Tolkien's summary of The Lord of the Rings

[fictualities]

"It brought tears to my eyes to write it, and still moves me, and I cannot help believing that it is a supreme moment of its kind." -- J.R.R. Tolkien.

Tolkien fans! Want to find out which part of LotR Tolkien was talking about there? Then run, don't walk, to baranduin's journal, where she's posted Tolkien's summary of The Lord of the RingsWhy should you

Comments

[sunnyskywalker]

Thanks for those links! Those synopses are fascinating.

[baranduin]

You're gonna love this book. It's got Tolkien's instructions on how to translate names.

[cs_luis]

Squee! This was wonderful to read. Definitely want this book.

[kameni]

First response: Heh. "Nine-fingered Frodo and the Ring of Doom" must have sound a lot more majestic in Tolkien's head than it did on the Rankin-Bass RotK.

Second response: It's interesting that Tolkien's eucatastrophe moment is, in some ways, so similar to the beginning of book 2. (A hobbit wakes up, talks to Gandalf about climactic events that we never see, and is reunited with friends during a ceremonial shindig.) Though I guess the ceremony is pretty different in the two cases. I always feel a bit of distance from the celebration at the Field of Cormallen, though, even though it brings Sam to tears. (The telescoped movie version of the reunion and coronation actually feels more like an emotional resolution to me, even though it is totally non-canonical.)

[xylohypha]

Oooh, thank you for the links. V. v. interesting: there's almost always something special, in my mind at least, about writers talking about their own work. (Occasionally, there'll be something disappointing in such comments--but not in this case!)