Christopher Tolkien, son of JRR Tolkien has died aged 95, the Tolkien Society reports. In a recent statement on twitter, they had this to say: “Christopher Tolkien has died at the age of 95. The Tolkien Society sends its deepest condolences to Baillie, Simon, Adam, Rachel and the whole Tolkien family.”
image via tolkien society on twitter
Christopher continued the legacy of his father, author of Lord of the Rings, after his death in 1973, and was an author of his own work. Having grown up listening to his father’s stories, fantasy was deeply ingrained in his life from an early age. He was the first scholar of Middle Earth, even making a map of the fantasy space – which you can see firsthand in the British Library. He dedicated much of his life to editing and publishing his father’s writing.
Christopher was critical of the film adaption Lord of the Rings in an interview with Le Monde in France, stating that his father’s work had been gutted in order to market an action movie to young people. Tolkien initially sold the rights to his work for £100,000 – an amount that seems small in consideration of the legacy of the series today.
Many fans of Lord of the Rings have reached out on Twitter to express their sadness at this loss.
Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it… White shores, and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise. #RIP
— Henny’s tweets ✊??? (@HennyPlat) January 16, 2020
It’s rare to find a literary executor who so lived up to, and expanded the reach and scope of the someone else’s work. He was a champion, scholar, veteran and devoted son. RIP.
— Mark A. Kruszczynski, Ph.D. (@MarKruszczynski) January 16, 2020
Christopher will be remembered fondly for ensuring that his father’s legacy lived on after his death and expanding on a world so cherished by fantasy lovers all over the world.
Bookstr is community supported. If you enjoy Bookstr’s articles, quizzes, graphics and videos, please join our Patreon to support our writers and creators or donate to our Paypal and help Bookstr to keep supporting the book loving community.
Become a Patron!
