J. R. R. Tolkien in his lifetime, and was sometimes harshly disapproving. In 1946, he rejected suggestions for illustrations by Horus Engels for the German edition of "The Hobbit" as "too Disnified ... Bilbo with a dribbling nose, and Gandalf as a figure of vulgar fun rather than the Odinic wanderer that I think of". Tolkien was sceptical of the emerging Tolkien fandom in the United States, and in 1954 he returned proposals for the dust jackets of the American edition of "The Lord of the Rings": He had dismissed dramatic representations of fantasy in his essay "On Fairy-Stories", first presented in 1939: Tolkien
Reception of J. R. R. Tolkien Rings" followed from 1973 to 1975 ("Tiden Norsk Forlag"). Both translations were harshly criticized for errors and inconsistencies and complaints resulted in a new translation of "LotR", published in 1980/81. By the late 1980s, Tolkien's works were well known to the Norwegian public. A translation of the "Silmarillion" appeared in 1994. The unsatisfactory "Hobbit" translation was replaced only in 1997. By the mid-1990s, the popularity of Tolkien had risen to a level that made viable translations of his minor works. Arthedain - The Tolkien Society of Norway was founded in 1981. The Finnish Tolkien Society Kontu ("Suomen Tolkien-seura Kontu ry"