J. R. R. Tolkien's influences J. R. R. Tolkien's influences While highly creative, the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien was influenced by a number of sources. Tolkien was inspired by his academic fields of philology and early Germanic literature, especially poetry and mythology, as well as a wide range of other beliefs, culture, and experiences. "The Lord of the Rings" is a sequel to "The Hobbit" and so shares influences with it. At the same time, it is a novel which is much greater in scale and scope and so encompasses many other influences as well. Tolkien once described "The Lord of the Rings"
Tolkien: A Look Behind "The Lord of the Rings" Unfortunately, he did not have the scholarly training to do this with sufficient rigor and the book has many factual errors throughout, but his enthusiasm is infectious." Tolkien: A Look Behind "The Lord of the Rings" Tolkien: A Look Behind "The Lord of the Rings" is a study of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien written by Lin Carter. It was first published in paperback by Ballantine Books in March 1969 and reprinted in April 1969, April 1970, July 1971, July 1972, February 1973, July 1973, June 1975 and November 1977, after which it went out of print for