When most people think of fantasy novels and movies, they think of elegant elves, strong dwarves, fire-breathing dragons, and epic adventures through exciting lands. That’s largely because of one author: J. R. R. Tolkien.
Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892—130 years ago. His first novel, The Hobbit, was published in 1937. It was set in a fantastic land called Middle Earth and followed the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, who’s part of a human-like species called hobbits. He goes on an adventure with a wizard and 13 dwarves to seek out treasure guarded by a giant dragon. It was so popular that his publishers asked him to create a sequel, leading to the first book of the Lord of the Rings trilogy in 1954.
These books forever changed how people thought about fiction. “Tolkien put fantasy back on the map,” says Corey Olsen, a Tolkien scholar and founder of Signum University. At the time Tolkien was writing, fantasy was considered only for young kids. Tolkien’s books showed that it had a place in fiction for all ages.
The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings books are as popular as ever. They’ve inspired movie adaptations and a new TV series from Amazon coming in fall 2022. “Tolkien’s writing is really powerful because he doesn’t focus on characters or plot, he focuses on the world,” says Olsen. “If you fall in love with Middle Earth itself, you’re a Tolkien fan for life.”