The Roots of Middle-earth: Critical Essays on language, landscape, and myth - Paperback

by Kirsten J. Anderson (Author)

J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth has captured the imagination of millions, engaging readers with the power of language and myth. In these essays, Anderson writes of the key histories, stories, and ideas that inspired Tolkien's characters, and the layers of history and meaning that exist in the names and language of Middle-earth. With examples taken from The Silmarillion, as well as the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, Anderson examines how the names, characters, and concepts of myth and history are embedded within Tolkien's Middle-earth landscape, and highlights the influential stories and etymologies that create such unparalleled works of fantasy, pathos, and meaning. Anderson is a writer, archaeologist, and curator, with a life interest in language and the written word. She holds an M.Phil in Celtic Archaeology from the University of Glasgow, and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Alaska Anchorage, where she received the Jason Wenger award for creative thesis. She has also contributed to and edited museum publications including Up Here: The North at the Center of the World, and North: An Anthology of Place published by the Univertsity of Washington Press.