{"product_id":"the-tower-and-the-ruin-by-michael-dc-drout-9781324093886","title":"The Tower and the Ruin","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo writer has surpassed the epic achievement of J.R.R. Tolkien, who spent decades refining his world of Middle-earth—a world that has felt so real to so many readers that it is almost impossible to imagine that anyone could have created it, seemingly out of thin air.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eThe Tower and the Ruin\u003c\/em\u003e, Michael D. C. Drout explores Tolkien's genius, allowing us to glimpse the making of every work from \u003cem\u003eThe Lord of the Rings\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Hobbit\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eThe Silmarillion\u003c\/em\u003e to lesser-known books such as \u003cem\u003eThe Fall of Gondolin\u003c\/em\u003e as well as his poetry. We see how Tolkien invented myths, legends, cultures, languages, histories, and an intricate, multivocal narrative.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWe come to understand how, early on, Tolkien drew upon and modified material he found in \u003cem\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/em\u003e, the \u003cem\u003eKalevala\u003c\/em\u003e, and other medieval literature from Northern Europe, and how he later developed the complex form of sorrow that is the primary theme of his mature works.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSweeping and hugely perceptive—and enhanced throughout by Drout's personal reflections as a dedicated reader of Tolkien since childhood—\u003cem\u003eThe Tower and the Ruin\u003c\/em\u003e illuminates Tolkien anew.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"John Wiley and Sons Ltd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47031899554028,"sku":"9781324093886","price":78.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/e54f5ecccbc242573559da946ced6601.jpg?v=1764154026","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/products\/the-tower-and-the-ruin-by-michael-dc-drout-9781324093886","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}