"The Downsters And The Critics"

[Child of the 7th Age]

Esty,

You may be surprised to learn that this book is around and widely available. There was a second copyright granted in 1978, and another in 1992, the year that I bought a hardback copy. Amazon is still selling paperback editions dated 2002. Used copies are available online for as little as $.15, which perhaps says something about the lack of demand for this volume.

Like you, I have reservations about this book. I also get the sense that the author may have added some material in the later editions that is even more critical of the author and the estate. (I don't have a 1976 copy so I can't tell for sure.) In places, the author's treatment of JRRT seems heavy handed. Let me set down a few quotes from the prologue:

Tolkien had a strong fear of being interrupted. The slightest unexpected intrusion upon or derivation from his prearranged daily schedule had an immediately detrimental effect upon his writing. And Tolkien was lazy. His total literary output over a period of more than five years was surprisingly small. Tolkien was a disorganized writer, an incorrigible procrastinator,a slow worker and one who created his own distractions....

Conversing with Tolkien was a demanding task because it was often very difficult to understand exactly what he was saying. He spoke in a soft, low-pitched, rapid voice, not bothering to enunciate or articulate clearly. Tolkien mumbled constantly, his speech often seemed garbled to even his most attentive listeners, and he unconsciously upset friends because they could never tell whether he was telling a joke or cursing under his breath......

He was also bad at telling jokes and stories because he invariably muffled the punch line (or never even got to it), swallowed his words, or laughed heartily in the middle.....

I don't doubt that some of these criticisms apply to Tolkien, but Grotta handles the material with little sympathy or finesse.

In a preface added in 1992, Grotta disparages Christopher Tolkien who "has now developed something of a cottage industry in editing and rewriting his father's fragments for publication." He also speaks disparagingly of Tolkien's "lack of domestic equilibrium" without further explanation. I read somewhere that those were the sections excised from the book. Hints of Grotta's feelings still remain. Edith is described as someone who was jealous of her husband's male friends and who used migrained headaches as an excuse for avoiding unwanted social contact; there are few positive comments to counterbalance these.

I can understand that the estate felt uncomfortable with this and did not grant the author access to Tolkien's personal papers. I do agree that the author does a good job explaining the socio-cultural background and that this is helpful for the American reader, but overall I can't recommend it.

~Child