J.R.R.Tolkien (1892-1973) was a distinguished academic, though he is best known for writing The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, plus other stories and essays. His books have been translated into over 80 languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.CHRISTINA SCULL is the former Librarian of Sir John Soane’s Museum, London, and editor of The Tolkien Collector. WAYNE G. HAMMOND is the Chapin Librarian emeritus at Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts, and the author of standard bibliographies of J.R.R. Tolkien and Arthur Ransome. Together, they have written multiple Tolkien works, including J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator, The Lord of the Rings: A Reader’s Companion, the three-volume J.R.R. Tolkien Companion & Guide, and produced editions Farmer Giles of Ham and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book.

‘Professor Tolkien revealed in the verses scattered through The Hobbit that he had a talent for songs, riddling rhymes, and a kind of balladry. In The Adventures of Tom Bombadil the talent can be seen to be close to genius.’

J.R.R.Tolkien (1892-1973) was a distinguished academic, though he is best known for writing The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, plus other stories and essays. His books have been translated into over 80 languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.CHRISTINA SCULL is the former Librarian of Sir John Soane’s Museum, London, and editor of The Tolkien Collector. WAYNE G. HAMMOND is the Chapin Librarian emeritus at Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts, and the author of standard bibliographies of J.R.R. Tolkien and Arthur Ransome. Together, they have written multiple Tolkien works, including J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator, The Lord of the Rings: A Reader’s Companion, the three-volume J.R.R. Tolkien Companion & Guide, and produced editions Farmer Giles of Ham and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book.

‘Professor Tolkien revealed in the verses scattered through The Hobbit that he had a talent for songs, riddling rhymes, and a kind of balladry. In The Adventures of Tom Bombadil the talent can be seen to be close to genius.’