Immagine dell'autore.

Humphrey Carpenter (1946–2005)

Autore di Tolkien: A Biography

55+ opere 6,237 membri 60 recensioni 1 preferito

Sull'Autore

Humphrey Carpenter is the award-winning author of biographies of Dennis Potter, J.R.R. Tolkien, W.H. Auden, and Ezra Pound. He broadcasts regularly on BBC radio. Carpenter is married with two children and lives in Oxford, England
Fonte dell'immagine: Humphrey Carpenter, 1994

Serie

Opere di Humphrey Carpenter

Tolkien: A Biography (1977) 2,768 copie
Mr Majeika (1985) 170 copie
W. H. Auden: A Biography (1981) 160 copie
Spike Milligan (2003) 129 copie
Jesus (Past Masters) (1980) 58 copie
Mr Majeika Vanishes (1997) 49 copie
That was satire that was (2000) 38 copie
Founders of Faith (1986) — Collaboratore — 37 copie
Mr Majeika's Postbag (1990) 14 copie
The Captain Hook Affair (1979) 5 copie
J.R.R. Tolkien (2022) 4 copie
Keble college (1987) 1 copia
Ghostclusters 1 copia

Opere correlate

Tre uomini in barca (per non parlar del cane) (1889) — Introduzione, alcune edizioni; Introduzione, alcune edizioni7,636 copie
La realta in trasparenza: lettere 1914-1973 (1981) — A cura di — 2,722 copie
J.R.R. Tolkien: An Audio Portrait (CD) (2001) — Collaboratore — 18 copie
Apollo: Origins and Influence (1994) — Collaboratore — 5 copie

Etichette

Informazioni generali

Utenti

Recensioni

Humphrey Carpenter's authorized biography of Tolkien is a surprisingly balanced picture of the man. Carpenter clearly admires Tolkien's talent without being blind to his faults. Carpenter simply adores the man for who he was, faults and all, and does not try to paint some mythic portrait of Tolkien. Although Tolkien possessed an extraordinary mind, he was quite - in many aspects - an ordinary man, duty bound to professional obligations and family life. Tolkien preferred the 'quiet life' you see and was in many ways, a Hobbit from the Baggin's side of the tracks in temperament and lifestyle. Yet his mind (I suspect) possessed the longings of a Took...

J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography is immensely readable, and paints a wonderful portrait of a man who in my opinion, is the most important literary figure of the 20th century.
… (altro)
 
Segnalato
ryantlaferney87 | 21 altre recensioni | Dec 8, 2023 |
The biography is fine, but what a dully disgusting life.
 
Segnalato
judeprufrock | 1 altra recensione | Jul 4, 2023 |
I fell in love with The Lord of the Rings when I was in high school. Nevertheless, this biography has remained unread on my shelves for over fifteen years. Why? Some authors are an absolute disappointment to read about. I guess I didn’t want to know if the Professor was one of them.

He’s not.

If you had to write a fictional biography for Tolkien it would look much like this.

Orphaned at an early age, he fell In love with a girl, also orphaned and living in the same boarding house.

His fascination with languages, learning ancient languages and even developing his own secret languages based on strict linguistical rules, showed themselves at an early age.

The only disappointment to me was that his fascinating circle of friends didn’t include women. He was a complete product of his time, attending boys’ prep schools and colleges. Only in the very later years is a female graduate student mentioned. This is often reflected in his books, where usually (but not always) women have secondary roles, leaving the adventuring and hero-ing to men.

Highly recommended.
… (altro)
½
 
Segnalato
streamsong | 21 altre recensioni | May 30, 2023 |
Until I read this, I didn't know that biographies could be so engaging. Carpenter paints a vivid picture of Tolkien's life, skillfully balancing discussion of his day-to-day life with those elements that might tell us more about how his great works came to be. The writing style is immensely enjoyable, that even the mundanities of Tolkien's daily commutes seem like activity bursting with vitality.
 
Segnalato
mirryi | 21 altre recensioni | May 24, 2023 |

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Statistiche

Opere
55
Opere correlate
6
Utenti
6,237
Popolarità
#3,932
Voto
3.9
Recensioni
60
ISBN
264
Lingue
16
Preferito da
1

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