Tolkien and the Great War

A new biography exploring J.R.R. Tolkien’s wartime experiences and their impact on his life and his writing of The Lord of The Rings.


The period of Tolkien’s life in which he fought in The Great War has remained largely unexplored and unresearched by his many and various biographers – this volume concentrates specifically on this period of his life and relates it to his creation of some of the world’s best-loved literary works.


Written specifically for a general audience, and not just Tolkien fans, this book allows Tolkien’s life, work, inspiration and success to be viewed from a new and exciting viewpoint.


Having lost many of his friends from school and University in the First World War, this, coupled with his time spent as a signaller in the Royal Lancashire Fusiliers, had a profound impact on him. As did, it would seem, the writing of G. B. Smith, a close friend who was sadly lost in the War.


Invalided home from the Somme,Tolkien was able to reflect on his life, and John Garth agues that, far from being a flight of fancy, The Lord of The Rings is, in fact, a product of his wartime experiences and stands as a great war novel.