Humphrey Carpenter

The only authorised biography, and the only one written by an author who actually met J.R.R. Tolkien, now reissued as a deluxe edition housed in a matching custom-built slipcase and featuring the original 16 pages of photographic plates illustrating the author's life. In more than 40 years since Tolkien’s death in September 1973, millions have read The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion and become fascinated about the very private man behind the books. Born in Bloemfontein in January 1892, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was orphaned in childhood, brought up in near-poverty and almost thwarted in adolescent romance. He served in the First World War, surviving the Battle of the Somme, where he lost some of his closest friends, and returned to academic life, achieving high repute as a scholar and university teacher, eventually becoming Merton Professor of English at Oxford. Then suddenly his life changed dramatically. One day while marking essay papers he found himself writing ‘In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit’ – and worldwide renown awaited him. Humphrey Carpenter was given unrestricted access to all Tolkien’s papers, and interviewed his friends and family. From these sources he follows the long and painful process of creation that produced The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion and offers a wealth of information about the life and work of the twentieth century’s most cherished author.

Tarutaiturin elämän sykähdyttävä syväluotaus.Humphrey Carpenterin J. R. R. Tolkien: Elämäkerta esittelee kattavasti hobittien ja Keski-Maan luojan matkan köyhästä orpopojasta maailman suosituimmaksi fantasiakirjailijaksi. Tutustu tästä lukunäytteeseen J. R. R. Tolkienin omiin arkistoihin ja suvun sekä ystävien haastatteluihin perustuva elämäkerta kertoo kiehtovan tarinan muinaiskielistä kiinnostuneesta pojasta, joka kehitteli omia ”haltiakieliään” ja niiden puhujille sankarillisen historian. Aineksista syntyi miljoonien lukijoiden rakastama Taru Sormusten herrasta, jonka maailmaa Tolkien hienosääti koko ikänsä ja toimi samalla arvostettuna professorina Oxfordissa.”Yksi mielenkiintoisimmista ja nautinnollisimmista kirjallisuuden suurnimien elämäkerroista.” The TimesJ. R. R. Tolkien: Elämäkerta julkaistaan tarkistettuna suomennoksena Tolkienin syntymän 130-vuotisjuhlan kunniaksi.Humphrey Carpenter (1946-2005) oli brittiläinen elämäkerturi ja radiotoimittaja, joka ehti itse tavata J. R. R. Tolkienin ennen tämän kuolemaa 1973. Carpenter on kirjoittanut myös Tolkienin kirjallisesta ystäväpiiristä kertovan teoksen The Inklings ja toimittanut Tolkienin Kirjeet-kokoelman (WSOY 2009).

The original authorised biography, and the only one written by an author who actually met J.R.R. Tolkien, reissued to mark Tolkienâ??s 125th Anniversary.

Dennis Potter's death in 1994 deprived British television of its most controversial figure. Potter was a prolific writer of genius. Yet while his subversive television plays, such as Pennies from Heaven and The Singing Detective, scandalized and delighted the nation, they also made him the butt of the tabloids, who nicknamed him 'Dirty Den' for his 1989 serial Blackeyes.Humphrey Carpenter, acclaimed biographer of Tolkien, Auden, Pound, Britten and Robert Runcie, interviewed everyone who came close to Potter, and had exclusive access to Potter's archives, including the many unmade television and film scripts. Carpenter portrays a very different Potter from the aggressive public image: a deeply shy and reclusive man, who was psychologically as well as physically scarred by the illness which struck him down at the age of twenty-six. Potter was a man with a vast interest in sex but also a terrible loathing of it, thanks to an appalling experience he suffered in childhood.Potter was a man much gossiped about. Carpenter's remarkable biography establishes the extraordinary truth behind the rumours; describes Potter's strange, obsessive relationships with women such as Gina Bellman, who played Blackeyes; and gives a vivid portrait of the backstage dramas and fights behind Potter's screen triumphs. 'What is valuable about this book is that it reveals Potter's real private life, which barely features in his plays ... A wonderfully vivid portrait of the man: his generosity and cruelty, his coarseness and tenderness, and the thwarted sexual yearning that underlay everything.' Lynn Barber, Daily Telegraph

The author of "The Brideshead Generation" and "The Inklings" was given unrestricted access to all of Tolkien's papers for this biography of the author of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings". 14 photos.

Two books in one for those avid readers where one Mr Majeika adventure is just not enough! Mr Majeika: Mr Majeika can behave just like any ordinary teacher if he wants to, but something has to be done about Hamish Bigmore, the class nuisance, and so he uses a little magic to turn him into a frog - the only problem is he can't remember the spell to turn him back!Mr Majeika and the Lost Spell Book: The pupils in Class 3 at St Barty's School are not impressed when their headteacher imposes strict rules of behaviour for Halloween. Mr Majeika uses a little magic to make the evening memorable but nasty Hamish Bigmore tells the local press and gets the wizard-teacher the sack -something has to be done . . .Mr Majeika continues to be one of the UK's most loved and trusted fictional characters.

When the wizard-teacher defies the headmaster and uses magic to make Halloween more fun, he is sacked. Wilhelmina Warlock is at the bottom of the trouble and must be defeated to rescue the children from boredom and Mr Majeika from his attempts at doing other jobs.

Class Three has got a new computer and while exploring it, Mr Majeika manages to get the whole class trapped in the school website. How on earth are they going to get out and how many bizarre characters will they meet along the way?

When old Mr Jenks retires, St Barty's School advertises for a new caretaker. Unfortunately there's only one applicant - Hamish Bigmore's Uncle Wilf who is just as rude and bad-tempered as Hamish. When Mr Majeika is hurt in an accident it becomes clear that Uncle Wilf is working for the wickedest of witches, Wilhelmina Warlock! It's up to Mr Majeika to work his magic and put things right again.

Mr Majeika is the most magical teacher around!'Do be careful, Mr Majeika, there might be real ghosts in there.'When Class Three and Mr Majeika get on board a ghost train, they are in for a surprise. Real ghosts appear and the wicked Wilhemina Worlock isn't far away. But Jody comes to the rescue - with a dragon to help her!Look out for more Mr Majeika adventures including:Mr Majeika and the School TripMr Majeika and the School PlayMr Majeika and the Lost Spell BookMr Majeika and the Music TeacherMr Majeika and the School Caretaker

'Oh dear,' said Mr Majeika, 'I seem to have made the spell too strong.'Class Three has fun during Book Week, when famous storybook characters suddenly appear! But there's trouble ahead with Wilhemina Worlock the witch at the school's Olympic Sports Day...Will Mr Majeika manage to magic up a solution?

'I really am quite useless as a wizard.'But Class Three thinks Mr Majeika is an excellent wizard, particularly when his spells go wrong! First Hamish Bigmore ends up on TV, then a real giant appears in the school play. And finally Mr Majeika gets the whole class lost on a magic carpet! There's always an adventure with Mr Majeika around...

Mr Majeika is the most magical teacher around!Sometimes, ' whispered Jody. 'I think school dinners would be alright if it wasn't for her.'Mrs Chipchase, the nasty dinner lady, makes lunch hour at St Barty's really unpleasant. That is, for everyone but her 'favourite friend', Hamish Bigmore. Up to his usual tricks, Hamish is allowed to eat chocolate instead of ghastly school dinners!Mr Majeika decides it's time to sort out the menu...There are lots more Mr Majeika adventures to enjoy, including:Mr Majika and the Ghost TrainMr Majeika and the Lost Spell BookMr Majeika and the Haunted HotelMr Majeika and the School PlayMr Majeika and the School Trip

Mr Majeika is the most magical wizard-turned-teacher around!Oh, don't be cowards,' said Jody. 'I'm sure it's perfectly safe.'Mysteriously stranded in the fog at night. Mr Majeika and Class Three find themselves in a creepy hotel near Hadrian's Wall, where some very spooky things start to happen. Strange lights, ghostly sounds and vanishing people...Look out for more Mr Majeika adventures including:Mr Majeika and the School TripMr Majeika and the School PlayMr Majeika and the Lost Spell BookMr Majeika and the Music TeacherMr Majeika and the School Caretaker

'Music teacher? What music teacher?'The sudden arrival of a new music teacher throws St barty's School into confusion. Mysterious smells start coming from the staffroom and creepy-crawlies appear out of nowhere. The new arrival is, of course, Wilhelmina Worlock, a wicked witch with some nasty tricks.It's up to Mr Majeika to try to outwit her...

Mr Majeika is the most magical teacher around!As a rule, magic carpets don't turn up in schools, but this is exactly what happens when Class Three's new teacher flies in through the classroom window and lands on the floor with a bump. Mr Majeika can behave just like any ordinary teacher if he wants to, but something has to be done about Hamish Bigmore, the class nuisance, and so he uses a little magic to turn him into a frog. And to everyone's delight it looks as if Hamish will have to remain a frog because Mr Majeika can't remember the spell to turn him back again! With Mr Majeika in charge, suddenly life at school become much more exciting - there's even a magic-carpet ride to Buckingham Palace!There are other Mr Majeika stories to collect, includingMr Majeika and the School Book WeekMr Majeika and the School CaretakerMr Majeika and the School InspectorMr Majeika and the School PlayMr Majeika and the School Trip

Humphrey Carpenter, autor entre otros libros de una biograf a del poeta W.H. Auden, narra en esta obra la larga carrera de J.R.R. Tolkien, desde las vicisitudes de una infancia dif cil a los trabajos y obligaciones de la vida acad mica, como profesor en la Universidad de Oxford. Carpenter escribi esta biograf a del creador de la Tierra Media consultando documentos in ditos, y entrevistando a parientes y amigos.

W. H. Auden disapproved of literary biography. Or did he? The truth is more equivocal than it at first appears. Humphrey Carpenter himself neatly summarizes Auden's ambiguity: 'Here, as so often in his life, Auden adopted a dogmatic attitude which did not reflect the full range of his opinions, and which he sometimes flatly contradicted.' Although Carpenter's biography, first published in 1981, was unauthorized, he did receive the co-operation of the Auden Estate, and the results remain of unimpeachable merit. 'Carpenter is a model biographer - diligent, unspeculative, sympathetic, and extremely good at finding out what happened when and with whom.' John Bayley, Listener 'An illuminating book; full of information, unobtrusively affectionate, it describes with unpretentious elegance the curve of a great poet's life and work.' Frank Kermode, Guardian 'A deeply interesting book about a deeply interesting life.' Roy Fuller, Sunday Times