Oxford Fantasy Podcasts

This lecture is an introduction to J.R.R. Tolkien's third major work, 'The Silmarillion' (1977), and considers its lengthy development in numerous prose and verse texts over fifty years.
This lecture offers a guided tour through the development of J.R.R. Tolkien's 'Silmarillion' corpus, inclusive of The Silmarillion (1977) and the earlier versions of the same work published in the History of Middle Earth series (1983-1996). The most mythological and magisterial of Tolkien's major works, the 1977 Silmarillion (and its antecedents) gives the reader a very different experience and perspective than his more famous and widely read works, The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955). A mythology in the true sense, the 'Silmarillion' corpus is peopled with gods and other preternatural beings and represents the earliest comprehensive work of Tolkien's imagination. Since it was begun in earnest in the middle of the First World War, one of the most turbulent periods in modern history, its tone is more sober and its events more tragic than those of his other classics, but its powerful messages of nobility in the face of defeat and courage in darkness resonate with the world events of the time in which it was produced.

Mr. Underhill wrote:

Towards the beginning of the recording Ms. McIlwaine spoke about the contract that Tolkien signed with A&U for profit sharing on LOTR and how he didn't see any real money for the first few years after publication.

That got me wondering about the profit sharing agreements he had on (to that point) The Hobbit and Farmer Giles. I remember reading the details on this but can't remember where.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Mr. Underhill wrote:

Thanks for the info Deagol

Is this on your site anywhere?

Tom Shippey's lecture will move from the detail to the (eventual) design of Tolkien's languages, and even the philosophical issues embedded in Tolkien's fiction.

Professionally speaking, Tolkien was a philologist, interested above all in the history and relationships of languages. Personally speaking, he was a self-declared 'niggler', who took immense pains over details. It was a vital moment when he solved a problem, which would have bothered few authors of fantasy, to do with the history and relationship of the languages of Middle-earth. It was this which opened up The Lord of the Rings to its full scale and sweep.

Using the geographic touch points in Oxford, Professor Simon Horobin of Magdalen College, Oxford interweaves a biography of C. S. Lewis, his relationships with other writers, and the influences on his fantasy works.