth House, Ami McKay, 2006
• The Road, Cormac McCarthy, 2006
• The Book Of Negroes, Lawrence Hill, 2007

Biographies

• Lucky, Alice Sebold, 1999
• Reading Lolita In Tehran, Azar Nafisi, 2003
• Scar Tissue, Anthony Kiedis, 2004Dreams Of My Father , Barack Obama, 2004
• The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls, 2005
• The Know It All, A.J. Jacobs, 2005
• Tender Bar, J.R. Moehringer, 2005
• Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert, 2006
• A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah, 2007
• Infidel, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, 2007
• Beautiful Boy, David Sheff, 2007
• Somewhere Towards the End, Diana Athill, 2009

Non-Fiction

• The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell, 2000
• No Logo, Naomi Klein, 2000
• Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain, 2000
• Paris 1919, Margaret Macmillan, 2001
• Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser, 2001
• The Power Of Now, Eckhart Tolle, 2001
• Salt: A World History, Mark Kurlansky, 2002
• Moneyball, Michael Lewis, 2003
• Shake Hands With The Devil, Romeo Dallaire, 2003
• 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, Patricia Schultz, 2003
• A Short History of Progress, Ronald Wright, 2004
• Long Way Round, Ewan McGregor, 2004
• Marley & Me, John Grogan, 2005
• Freakonomics, Steven Levitt, Stephen Dubner, 2005
• The World Is Flat, Thomas L. Friedman, 2005
• Team Of Rivals, Doris Kearns Goodwin, 2005
• Collapse, Jared Diamond, 2005
• The Audacity Of Hope, Barack Obama, 2006
• The Looming Tower, Lawrence Wright, 2006
• God Delusion, Richard Dawkins, 2006
• Three Cups Of Tea, Greg Mortenson, 2006
• The Omnivores Dilemma, Michael Pollan, 2006
• Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore, 2006
• The Secret, Rhonda Byrne, 2006
• The Black Swan, Nassim Nichola Taleb, 2007
• Made To Stick, Chip Heath, 2007
• God Is Not Great, Christopher Hitchens, 2007
• Stuff Of Thought, Steven Pinker, 2007
• 100 Mile Diet, Alisa Smith, 2007
• Ascent Of Money, Niall Ferguson, 2008
• Payback, Margaret Atwood, 2008
• In Defense Of Food, Michael Pollan, 2008
• The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch, 2008

Young Adult Fiction

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, JK Rowling, 2007
• Twilight, Stephenie Meyer, 2005
• The Amber Spyglass, Philip Pullman, 2000
• Eragon, Christopher Paolini, 2003
• Diary of A Wimpy Kid, Jeff Kinney, 2007
• Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging, Louise Rennison, 2000
• A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning, Lemony Snicket, 1999
• Bone: Out From Boneville, Jeff Smith, 2005
• The Book Thief, Markus Zusak, 2005
• The Tale of Despereaux, Kate DiCamillo, 2003

Booklovers’ Top Ten "Life-changing" Books

• The Bible
• To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee, 1960
• Tuesdays with Morrie, Mitch Albom, 1997
• Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery, 1908
• The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini, 2003
• The Alchemist, Paul Coelho, 1988
• The Book of Negroes, Lawrence Hill, 2007
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, JK Rowling, 1997
• The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien, 1954
• Life of Pi, Yann Martel, 2002

Posted: December 30th, 2009
Author: Lee
Categories: Christopher Paolini, JK Rowling, JRR Tolkien, Philip Pullman, Stephenie Meyer

Lord of the Rings available on Blu-ray from April 2010

The original theatrical versions of all three Lord of the Rings films, with more than seven hours of special features plus digital copies of each film, will be available on Blue-ray from April 6, 2010.

The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy will include digital copies of each film on three separate discs and will also be BD-Live enabled, offering exciting new interactive possibilities. 

The Lord of the Rings, the highest grossing adventure film franchise to ever be created, was born with the release of The Fellowship of the Ring, followed by The Two Towers and The Return of the King.  The multi-billion dollar franchise is expected to grow significantly as The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy brings together all three treasured films on Blu-ray Disc for the very first time.

The Trilogy will be packaged in multi-disc elite packaging inside a premium rigid slipcase and will retail for $99.98 SRP.  Extended versions of the films will be released at a later date on Blu-ray Disc.

The very same day in April 2010 will see Ralph Bakshi’s animated adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic released in an all-new Deluxe Edition on Blu-ray Disc for the first time and newly remastered with new Dolby 5.1 audio and newly created extra content.

Posted: December 18th, 2009
Author: Lee
Categories: JRR Tolkien

Born of Hope, the story of Aragorn’s parents, to premier on Dailymotion

Born of Hope, a professionally-produced feature-length film based on the Tolkien Trilogy, Lord of the Rings, will be screened on the popular global video entertainment site beginning December 1, 2009. This exclusive follows the high successful launch of another Lord of the Rings fan film, The Hunt for Gollum, in May of 2009.

Born of Hope tells a Tolkien-inspired original prequel story with a host of characters never before seen on screen. The 70 minute prequel is the story of Aragorn’s parents, Arathorn and Gilraen, along with the characters who sacrificed everything to keep Aragorn safe.

“Our users are huge fans of high quality, independent productions, and are particularly interested in the fantasy genre,” said Joy Marcus, General Manager of Dailymotion US. “Our role as the exclusive launch partner for Born of Hope is a wonderful opportunity for our viewers and advertisers.”

Director and producer Kate Madison assembled a cast of professional actors and production talent to capture the feel of the Tolkien universe established by Peter Jackson in his trilogy. Made for a fraction of a typical film, “Born of Hope” manages to maintain the visual fantasy world of Hollywood productions with an original script that brings a new dimension to The Lord of the Rings.

The film was funded entirely by private donations while talented cast and crew of the film worked for no financial gain. Collaboration across the Internet, the film’s British producers recruited creative people from across the world including the US, Canada, Australia, Germany and New Zealand for scripts, costumes, props and music.

Posted: December 8th, 2009
Author: Lee
Categories: JRR Tolkien, Latest News