Michael Murray-Fennell goes in search of elves and wizards in the home city of the creator of Middle-earth
Do not write on this margin’ is printed on the top-left-hand corner of a single page torn from a university exam booklet. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892–1973) has clearly ignored the instruction, covering both the margin and the rest of the lined sheet with a detailed map in both pencil and black, red and green ink. Geographical features include a river, a forest and contours showing the rise and fall of the land, but there is no doubt that this map is drawn from the imagination; labels include ‘orc-raids’, ‘wandering gnomes’ and a ‘dwarf-road’.
Created in the 1920s, that map is the first one of Middle-earth, a fantasy world of elves and wizards, dwarves and dragons. There would be many more maps. By the end of the 1940s, academic and author J. R. R. Tolkien was sticking together multiple sheets with brown parcel tape to keep up with his expanding universe.
This yellowing map contains countless creases and folds— proof that it was pored over by its creator. To the west of the Misty Mountains, there’s a small burn hole, most likely caused by Tolkien’s pipe. ‘I wisely started with a map,’ he wrote, ‘and made the story fit.’
この記事は Country Life UK の August 08, 2018 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Country Life UK の August 08, 2018 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
