Christopher Tolkien (see photo below) is the youngest son of John Ronald Ruel Tolkien, the author of such cult works as The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, or There and Back, and The Silmarillion. Christopher conducted monumental editorial work on his father's unfinished projects. Thanks to this, the Silmarillion, The History of Middle-earth, Tolkien the Elder's letters and essays, and some of his other literary works were printed.
Biography
Tolkien Christopher Ruel was born in the English city of Leeds in 1924. At 19, during the Second World War, he enlisted in the Royal Air Force and spent some time in active service. After the victory of the allied forces was transferred to the reserve.
Having finished his career as a military pilot, Christopher Tolkien followed in his father's footsteps. In 1949, he graduated from Oxford University with a degree in English. A few years later he received a second education in the field of literature. In the 60s and 70s, he held the same post as his father, and was a professor of English at Oxford University.
Editorial work on the works of his father
In fact, his son Christopher began to work on the works of John Ronald Roel Tolkien from childhood, when he was the first listener and reader of the stories of Bilbo Baggins, which later became the novel "The Hobbit, or There and Back." During the fifteen-year work on The Lord of the Rings, the youngest son offered his father much more constructive criticism and helped create a complete map of Middle-earth, which is still used today.
When Christopher came of age - in England it is 21 years old - his father invited him to attend meetings of the Inkling Club in Oxford. Young Christopher participated in literary discussions on various topics with such giants of the "high fantasy" genre as Clive Lewis, Charles Williams and Roger Green. The high literary ideals of his father and his clubmates made a deep impression on Christopher and helped him better understand his father's work, which in turn allowed him to compile, edit (and in some cases finish it) and print the unfinished projects of John Ronald Roel Tolkien.
Christopher Tolkienâs hard work fans of The Lord of the Rings owe such cultic works as The Silmarillion, Children of Khurin and a rich collection of stories that reveal the history of Middle-earth. In addition to the painstaking work on creating the map, Christopher, on the basis of his father's manuscripts, has compiled a very rich dictionary of languages ââspoken by the inhabitants of this magical continent.
The Silmarillion
After the death of John Ronald Ruel Tolkien, the difficult task fell on the shoulders of his son Christopher - to publish an unfinished book, which the publisher of The Hobbit and The Lord initially rejected. Christopher used the early works that his father called The Book of Lost Tales, the drafts of The Silmarillion and his father's expressed wishes for his publication.
The Silmarillion is the story of Arda, the world of which Middle-earth is a part. The book consists of five parts:
- âSong of Ainur, or Ainulindaleâ - tells the story of the creation of the world with the help of the songs of Iluvatar and Ainur. It tells about the creation of Ea - the universe, in which the first musical theme proposed by Iluvatar (creator) and picked up by Ainur (forces) created Arda - a visible and felt world. The second musical theme outlined this world and absorbed the strength of each of Ainur. The third theme was sung by IlĂșvatar alone and gave birth to the children of IlĂșvatar, elves (firstborn) and humans (mortals).
- âValaventa, or the History of the Valarâ is a collection of characteristics and descriptions of the Valar, Mayar and Melkor. According to the second part of The Silmarillion, those from Ainur who wished to go to Arda to meet the firstborn were released by Iluvatar from Ea and gained clear characteristics. Elves called them Elements, or in high elven - Valar. They have assistants who are inferior in power and strength - Mayar. Melkor is one of the most powerful Ainur, disobeying Iluvatar, introducing dissonance into his music and leaving Ea. According to the prototype of biblical Lucifer, he became the progenitor of evil in Arda and the main enemy of the Valar.
- âQuenta the Silmarillion, or the History of the Silmarilsâ is a legend about the precious stones created by the elven craftsman Feanor, in which the light of Arda was preserved. This is the most voluminous part of The Silmarillion, which describes the entire First Age.
- âAkallabeth, or the Fall of Numenorâ is a legend, the focus of which is the second of the children of IlĂșvatar - people. The fourth part tells about the creation of their greatest kingdom, its heyday, decline and collapse, which resulted in the concealment of Valinor - the land of the Valar - outside of Arda.
- âOn Rings of Powerâ - the final part of the book, which tells about the events of the Third Age, partially disclosed in âThe Hobbitâ and âThe Lord of the Ringsâ.
"History of Middle-earth"
The most ambitious project of the editorial work of Christopher Tolkien under the general title "History of Middle-earth" includes 12 volumes. This posthumously published collection includes all of John Tolkien's early works, as well as his drafts, notes, essays, and letters edited by Christopher Tolkien. Christopher's wife edited letters from her father-in-law.
The series is not supported by a specific storyline and genre constancy, including poems, songs, poems, and journalism. The first two volumes of "History" are the early and late works of Tolkien Sr., collected by him in the "Book of Lost Tales."
"Lost Tales"
After the publication of The Silmarillion, several more drafts and manuscripts with stories from the stories already published in the book fell into Christopherâs hands. According to Tolkien Jr. himself, had these manuscripts been at his disposal while working on The Silmarillion, the book would have been completely different.
At its core, the first two volumes of The History of Middle-earth tell of the same events as The Silmarillion, but with significant additions, and in some places even with differences. John Tolkien often changed the names of places and peoples of Middle-earth and Arda, therefore, drafts published in the Book of Lost Tales add confusion to the chronological and plot line of the fictional universe. That is why Christopher conducted a large-scale work, providing his father's early creations with his explanations and references to later works.
"Children of Khurin"
The alleged novel, on which Tolkien the father began to work in his youth, remained incomplete. The tragic story of Turin Turambar and Nienor was appended to the volume of the story by Christopher Tolkien and published in 2007. According to Christopher, he had to finish some elements of the plot himself.
Copyright and film adaptations of works
Since Christopher is the only one of John Tolkien's children, he is the general manager of the Tolkien Estates Foundation, which owns the copyright to the writer's works. In this regard, for many years there were problems and troubles, especially regarding the adaptations of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, which Tolkien categorically opposed. The rights to translate the story on the screens, however, were sold during his father's lifetime.
For the first time, conversations about the adaptation of The Lord started back when the author of the novel was alive, who, it is worth mentioning, was not particularly enthusiastic about the idea of ââcreating the film, but did not resist. For some time, John Tolkien even participated in the work on the script for the production film, but he died without having time to finish the job to the end.
The author, however, managed to sell the rights to the film adaptation, and after his death the fund also bought the names and characters, in connection with which Christopher Tolkien can in no way affect the content of films from two works published during his father's lifetime.
Attitude to the film adaptations of Peter Jackson
Despite the fact that the film trilogy âThe Lord of the Ringsâ by Peter Jackson is universally recognized as the best of the existing adaptations, Tolkien Christopher, whose children collaborated with the film crew, rather strongly condemned the incorrect interpretation of the work. In an interview with LeMonde, he complained that The Lord is not just a work in the genre of action, not a beautifully written action movie, but a much more complex novel that can affect the perception of the world. Peter Jackson removed the most profound and complex from the trilogy and turned it into a simple movie for young people.
This attitude to the work of the director and disagreements with the film company regarding the deductions led to heated debate and litigation, which significantly slowed down the shooting of The Hobbit and gave rise to a kind of confrontation, Christopher Tolkien vs. Peter Jackson.