8G History Lesson 125 Assignment

Today I will be writing about 2 great authors of the 20th century, J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.

J.R.R. Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892. He lived in South Africa until he was 4, when he moved to England because his father had passed away. Sadly, his mother also died in 1904, leaving Tolkien and his younger brother orphans. They were taken into the care of a Catholic priest. Tolkien attended Exeter College in Oxford, and after graduating he became a teacher. He was an English professor for most of his life. Tolkien met C.S. Lewis at school, and they became friends. They started going to a writing group called the Inklings.

Tolkien wrote many books, but by far his most well-known and best-selling is The Lord of the Rings. It is a fantastical epic, with creatures such as dwarves, elves, ogres, etc. It is usually published in three separate volumes, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. There is also an immensely popular prequel, The Hobbit, (published before LOTR) which sets a background for the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The books remain very popular today, and all of the books have movie adaptations, which are very popular. Tolkien has also published a few other books relating to Middle Earth, the fictional world he created, but they are not as popular as the main series.

Tolkien died on September 3, 1973. Some of his works were published after his death.

C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis was born on November 29, 1898. He was interested in writing even at an early age, encouraged by his parents. He attended many boarding schools, and later studied at Oxford college. He was an atheist until fellow writer and friend J.R.R. Tolkien encouraged Lewis to pursue faith.

His first successful work was Out of the Silent Planet, a science fiction book. He followed this up with two others that completed the trilogy. They were reviewed in the Inklings group.

C.S. Lewis’ most famous work is the Narnia series. The first book, the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, was published in 1950. The books have Christian symbolism woven into them.

Lewis died on November 22, 1963.

Both of these authors were very influential, and their books are still wildly popular today.

References:

www.britannica.com/biography/J-R-R-Tolkien

www.britannica.com/biography/C-S-Lewis