If you are looking for a Tolkien biography or the behind-the-scenes, dramatic story of how ‘Lord of the Rings’ got written, you won’t find it here. If, however, an academic study of the influences, motivations, and themes that contributed to and permeated Tolkien’s books appeals to you, you’ve come to the right place

The Road to Middle Earth and Prof. Shippey’s other book, JRR Tolkien, Author of the Century, both cover the same material, but in slightly different ways. Each makes unique points, but overall, there is a lot of repetition. If you are only going to buy one of these books, I’d recommend “Road to Middle Earth” for its fuller exploration of philology, underlying themes and concepts in Tolkien’s works, defense against selected criticisms, and Tolkien’s early drafts and later revisions.

Both books start off with detailed explanation of philology. Dictionary definitions of the word fail to capture the scope and depth of the field that was Tolkien’s passion and which influenced his books so enormously. Through Prof. Shippey’s analysis, one glimpses a complexity to the novels that would otherwise go unnoticed. Tolkien was keenly intrigued by the origins and meanings of words. He saw in ancient texts, whether Old English, Old Norse, or Anglo-Saxon, hints of stories now forgotten, words that teased him with their obscure meanings. What were these lost legends? What did the unusual words mean and what did they imply about the world that gave rise to them? Tolkien wanted to create a mythology that could account for the concepts behind the words, a mythology that explained dwarves and elves, dragons and ents. Tolkien’s stories were often patterned after existing texts and records of actual cultures, but also reflected modern experiences.

A combat veteran of the first World War, Tolkien also witnessed the horrors brought by the second—extermination camps, genocide, bombing of civilian populations, weapons of mass destruction—things Prof. Shippey tells us were unthinkable to the Victorian culture Tolkien had grown up in. A sense that “something had gone horribly wrong” with the world could not fail to seep into the writings of those who lived through those times. Thus, one theme of “Lord of the Rings” was the nature of evil, and another that of sorrow. Even if the quest is achieved and Sauron defeated, the world cannot go back to what it was. Beautiful things of old will fade, some wounds will never heal.

Prof. Shippey focuses mostly on the Lord of the Rings, but also discusses Tolkien’s other works. The Hobbit is presented as primarily the clash between two cultures, the modern world represented by Bilbo and the hobbits, undeniably English of Victorian or Edwardian times, and the archaic world of the dwarves, colored by heroic sagas like Beowulf. The Silmarillien, the work of Tolkien’s heart and his lifelong project, is patterned after Genesis and the Fall; in this case, the Fall is that of the elves, whose sin is the desire to make things that reflect themselves. Tolkien’s short stories are not forgotten, but examined for the insights they give to Tolkien’s moods and perspectives.

Prof. Shippey’s ideas make for engaging reading. His responses to assorted Tolkien critics are icing on the cake. He makes a convincing case that many critical remarks are hypocritical, imperceptive, and elitist. He also suggests that Tolkien’s “elementary sensibilities—over patriotism, over euphemism, and especially over sex and marriage” were held against him and prevented a fair reading of his books. That Tolkien has appealed to a broad demographic range for decades shows clearly that people find his stories relevant even if they are fantasy and don’t conform to critics’ ideas of what constitutes “good literature.”

I came away from both “Author of the Century” and “Road to Middle Earth” with a greater appreciation for Tolkien’s books and a better understanding of how they came to be written. Do give one or both a try.

For those of us that have read all of Tolkien's Middle Earth related books and find ourselves hungry for more and disappointed that the party has to end at some point - we can find some solace in both of the books from Tom Shippey. At some point many of us have made the jump from reading the source material to reading about how the books were written just find some scrap of Tolkien's ideas or writing that we have not seen over and over again. I found the offerings by Tom Shippey to be incredibly insightful and full of "lore" about the creation of middle earth. I have read much Tolkien criticism and for me, nothing is as well done as Shippey's work. Fleiger's bookes are worthwhile and interesting but for me are a bit dry. Shippey, I think, is the most uniquely qualified (other than Christopher Tolkien of course) to comment on Tolkien's creations. If you love middle earth, these are both worthwhile reads. Sadly it just leaves me wanting more......but perhaps that is the effect of any great work.

Of the several literary criticisms of Tolkien's work I've read, Shippey's is far and away the most enjoyable; balanced, deeply-researched, rich in detail; also, fun to read, if one likes reading solid literary criticism. The author has a way with words, and with facts, even minutiae, that does open up an understanding of the wherewithal of Tolkien's fiction and non-fiction in interesting and worthwhile ways.

That said, Shippey, (like Patrick Curry, and so many other academics & "Tolkien scholars,") while discussing Tolkien's philological roots and branches, and interrogating concepts like "glamour" and "enchantment," casts a spell of his own, one that can create quite drab, two-dimensional "texts" out of what are, already and with no help necessary from literary critics, wonderfully evocative, and moving tales. That so many readers, (i.e. millions of people, literally,) appreciate & resonate with Tolkien's writings and the understanding of life that his works embody can be accepted at face value. Even high caliber criticism like Shippey's in the Road to Middle Earth, isn't really "called for," much less essential to an "understanding" of Tolkien's writing. And, for all the wealth of detail in Shippey's critique, his analysis can, and for me did somewhat deflect the real lived experience of reading Tolkien.

As antidote, I went back to the source, and in re-browsing The Lord of the Rings, (for the dwarf-teenth time,) I was once again struck by the beauty of Tolkien's prose and his power to evoke senses and feelings, very good ones, that don't require, for me at least, any analysis at all.

It's enough to sit for a moment with Bilbo & Frodo again, "looking through the window at the bright stars above the steep-climbing woods, and talking softly.They spoke no more of the small news of the Shire far away, nor of the dark shadows and perils that encompassed them, but of the fair things they had seen in the world together, of the Elves, of the stars, of trees, and the gentle fall of the bright year in the woods."