{"product_id":"tower-and-the-ruin-michael-dc-drout-9781324093886","title":"The Tower and the Ruin: J.R.R. Tolkien's Creation","description":"\u003cp\u003eNo writer has surpassed the epic achievement of J.R.R. Tolkien, who spent decades refining his Middle-earth--a world that has felt so real to so many readers that it is almost impossible to imagine that any single person could have simply created it, seemingly out of thin air. In \u003cem\u003eThe Tower and the Ruin\u003c\/em\u003e, Michael D. C. Drout takes us deep into Tolkien's genius, allowing us to glimpse the making of not only \u003cem\u003eThe Lord of the Rings\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Hobbit\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eThe Silmarillion\u003c\/em\u003e but also lesser-known books such as \u003cem\u003eThe Fall of Gondolin\u003c\/em\u003e as well as Tolkien's poetry and innovative scholarship.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDrout, who has spent decades reading, studying, and teaching Tolkien, allows us to understand the author's methods and to embrace his works as never before. With great erudition and sparkling prose, Drout shows us how Tolkien invented myths, legends, cultures, languages, histories, and an intricate, multivocal narrative. We come to understand how Tolkien drew upon and modified material he found in \u003cem\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/em\u003e, the \u003cem\u003eKalevala\u003c\/em\u003e, and other medieval literature from northern Europe, using the subtle qualities of those famous works as inspiration for his own. We also see the process by which he created the complex form of sorrow that is the primary emotional effect of his mature works, a sadness \"blessed without bitterness,\" carefully woven through a tapestry of themes that has resonated with generations of readers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSweeping and hugely perceptive--and enhanced throughout by Drout's personal reflections on how Tolkien has shaped his own life and relationships--\u003cem\u003eThe Tower and the Ruin\u003c\/em\u003e illuminates Tolkien anew and will come to be seen as an essential work for anyone who has journeyed to Middle-earth.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"W. W. Norton \u0026 Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49826561392833,"sku":"9781324093886","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0781\/5512\/0833\/files\/9781324093886.jpg?v=1764783411","url":"https:\/\/www.porchlightbooks.com\/products\/tower-and-the-ruin-michael-dc-drout-9781324093886","provider":"Porchlight Book Company","version":"1.0","type":"link"}