Literature in English, British Isles Commons^™

Cardinal Vices In Middle-Earth (2025), By Martina Juričková, John Wm. Houghton

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review, by John Wm. Houghton, of Cardinal Vices in Middle-earth (2025), by Martina Juričková.

The Music Of The Spheres In The Western Imagination (2022), By David J. Kendall, Brad Eden

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review, by Bradford Lee Eden, of The Music of the Spheres in the Western Imagination (2022), by David J. Kendall

Arda Notebooks: The Best Of I Quaderni Di Arda (2026), Ed. By Roberto Arduini, Claudio A. Testi And Wu Ming 4., Andrew Higgins

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review, by Andrew Higgins, of Arda Notebooks: The Best of I Quaderni di Arda (2026), ed. by Roberto Arduini, Claudio A. Testi and Wu Ming 4.

The Romantic Imagination Of Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer And J.R.R. Tolkien, Mariana Rios Maldonado, Andoni Cossio

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Studies on the presence of Romantic elements in J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary production have steadily risen to prominence, especially since the publication of Julian Eilmann’s landmark monograph J.R.R. Tolkien: Romanticist and Poet (2017) and, more recently, the edited collection The Romantic Spirit in the Works of J.R.R Tolkien (2024). Our paper seeks to contribute to this scholarly upsurge by presenting a comparative analysis of Tolkien’s works and those penned by one of the most noteworthy authors of Spanish Romanticism, Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer (1836–1870). Akin to the Kunstmärchenof German Romanticism and Tolkien’s Fairy-stories, Bécquer’s Leyendas—e. g. “El monte de las …

“Neither Living Nor Dead”: From Nazgûl To The Sídhe In Tolkien's The Fellowship Of The Ring (1954), Noelia Ramos

Journal of Tolkien Research

This study explores the influence of Celtic supernatural folklore, particularly the banshee tradition, on Tolkien’s depiction of the Nazgûl in The Fellowship of the Ring. Using W.B. Yeats’ Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry (1888) and the Celtic Twilight movement as a comparative framework, it analyses “A Short Cut to Mushrooms” and “A Knife in the Dark”, focusing on liminality, spectral presence, and supernatural dread. These parallels are further contextualised through reference to early Irish texts The Táin Bó Cúailnge and The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn, central works within the Celtic literary compilation known to Tolkien …

Queer Approaches To Tolkien: Essays On The Many Paths To Middle-Earth (2025), Edited By Robin Anne Reid, Christopher Vaccaro, And Stephen Yandell, Taylor Driggers

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review, by Taylor Driggers, of Queer Approaches to Tolkien: Essays on the Many Paths to Middle-earth (2025), edited by Robin Anne Reid, Christopher Vaccaro, and Stephen Yandell

Numenor, The Mighty And Frail: Proceedings Of The Tolkien Society Seminar 2023 (2025), Ed. By Will Sherwood, Douglas Charles Kane

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review, by Douglas Charles Kane, of Numenor, The Mighty and Frail: Proceedings of The Tolkien Society Seminar 2023 (2025), ed. by Will Sherwood

The Tower And The Ruin: J.R.R. Tolkien’S Creation (2025) By Michael D.C. Drout, Nicholas Birns

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review, by Nicholas Birns, of The Tower and the Ruin: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Creation (2025) by Michael D.C. Drout

Tolkien And The Mystery Of Literary Creation (2025), By Giuseppe Pezzini, Mitchell Kooh

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review, by Mitchell Kooh, of Tolkien and the Mystery of Literary Creation (2025) by Giuseppe Pezzini

Tolkien’S Glee: A Reading Of The Songs In “The Hobbit” And “The Lord Of The Rings” (2025) By John R. Holmes, Douglas Charles Kane

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review, by Douglas C. Kane, of Tolkien’s Glee: A Reading of the Songs in “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings”, by John R. Holmes

The High Hallow: Tolkien’S Liturgical Imagination (2025) By Ben Reinhard., Tom Emanuel

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review, by Tom Emanuel, of The High Hallow: Tolkien’s Liturgical Imagination (2025) by Ben Reinhard.

Tolkien Among The Theologians (2025) Edited By Austin M. Freeman, Tom Emanuel

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review, by Tom Emanuel, of Tolkien among the Theologians (2025), edited by Austin M. Freeman

The Romantic Spirit In The Works Of J.R.R. Tolkien (2024), Edited By Will Sherwood And Julian Eilmann, Deidre A. Dawson

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review, by Deidre A. Dawson, of The Romantic Spirit in the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien (2024), edited by Will Sherwood and Julian Eilmann

A Real Taste For Fairy-Stories: Essays (2025), By Verlyn Flieger., Marilyn R. Pukkila

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review, by Marilyn R. Pukkila, of A Real Taste for Fairy-stories: Essays (2025) by Verlyn Flieger.

Proceedings Of The Tolkien 2019 Conference (2025), Edited By Will Sherwood, Ross Smith

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review, by Ross Smith, of Proceedings of the Tolkien 2019 Conference (2025), edited by Will Sherwood.

The Mismeasure Of Orcs: A Critical Reassessment Of Tolkien’S Demonized Creatures (2025), By Robert T. Tally, Jr., Andrew Higgins

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review, by Andrew Higgins, of The Mismeasure of Orcs: A Critical Reassessment of Tolkien’s Demonized Creatures (2025), by Robert T. Tally, Jr.

Josef Madlener’S “Der Berggeist”: Not The “Origin Of Gandalf”, Douglas A. Anderson

Journal of Tolkien Research

Article on why Josef Madlener’s “Der Berggeist” can not be the “Origin of Gandalf”

Representing Middle-Earth: Tolkien, Form, And Ideology (2024), By Robert T. Tally, Jr., Andrew Higgins

Journal of Tolkien Research

Nook review, by Andrew Higgins, of Representing Middle-earth: Tolkien, Form, and Ideology (2024), by Robert T. Tally, Jr.

The Map Of Wilderland: Ecocritical Reflections On Tolkien’S Myth Of Wilderness (2022) By Amber Lehning, Andrew Higgins

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review, by Andrew Higgins, of The Map of Wilderland: Ecocritical Reflections on Tolkien’s Myth of Wilderness (2022) by Amber Lehning

Perceiving The Perceiver: “Viewing” Sauron Through The Gestalt Theory Of Perception, Cameron Bourquein

Journal of Tolkien Research

This paper uses Gestalt theory, the Gestalt laws of perception, and the reception theory of Wolfgang Iser to elucidate the character “Sauron” as he appears in The Lord of the Rings, The Rings of Power, and Tolkien’s wider legendarium. It argues firstly that Sauron’s high degree of indeterminacy and ambiguity suggests he can be read as a gestalt entity, one the reader creates by mentally constructing a whole from (seemingly) disparate parts. Building on the semiotics work of Nagy (2013), it argues that Sauron in The Lord of the Rings can be read as gestalt across the spatial, …

J.R.R. Tolkien In Central Europe: Context, Directions, And The Legacy (2023), Edited By Janka Kaščáková And David Levente Palatinus, Andrew Higgins

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review, by Andrew Higgins, of J.R.R. Tolkien in Central Europe: Context, Directions, and the Legacy (2023), edited by Janka Kaščáková and David Levente Palatinus

Wizard, Demon, Cat; Reformer, Satanist, Bureaucrat: A Diachronic Analysis Of Three Modes Of Sauron In The Legendarium In Light Of The Book Of Lost Tales, Cameron Bourquein

Journal of Tolkien Research

This paper argues that Sauron is a metatextual shape-shifter. Through diachronic analysis it identifies and charts three distinct “modes” of Sauron coexisting in Tolkien’s legendarium. While Sauron’s most robust First Age appearance (in the tale of Beren and Lúthien) remained relatively unchanged from his introduction in the 1920s until Tolkien’s death, Sauron’s role in the Legendarium expanded significantly across Tolkien’s lifetime as Sauron became the primary antagonist of two additional Ages of Middle-earth. Some of the evolutions that accompanied this expansion are not retroactively reflected in the tales already written, hence these “modes” of Sauron could be said to remain …

Celebrating Tolkien’S Legacy: Essays (2024), By Nancy Bunting, Seamus Hamill-Keays, And Toby Widdicombe, Douglas Charles Kane

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review, by Douglas Charles Kane, of Celebrating Tolkien’s Legacy: Essays (2024), by Nancy Bunting, Seamus Hamill-Keays, and Toby Widdicombe

He Is The Master Of Wood, Water, And Hill: Is Tom Bombadil The True Key Keeper Of The Old Forest?, Noelia Ramos

Journal of Tolkien Research

Tom Bombadil, with his iconic singing―”Hey! Come merry doll! Derry doll and merry-o!―has captivated scholars worldwide, due to the enigmatic nature Tolkien intentionally left unexplained. This deliberate mystery has fuelled extensive debate, leading many to explore possible mythological and cultural frameworks that might decode Bombadil’s origins. Among these hypotheses, a Celtic interpretation has often been dismissed despite its potential relevance. This paper, thereby, seeks to analyse Bombadil’s function within the Old Forest and his interactions with the hobbits during their forest episode, presenting fresh insights into his role as a Celtic-inspired guide and druidic figure.

To support this analysis, primary …

The Mirror Of Desire Unbidden: Retrieving The Imago Dei In Tolkien And Late Medieval English Literature (2024) By Giovanni Carmine Costabile, Łukasz Neubauer

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book Review, by Łukasz Neubauer, of The Mirror of Desire Unbidden: Retrieving the Imago Dei in Tolkien and Late Medieval English Literature (2024) by Giovanni Carmine Costabile

Reading, Rending, And Queering The Web Of Story With The Lenses Of “Con-Creation” And Process Theology, Cameron Bourquein, Nick Polk

Mythopoeic Society Seminar Proceedings

“Sub-creation” within Tolkien’s narrative and extra-narrative works is routinely exhibited not as monolithic but rather as (literally and figuratively) polyphonic. In this joint paper Bourquein proposes that the Legendarium can be read through the lens of “con-creation” (total, continuous, collective, creative activity) both internally (as events in the Secondary World) and externally (as both a text and a pseudohistory in the Primary World). This approach levels the playing field between all actors in—and readers of—“The Drama,” providing a queer approach to interpretive-creative activity when compared to “orthodox” doctrines of creation. Polk further argues that con-creation resonates with process theologies of …

Towards An Ethos Of Discussing In-Corporeal Gender In Fantasy Literature: Part I—A 'Feminine' Eldil And A 'Masculine' Vala, Luke Shelton

Mythopoeic Society Seminar Proceedings

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people engaged with others on social media in ways that they had not before. During this time, many new interpretive communities arose. In one of these conversations, the way that fans interpreted Tolkien’s description of the physical characteristics of the Valar resonated with a passage in C.S. Lewis’s Perelandra (the second book of his Space Trilogy) where the narrator describes the physical manifestation of Perelandra and Malacandra. In this paper I perform a close read of the two passages, to examine the textual meaning, to see what interpretive room there is in …

The Nameless Enemy: How Do You Solve A Problem Like “Mairon”?, Cameron Bourquein

Journal of Tolkien Research

This paper analyzes Sauron’s “original” name, “Mairon,” in its various contexts (textual, temporal, and linguistic) and then applies it to a reading of the character in order to produce a “capsule characterization” or “minimyth” for the Lord of the Rings himself. The name “Mairon” appears only in a note to a single entry in a list of Eldarin roots, not published until 2007 in the journal Parma Eldalamberon. This niche location suggests one of the many ways in which this name is marginal: typographically, linguistically, narratively, and historically (as in the Secondary World). The name appears to have been …

The Songs Of The Spheres: Lewis, Tolkien And The Overlapping Realms Of Their Imaginations (2024), Edited By Łukasz Neubauer And Guglielmo Spirito, G. Connor Salter

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review, by G. Connor Salter, of The Songs of the Spheres: Lewis, Tolkien and the Overlapping Realms of their Imaginations (2024), edited by Łukasz Neubauer and Guglielmo Spirito

The Feanorian Alphabet Part 2 [And] Eldarin Pronouns (2024), By J.R.R. Tolkien, Edited By Arden R. Smith And Christopher Gilson, Andrew Higgins

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review, by Andrew Higgins, of The Feanorian Alphabet Part 2 [and] Eldarin Pronouns (2024), by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Arden R. Smith and Christopher Gilson