John Ronald Reuel Tolkien è forse l'autore che più ha influenzato la cultura popolare degli ultimi cent'anni. Grazie alle trasposizioni cinematografiche del regista Peter Jackson, le sue opere sono arrivate anche alle generazioni più giovani, alimentando ancor di più l'interesse verso i suoi capolavori Lo Hobbit e Il Signore degli Anelli - definito, a pieno titolo, «il libro del XX secolo». Raymond Edwards ricostruisce la vita di J.R.R. Tolkien scavando nei meandri dei ricordi dell'uomo - dall'infanzia travagliata all'esperienza traumatica nella Prima Guerra Mondiale, passando per l'amore per la moglie Edith, l'importanza della propria fede, le difficoltà personali e professionali affrontate per completare Il Signore degli Anelli e molto altro - per incastrarvi sapientemente il rapporto con la filologia, materia che l'ha accompagnato per l'intera carriera accademica. Tolkien è inoltre la prima biografia a occuparsi del grande lascito letterario dell'autore, prendendo in considerazione sia le numerose pubblicazioni postume curate dal figlio Christopher, che quelle realizzate in ambito universitario.

J.R.R. Tolkien has arguably had a greater influence on contemporary culture and reading habits than any other 20th century writer. Successful film versions ofThe Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit have only increased interest in his work. What sort of man was he, who so profoundly changed the sort of things we read and write? When TheLord of the Rings was published, Tolkien was in his early sixties; until then, he had led the outwardly unremarkable life of an Oxford don. Yet beneath the surface conventionality, his astonishing imaginative life, nourished by the rich sources of his professional interests, grew luxuriantly. This is the first Tolkien biography since Humphrey Carpenter's authorized life of 1977 to deal with the wealth of posthumously published material; it sets Tolkien's imaginative writing firmly in the context of his academic life, shows the great personal and professional difficulties he overcame to completeThe Lord of the Rings, and charts his ultimately unsuccessful efforts to complete the great cycle of legends that appeared, after his death, asThe Silmarillion. It also deals with Tolkien's role in the precipitous decline of his academic discipline, philology, as a university subject; and shows how, in one sense, his imaginative achievement is itself a triumphant vindication of his academic career.