J.R.R. TOLKIEN THE MAKING OF A LEGEND by Colin Duriez

Simon Vance offers an agreeably smooth and engaged performance of this revealing literary biography of J.R.R. Tolkien, the author and Oxford professor who made Bilbo, Frodo, Gollum, and Gandalf into household names. Born in 1892, Tolkien was a brilliant student of languages and inventor of fantastical tales from childhood on. An ardent Catholic in Anglican England, he was traumatized by the battlefield of WWI. Both of these experiences fed the imagination that created the world of Middle Earth. Vance's expertise shows. He engages listeners by presenting narrative descriptions--whether of battle, debate society, or family life--with his trademark care for topic, rhythm, and punctuation. The result is an ideal listen for Tolkien geeks, read by one of the very best.