A fantasy landscape watercolor by Tolkien, possibly from around 1915. Credit The Tolkien Trust.
“He’s doing the drawings and the maps and the spreadsheets and all of that detail — the language, the calligraphy — for himself,” [Richard Ovenden, head of the Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford] said, after pointing out that Tolkien didn’t write his books to earn a living or because he considered himself to be a professional creative writer… “It helps him populate the world with a reality that would be weaker otherwise.”
(Peter Libbey, “Tolkien’s World: An Exhibition Transports Us to Middle-earth,” 2-14-19)
(c) 2019 JMN.
EthicalDative 
That’s a great picture. I’ve never read the books. As they were my sister’s thing, I always avoided them as a child. I do like Mervyn Peake alot. I read they clashed. Interestingly Tolkein has a tenuous link to where I live. Not enough to make the tourist trail.
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I haven’t read Tolkien either (or seen the films). Our sisters have something in common. My own sister has read the “Hobbitt” and “Rings” books more than once. I’m about to send my grandson in Spain a set of the works at his request. I’ve just done a lookup on Mervyn Peake. That’s a new name to me. Another illustrator of his own fiction as well. That’s an aspect of Tolkien that I find interesting. Also, his passion for languages.
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Well if you’re looking for a recommendation, the Gormenghast triology beginning with Titus Groan is my top tip. Loved it. If I ever re-read anything, I think that would be it.
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Thanks for the tip. I think I should dip into this genre. Titus Groan is a great name.
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