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The J.R.R. Tolkien Audio Collection

j.r.r. tolkien christopher tolkien

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For generations, J.R.R. Tolkien's words have brought to thrilling life a world of hobbits, magic, and historic myth, woken from its foggy slumber within our minds. Here, he tells the tales is his own voice. Of historic note, these selections from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are based on a tape recording Tolkien made in 1952, which inspired him to continue his own quest to see his vision in print. Also included is a never-published poem, "The Mirror of Galadriel," originally intended for inclusion in the trilogy, yet edited out. And, finally, Tolkien's son, Christopher, reads selections from his father's The Silmarillion, the epic foundation upon which rests the whole of his work.

5 pages, Audio CD

First published January 1,1955

This edition

Format
5 pages, Audio CD
Published
October 2, 2001 by Caedmon
ISBN
9780694525706
ASIN
0694525707
Language
English

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About the author

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j.r.r. tolkien

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John Ronald Reuel Tolkien: writer, artist, scholar, linguist. Known to millions around the world as the author of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien spent most of his life teaching at the University of Oxford where he was a distinguished academic in the fields of Old and Middle English and Old Norse. His creativity, confined to his spare time, found its outlet in fantasy works, stories for children, poetry, illustration and invented languages and alphabets.

Tolkien's most popular works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set in Middle-earth, an imagined world with strangely familiar settings inhabited by ancient and extraordinary peoples. Through this secondary world Tolkien writes perceptively of universal human concerns – love and loss, courage and betrayal, humility and pride – giving his books a wide and enduring appeal.

Tolkien was an accomplished amateur artist who painted for pleasure and relaxation. He excelled at landscapes and often drew inspiration from his own stories. He illustrated many scenes from The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, sometimes drawing or painting as he was writing in order to visualize the imagined scene more clearly.

Tolkien was a professor at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford for almost forty years, teaching Old and Middle English, as well as Old Norse and Gothic. His illuminating lectures on works such as the Old English epic poem, Beowulf, illustrate his deep knowledge of ancient languages and at the same time provide new insights into peoples and legends from a remote past.

Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 1892 to English parents. He came to England aged three and was brought up in and around Birmingham. He graduated from the University of Oxford in 1915 and saw active service in France during the First World War before being invalided home. After the war he pursued an academic career teaching Old and Middle English. Alongside his professional work, he invented his own languages and began to create what he called a mythology for England; it was this ‘legendarium' that he would work on throughout his life. But his literary work did not start and end with Middle-earth, he also wrote poetry, children's stories and fairy tales for adults. He died in 1973 and is buried in Oxford where he spent most of his adult life.

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Community Reviews

Rating(4.6 / 5.0, 7 votes)
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7 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
StevenKing
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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This 4 CD set was an early Christmas present to me from me! I purchased The Sons of Hurin for my grandson, who was reading The Silmilarian.. We are both fans of JRR Tolkien, I thought it would be interesting to hear Tolkien read a selection from The Hobbit and hear his inflections in 1952. My grandson spent a few hours at our house this past weekend, and when he was listening to the first CD, he knew immediately the passage Tolkien was reading. It was the challenge Gollum made to Bilbo Baggins to solve three riddles. Evidently, Peter Jackson had access to this recording because the voice of Gollum in the movie is extremely close to Tolkien's own voice!
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Profile Image for Kimberly .
TurnoverHD
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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This audiobook is definitely not for the person who says, "I enjoyed the Lord of the Rings movie but I never read the books."
It is for this person:
1. You have read the Hobbit and the trilogy, including the appendices, at least 2 dozen times.
2. Two of those times were reading it out loud to family members.
3. You can recite "Elbereth Gilthoniel" in the elvish, as well as a half dozen other poems from the trilogy.
4. You have been fascinated by the news that Professor Tolkien used to appear as Beowulf to his classes, reciting the epic in Old English.

In other words, the audio collection was perfect for me. Too bad the set merely contains excerpts and miscellaneous poems, as recorded in a 1952 cassette tape recording. You can hear pages rustling and doors opening and shutting in the background, and the sound quality is not good.
However, these highlights were not to be missed:
1. The Riddle Scene from The Hobbit. Amazing dramatization of Gollum by the author!
2. The voice of Fangorn the Ent. Tolkien has a delightful accent with a Scottish "burr" to his rolled r's.
3. The Elvish poems. I've always wondered how the words were really pronounced. The Master knows!

The four disc set is concluded by readings by Tolkien's son Christopher from the Silmarillion.
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Ko-me
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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I was so delighted when I discovered the existence of this collection. You don't need to have read/done all the things the top review mentions to appreciate Tolkien reading his works aloud! This collection is a treat for any Tolkien fan.
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paulinasmiles
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Superb read-aloud recordings of Tolkien HIMSELF reading his own Middle Earth works!

VERY recommended!
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softoroki
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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To hear JRRT reading Gollum's riddles; or some "poems" (like the song for Boromir)
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akemi2407
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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Half of this CD collection is pretty much what is advertised- JRR Tolkien reading excerpts from his books. The other half is Christopher Tolkien reading from the Silmarillion which, honestly, I skipped. Still an excellent collection, however.
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Saucinator
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 26,2025
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This is a treasure!! One gets to hear Tolkien's own voice reading portions of his books, pronouncing Elvish words, and singing some of his songs/poems. A must-have for any Tolkien fan!
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