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#34 | |
Spirit of the Lonely Star
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 5,133
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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: Quote:
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
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