For Dummies? Into the Archive

 

The Origins of Tolkien’s Middle-earth for Dummies by Greg Harvey (2003)

The reason I sent off for this biblia abiblia is an odd little tale in itself. Of course, I had been aware of it for quite some time, but never really felt the need to purchase it. I thought it unlikely to tell me anything that I did not already know, and that if it did say anything original it would probably be some personal opinion or modern interpretation that would be factually worthless.

BUT … several times my nephew Kameron came to me, asking about the thing, swearing he had actually seen it in my archives. I asked him if he could be confusing it with my old Cliff Notes pamphlet on Tolkien’s work, but he said no. I looked it up on Amazon and saw there were many adequate copies for dirt cheap, so on a whim I sent off for one (why not?), if only to satisfy his restless questioning.

It arrived today, and I’ve given it a quick once over. It covers some tiny bit of the Jackson movies (but not The Return of the King, which only came out that same year) but is mainly concerned with The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. A quick review tells me it does espouse some ‘modern’ views on Tolkien’s idea of the roles of men and women, as well as government, morality, and ‘political correctness’ (Tolkien refers to humanity as ‘Men’? Horrors!). But it seems at first glance to be mainly a rundown of the background, facts, and ‘lore’ of the Legendarium.

My copy is rather dog-eared (as one would expect a twenty-year-old softcover to be), but in perfectly adequate shape for what it is: a reference book that will most likely not become a treasured resource. It has some good comics, though.