J.R.R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973) was an English philologist who specialized in an academic pursuit of Old English, Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, and Scandinavian criss-crossings in language — and who conquered the world of popular culture by his creation of the high-fantasy epics of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. He would be the first to agree that often the language created in his mind needed a people and their history to make the creation live, and he had the genius to become deeply interested in what happened to his language-speakers.
Tolkien was a veteran of trench warfare in WWI (reflected in his picture of Mordor). In less than six months he participated in many assaults and lost most of his close friends to the war. He was invalided out with trench fever, a wasting and potentially crippling consequence of the plague of lice in the works. He began a life in academia, eventually carving a distinguished career both for his teaching and his scholarship. His entire adult life, however, had an ever-present onging project with Middle-Earth and its peoples. He published The Hobbit in 1937 and finally finished tinkering with The Lord of the Rings after the war, publishing the three volumes in the early 1950s. The many volumes of his drafts and notes published posthumously by his son Christopher attest to his devotion to languages creating the world and fashioning its history.
It is easy to get lost with Tolkien, trying to track what he wrote when and how revising it affected his fantastic universe in a hundred different ways. It may be helpful when first reading him or even when going back to savor him once again to remember he wanted to find that pre-War England, to take journeys with friends, even if the journeys may be hazardous in a great and noble cause, and to return safely back to a comfortable shire.
An Hobad, nó, Anonn Agus ar Ais Arís: The Hobbit in Irish
An Hobad, nó, Anonn Agus ar Ais Arís: The Hobbit in Irish
This translation originally published: 2012. Translated from the English.;The beloved fantasy classic for readers of all ages, about a hobbit called Bilbo Baggins who is whisked off on an unexpected journey by Gandalf the wizard and a company of 13 dwarves.
Bhí gnaoi an phobail riamh leis an sárscéal fantasaíochta seo faoi hobad darb ainm Biolbó Baigín agus é á sciobadh chun siúil gan choinne ar eachtra fhada in éineacht le Gandalf Draoi agus le trí abhac déag. Is scéal An Hobad faoi thuras a dhéanann Biolbó i gcuideachta na n-abhac le teacht ar thaisce ór a bhfuil dragan i seilbh uirthi. In aghaidh a thola ar dtús a ghlacann Biolbó Baigín páirt sa tóraíocht chontúirteach, mar is hobad gan uaillmhian é, atá an-tugtha do chompord an tsaoil. I ndeireadh na dála, áfach, cuireann sé iontas air féin lena sheiftiúlacht agus lena scil amhail buirgléir. I measc eachtraí eile buaileann Biolbó le troill, le púcaí, le habhaic, le heilbh agus le damháin alla ollmhóra, déanann sé comhrá le Smóg Dragan, agus bíonn sé i láthair go han-drogallach ag Cath na gCúig Arm. Tá Biolbó Baigín le háireamh i measc laochra neamhbhásmhara litríocht na bpáistí. Is dá pháistí féin a scríobh an tOllamh Tolkien an scéal an chéad lá agus bhain an bunleagan Béarla cáil dhomhanda amach a thúisce is a foilsíodh é. Anois tá leagan Gaeilge le fáil den chéad uair riamh in aistriúchán den scoth leis an Ollamh Nicholas Williams. Feicfear sa leabhar na pictiúir agus na léirscáileanna uile a rinne an t-údar féin. ---
The beloved fantasy classic for readers of all ages, about a hobbit called Bilbo Baggins who is whisked off on an unexpected journey by Gandalf the wizard and a company of thirteen dwarves. The Hobbit is a tale of high adventure, undertaken by a company of dwarves in search of dragon-guarded gold. A reluctant partner in this perilous quest is Bilbo Baggins, a comfort-loving unambitious hobbit, who surprises even himself by his resourcefulness and skill as a burglar. Encounters with trolls, goblins, dwarves, elves and giant spiders, conversations with the dragon, Smaug, and a rather unwilling presence at the Battle of Five Armies are just some of the adventures that befall Bilbo. Bilbo Baggins has taken his place among the ranks of the immortals of children's fiction. Written by Professor Tolkien for his own children, The Hobbit met with instant critical acclaim when published.
Now the book is available for the first time in Irish, in a superb translation by Professor Nicholas Williams. The book includes all the drawings and maps by the author.