Tolkien, Les Univers D'Un Magicien

The works of John Reginald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973), author of Lord of the Rings, Silmarillion, and The Hobbit, have accounted for some of the most successful bookstore sales of the last half-century. But such popularity has its price : Tolkien is still a relatively littel-known author, unacknowledged for what he truly is, one of the greatest writers of our time. The author of Les univers d'un magicien would like to give readers of Tolkien's work a few keys to unlock the mystery of his art.This book first examines Tolkien's life and intellectual and spiritual origins : he was a reactionary anarchist and monarchist, a fervent Catholic in an Anglican England who was out-of-place in this century, fascinated by Scandinavian mythology and traditional thought, and frightened by technology and mass civilization. Tolkien vilified progress and argued in defense of a rural England, rooted in its History. To illustrate his point of view, he created parallel worlds : the Hobbits' world, for example, with its Elfs and peace-minded, feudal organization opposed to the forces of Evil, accompanied by their bestiary. Hundreds of characters are presented in his work, in which he brings several worlds to life. Tolkien is said to have created one of the most extraordinary and captivating complete worlds in literature, inspired by his pessimistic vision of humanity's future. It is all the complexity of this individual, transformed by his exceptional imagination and creative power, which this book attempts to explore.