2005
First Published
4.38
Average Rating
894
Number of Pages
In The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion internationally acclaimed scholars Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull examine Tolkien's masterpiece chapter by chapter, offering expert insights into its evolution, structure, and meaning. They discuss in close detail important literary and historical influences on the development of The Lord of the Rings, connections between that work and other writings by Tolkien, errors and inconsistencies, significant changes to the text during its fifty years of publication, archaic and unusual words used by Tolkien, and words and passages in his invented languages of Middle-earth. Thousands of notes, keyed to standard editions of The Lord of the Rings but universally accessible, reveal the richness and complexity of one of the most popular works of fiction in our time. In addition to their own expertise and that of other scholars and critics, Hammond and Scull frequently draw upon comments by Tolkien himself, made in letters to family, friends, and enthusiasts, in draft texts of The Lord of the Rings, and in works written in later years which amplify or illuminate characters and events in the story. Extensive reference is made also to writings by Tolkien not previously or widely published, including elaborate time-schemes, an unfinished manuscript index to The Lord of the Rings, and most notably, the important Nomenclature or guide to names in The Lord of the Rings prepared for the use of translators, long out of print and now newly transcribed and printed in its entirety. With these resources at hand, even the most seasoned reader of The Lord of the Rings will come to a greater enjoyment and appreciation of Tolkien's magnificent achievement.
Avg Rating
4.38
Number of Ratings
4,783
5 STARS
64%
4 STARS
19%
3 STARS
11%
2 STARS
3%
1 STARS
3%
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Author
Wayne G. Hammond
Author · 7 books
Wayne G. Hammond was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in the suburb of Brooklyn. In 1975 he received his Bachelor of Arts degree with Honors from Baldwin-Wallace College, Berea, Ohio, where he majored in English. In 1976 he received his Master of Arts in Library Science degree from the School of Library Science of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and from that year has been Assistant Librarian in the Chapin Library (rare books and manuscripts) at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. He married Christina Scull in December 1994. His publications include The Graphic Art of C.B. Falls (1982), J.R.R. Tolkien: A Descriptive Bibliography (1993), and Arthur Ransome: A Bibliography (2000). He is also the co-author or co-editor with his wife of numerous works by and about J.R.R. Tolkien, and has designed a wide variety of books, exhibition catalogues, posters, and other printed materials. He has won a Clyde S. Kilby Research Grant from the Marion E. Wade Center, Wheaton College, and is a five-time winner of scholarship awards from the Mythopoeic Society.
