TOLKIEN AND THE WEST Reclaiming Europe's Lost Literary Tradition

Professor Drout, who teaches medieval and Anglo-Saxon literature at Wheaton College, has recorded several lecture series for Recorded Books on linguistics, rhetoric, the history of English, and Geoffrey Chaucer. In this lecture he combines his knowledge of medieval literature with his love of modern fantasy fiction to explore where and how THE HOBBIT, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, and The SILMARILLION fit into literature and the Western mythos. His insights are deep and personal. Serious Tolkien enthusiasts as well as casual listeners will find the material enriching. Drout presents these lectures with a youthful voice and style, a highly enthusiastic pace, and lapses of animated sarcasm (when, for instance, ridiculing critic Edmund Wilson). Listeners accustomed to sober scholarship may find the presentation over-the-top. But Drout’s knowledge, depth, and love for the material make this a fascinating foray into Middle Earth. S.E.S. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine [Published: DECEMBER 2012]