John Garth is the author of Tolkien and the Great War (HarperCollins).
November 2022
Book of the day
The Fall of Númenor by JRR Tolkien review – masterful world-building from the father of fantasy
Following Amazon’s Rings of Power series, this beautiful compendium of Tolkien’s Second Age of Middle-earth stories offers the ideal palate cleanser
January 2020
Christopher Tolkien obituary
Son of JRR Tolkien who edited much of his father’s posthumously published work including The Silmarillion
December 2014
Books blog
Tolkien’s death of Smaug: American inspiration revealed
John Garth: As well as its familiar roots in Icelandic mythology, this Middle-earth story also has some surprising transatlantic sources
September 2014
Birth of a new world: the Tolkien poem that marks the genesis of Middle-earth
In September 1914, as war broke out, Tolkien created the mythical land that led him to The Lord of the Rings. John Garth tells the story of the poem that changed his life
March 2014
JRR Tolkien's translation of Beowulf: bring on the monsters
Although some might see yet another posthumous publication from JRR Tolkien as scraping the barrel, John Garth says that the author's expertise on the Old English epic suggests it should be taken seriously
January 2013
The Gurkha's Daughter by Prajwal Parajuly – review
John Garth is impressed by eight insightful tales of the Nepalese diaspora, from a dysfunctional clan of refugees in Bhutan to a pair of arrivistes in New York
