Tolkien and the boy who didn’t believe in fairies
29 Sep, 2013
2013-9-29 9:18:45 AM UTC
2013-9-29 9:18:45 AM UTC
Very interesting article by John Garth
John also has a time limited request in the article, which finishes on the 30th September.
"The manuscripts of Tolkien’s deeply influential lecture ‘On Fairy-stories’ include a striking anecdote in which that great proponent of Faërie, the author, recalls being put in his place by a small, thoroughly scientifically-minded boy. It is an entertaining little nugget, but I would suggest that it is more than that: it identifies a moment in the author’s life which encapsulated for him, even some thirty years later, the defining idea behind his legendarium: that fairy-stories are not solely or primarily for children. Here I not only reveal the identity of the boy, but also provide photographs of both child and garden, while offering some thoughts on the date of the incident."
http://www.johngarth.co.uk/php/boy_didnt_believe_fairies.php
John also has a time limited request in the article, which finishes on the 30th September.
"The manuscripts of Tolkien’s deeply influential lecture ‘On Fairy-stories’ include a striking anecdote in which that great proponent of Faërie, the author, recalls being put in his place by a small, thoroughly scientifically-minded boy. It is an entertaining little nugget, but I would suggest that it is more than that: it identifies a moment in the author’s life which encapsulated for him, even some thirty years later, the defining idea behind his legendarium: that fairy-stories are not solely or primarily for children. Here I not only reveal the identity of the boy, but also provide photographs of both child and garden, while offering some thoughts on the date of the incident."
http://www.johngarth.co.uk/php/boy_didnt_believe_fairies.php
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