J.R.R. Tolkien is one of the most popular writers of the 20th century. His two most famous works of fiction, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, have sold hundreds of millions of copies and completely transformed modern fantasy fiction. In addition, Tolkien was a celebrated scholar, a professor at Oxford, and the author of the most influential article on the great Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf ever written.

The new Critical Companion to J.R.R. Tolkien provides a reliable, up-to-date, and encyclopedic source of information on this influential writer for high school and college-level students,...