Celebriel wants Ringers in the UK (or elsewhere) to know that there’s a sale of Tolkien’s furniture this Saturday and Sunday in Branksome in Dorset. Stephen Frankel, current owner of the bungalow in which the Lord of the Rings author retired, is selling off the contents of the home before it is bulldozed. Stop any time after 9.30am at 19 Lakeside Road, Branksome. Tolkien lived in the cottage from 1968 until 1972. [More]
Category: Tolkien
A Poole bungalow once the home of JRR Tolkien is to be demolished. The bungalow in Lakeside Road was where Tolkien retired with his wife Edith in 1968 after his two best-known works, The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, had already made him famous. An application by Cranbrook Homes (Southern) Ltd for outline planning permission for two four-bed family homes on the site breezed through planning at Poole council on Monday. James Dean, director of Cranbrook Homes said he was not aware of the building’s history. He said: “It’s going to be replaced with two superb contemporary houses. In the light of what you’ve just told me, perhaps one of them should be called Tolkien.” [More]
TORN Staffer Ostadan writes: The Esperanto translation of The Lord of the Rings (translated by William Auld) has been out of print for several years. I was recently pleased to learn that it will be reprinted this year, with some material not translated for the first edition (but, alas, still lacking the Appendices). You can get a taste of the translation at here; the site includes the Riddles in the Dark chapter from The Hobbit (Enigmoj en la Mallumo) which was reprinted in 2005, and two chapters (so far) from Lord of the Rings (La Ombro de la pasinteco, and La Spegulo de Galadriela), with four more to come over the next few weeks; one translated chapter from each of the six books of LotR will appear on the site. Since people have the original English at their fingertips (if not actually memorized), these translated excerpts may prove interesting as a curiosity even to those who cannot easily read Esperanto.
GJOGV, Faeroe Islands (AP) — It’s just after 9 p.m. when the magic begins. The late-setting sun breaks through purple rain clouds to drape the rugged island of Eysturoy in a golden shimmer. A perfect rainbow arches over the Slaettaratindur mountain. Offshore, a wild ocean launches ferocious swells against the Giant and the Witch, two spectacular rock pillars that protrude from the surf like craggy teeth. All that’s missing from the storybook setting is a band of orchs or goblins crawling out from behind a rock, or a pipe-smoking hobbit emerging from one of the turf-roofed houses. The Lord of the Rings analogy is never far away in the Faeroe Islands, a barren and wind-swept archipelago whose volcanic peaks shoot out of the Atlantic Ocean halfway between Iceland and Norway. Local legend even claims the ring of power is hidden here. [More]
Have you finished reading The Children of Hurin and are dying to discuss it with other Tolkien fans? Or, do you need some motivation to crack open the book and start reading? Either way, the chapter-by-chapter discussion of The Children of Hurin, starting today in our Reading Room forum, is for you! We’ll be covering a chapter a week. Each week’s discussion will be led by a member of the Message Boards, and we still have openings for discussion leaders. Follow these links to read the start of the discussion, or check out the Children of Hurin discussion schedule.
Not a member of the Message Boards yet? Sign up now and join the fun! Tolkien veterans and novices welcome!
Matt Blessing, head of The Department of Special Collections and University Archives, writes: June 7th marks the 50th anniversary of Marquette University acquiring the literary manuscripts of J.R.R. Tolkien. More information about the anniversary, new materials in the collection, and details about an upcoming presentation by John Rateliff, may be accessed online here.