The Road to Middle-Earth The Road to Middle-Earth The Road to Middle-Earth: How J. R. R. Tolkien Created a New Mythology is a scholarly study of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien written by Tom Shippey. In Great Britain it was first published by Allen & Unwin in 1982, with a second edition published in 1993 by Harper Collins and a revised and expanded third edition published in 2003. It is currently published by Houghton Mifflin in the United States. The book discusses the sources of Tolkien's inspiration in creating the world of Middle-earth and the writing of works including "The Hobbit", "The
J. R. R. Tolkien increased interest in the value of wild and untamed nature, and in protecting what wild nature was left in the industrialized world. Tolkien devised several themes that were reused in successive drafts of his "legendarium", beginning with "The Book of Lost Tales", written while recuperating from illnesses contracted during The Battle of the Somme. The two most prominent stories, the tale of Beren and Lúthien and that of Túrin, were carried forward into long narrative poems (published in "The Lays of Beleriand"). One of the greatest influences on Tolkien was the Arts and Crafts polymath William Morris. Tolkien wished to