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Yet, it was in the idealistic 60's that LotR really took off in popularity, not in the 50's. LotR wasn't taken up by those 'anti-romantics' of the 50's, but by the romantics of the 60's. And now, in the anti-romantic, cynical, frightened & fanatical world of the early 21st century, we have CoH topping the bestseller lists across the world.
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Interesting....
But isn't the important question this. Just why are all those people buying C of H? Is it because the "anti-romantic, cynical" aspects of the book draw readers into the story, and then they urge their friends to give it a try? Or is it because most of these readers had already read LotR and, based on their attraction to that bittersweet tale (a word which I prefer to davem's adjective "romantic") they would invariably search out any new Tolkien title? Perhaps, that searching would take place no matter what the tone of the new book was. Admitedly, people must like the story enough to pass on positive words to their friends. But does it really go beyond that to an attraction to the work because of its distinctive tone is somehow better suited to the 21st century?
On a personal level, I read and was moved by C of H. Yet it hasn't drastically altered my perception of the author, since there were certainly stories in Silm/HoMe with a similar grim tone. Stand alone novel or no, it is one small piece of a much larger story, and it is that larger story that holds the greater attraction for me.