Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth … looking back in wonder

No photography was allowed inside the actual exhibition space due to light-sensitive documents

As you walk up the steps of the Weston Library in the heart of Oxford, anticipation sets in at the sight of a large sign with the word Tolkien printed on it, and wrapped around one of the columns adorning the building’s facade. Heading inside, you find yourself in a large foyer, reminiscent of the British Library, and greeted by that same thought when visiting such places: “There is knowledge here that surpasses all earthly gold and treasure”.

5 Great Places in Middle-earth You Can Actually Visit

The following is a guest post written by Kayla Robbins.

Many filming locations featured in the movies are open to tourists!

Are you looking for a unique vacation destination for your next trip? Why not stop by Middle-earth? It may sound too good to be true, but there are actually several places throughout New Zealand that were featured prominently in the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films that are now open to tourists.

The Lord of the Rings – TV Series?

News has just emerged that Warner Bros. and Amazon have begun early talks for a possible The Lord of the Rings series.

“Nothing is certain,” says Elrond in The Two Towers; a very apt quote in light of this news. Whether talks are actually happening, or what the nature of these talks are, cannot be fully determined or confirmed at the moment.

However, let’s just speculate a bit.

Approaching Tolkien: The Story of Kullervo

In what has become something of a tradition in posthumous Tolkien publications, The Story of Kullervo is an unfinished literary work by the author, as he attempts to rewrite an account from the Finnish legend of the Kalevala into the short story format.

Raising a cup of tea to Peter Jackson

In keeping with tradition, I decided to write another brief blog post in honour of Peter Jackson’s birthday.

Last year I wrote a short letter dedicated to the director, praising his work and thanking him for introducing me to cinema and Middle-earth.

In this quick post, I’d like to talk about the individual himself.

Prepare for “the other” Middle Earth – Six Film Collection Extended Edition

In the likely case you’re not going ahead and purchasing the ridiculously-priced Limited Collector’s Edition, there’s always the cheaper version.

Browsing through the endless digital bookshelves on Amazon, I just stumbled upon the ‘Middle Earth – Six Film Collection Extended Edition’ which is basically a 30-disc box set of both trilogies in their extended format.

Beren and Lúthien: New Tolkien book in 2017!

Great news to all Tolkien fans!

As I’m sure you’ve all heard by now, the second of the Tolkien’s “Great Tales” will find itself on shelves as a standalone publication in May 2017, HarperCollins announced.

The book, which will compile together all known versions of the story, will be edited by Christopher Tolkien and illustrated by Alan Lee. Its publication will coincide with the 10th anniversary since the publication of The Children of Húrin.

The entire novel of ‘The Hobbit’ in just 76 verses

Following my last post on discovering the first “fragmented” poem I ever wrote about The Hobbit, some of you kindly requested I put my appalling poetry skills back into use and complete the poem I had started.

That is exactly what I have done.

My first ever poem about ‘The Hobbit’ (and it’s as bad as you’d imagine)

So today I decided to organise a particular drawer that had been bugging me for a while.

It took a lot of time to try and pull open, it being wedged and stuck due to the cluttered contents inside. It took even more time to sift through all the papers and faded scraps of notes I couldn’t remember ever having read or, let alone, written.

New story on ‘The Trials of Sherlock Holmes’ blog!

A new short story has been posted on the The Trials of Sherlock Holmes blog.

You can now read a brand new tale: ‘The Adventure of the Noxious Intruder‘.

Enjoy!