June 2006    

Keys of Middle-Earth: Discovering Medieval Literature through the Fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien Authors: Stuart D. Lee and Elizabeth Solopova Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan $90.00 Cloth (284 p.) ISBN: 1403946728 B&T         YBP I never read The Lord of the Rings in high school when you were supposed to. I couldn't get past the hobbits' hairy toes. Yuck. I did however read Malory in the original and the Gawaine Poet in translation and as many other works of that ilk as my school library afforded. (Yes, I was probably insufferable company and no, I didn't date much. Why do you ask?) My children, more enlightened than I (And isn't that as it ought to be else how does civilization progress?), did read those books early and through them and the recent Peter Jackson films I have come to a better appreciation of Tolkien's world. No one at that time made the connection for me between Tolkien's work and my "recreational" reading and my close-minded aversion to bare feet prevented me from making it on my own so when I saw The Keys of Middle-Earth, I realized here was a book that could bridge the gap I had allowed to exist. I think the authors would be pleased because this is just the intention that caused them to write the book. Stuart D. Lee teaches at Oxford and Elizabeth Solopova tends manuscripts at the Bodleian Library and both firmly believe that a reader needs to understand the works and world which Tolkien used in writing The Lord of the Rings to enrich the enjoyment received from each. Partly an anthology, The Keys of Middle-Earth contain key texts related to Middle-Earth equivalents, noting parallels where they exist, and influences, which are more common. These texts are accompanied by new translations for this volume and are based on the most recent scholarship concerning dating, authorship, and origins. The rest of the book is a very accessible but satisfyingly thorough discussion of medieval language and literature from Old Norse, Old English, and Middle English traditions including sections on names, alliterative verse, meter, and runes. This is all found in what the authors call the introduction but which comprises a fifth of the book and in summaries at the beginning of each section of text. None of this is to be skipped over as it also lays out the format in which the ensuing medieval texts are presented and greatly aids in using the book to its best advantage. The Keys of Middle-Earth enables the reader to begin a further study of medieval writing as it also gives one a deeper appreciation of The Lord of the Rings. It is also the perfect antidote to the effects of the too-many Tolkien books that have sprouted in the fields plowed by the film trilogy. Of all such that I have seen none so helped me to share what Tolkien believed the medieval authors all shared: A belief in a common past and a set of beliefs that included a time of elves, dwarves and wizards. On an even more personal note, I would encourage anyone who knows some insufferable teen who is drawn to Middle-Earth merely as fantasy or to medieval literature merely as some high-brow exercise to give them this book and perhaps start them on a road that will lead to a sense of learning that can encompass both scholarship and imagination which only now I fully understand is what Tolkien did. --Rob Norton Published by YBP Library Services 999 Maple St., Contoocook, NH 03229 USA v: 800.258.3774   f: 603.746.5628 w: www.ybp.com   e: academia@ybp.com All rights reserved.