From Somme to Sauron: A review of A Hobbit, a wardrobe, and a Great War

If you’re anything like me, when you finished TLOR, you were still curious. Maybe (like me) you didn’t really care all that much about how Aragorn spent the rest of his days, or if Frodo ever finished his book. But instead wondered about the guy behind such a story. I mean, I don’t think I could ever spend that much time world building and crafting such a elegant and complex interconnecting novel…and all in my head too. So when I saw this book by Dr. Lonconte, I saw a possibility to learn a bit about the life this guy (Tolkien) lived, what his friends were like, what he enjoyed, and just what might have made him tick. And heck, I might learn some history while I’m at it.

Lonconte supports three audiences in this book: historians, Tolkien-academics, and, oddly enough, Church officials. Now, wer’re all Tolkien lovers here, so I’ll trim around the other fat and focus on what we care about. Nonetheless, history did play a key part in the forming of Tolkien as we know him… so let’s take a trip down memory lane.

Lonconte opens with the backdrop of the Great War; countries collapsing under pressure, men scrambling to find hope or prayer, churches metastasizing into the governments. It was in this backdrop that Tolkien and Lewis found the perspectives that would dictate their careers. Perhaps for the modern reader, the greatest service Loconte provides is that of exposing the treacherous nature of such a time. Nevertheless, Loconte’s intent is not to highlight suffering, but rather rebuild the since fallen myth of progress that dominated the minds of the world before the Great War.

The idea that we are technologically more adept than even the great civilizations that came before us, and our abilities are expanding, means that we should surely never falter. And, more importantly, that we were beyond the uncivil brutalities of the past. Such a mindset would soon fall to the reality of war.

Tolkien enlisted in the British Expeditionary Forces and immediately found himself in a new world. Here, he was not only tested himself, but able to see the comradery, loyalty, and heroism of his fellow troops. In fact, when reading about his time in the war, it’s pretty clear that his troopmates inspired the character of Sam.  Not to get all quote-y but as Lonconte puts it “It is a good bet that only men who knew friendships of this kind—who experienced them on the field of combat—could write passages of such compassion, grit, and courage.” Surely some of the friendships that Tolkien writes about are a reflection of those he made in the trenches.  

Now, Lonconte goes into a lot of detail about the doings and conversations of the Inklings: the group of Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and others that would gather and discuss at Oxford. Everything from religion to world peace, these discussions were important…but honestly, their not what I really ended up caring about. What I found most interesting, and most valuable in Lonconte’s analysis was in The Lord of the Ring’s role as a myth for England, and the power that Tolkien believed these myths had. Tolkien, being incessantly interested in theology and linguistics (as we all probably know), was naturally drawn to the myths of the countries he studied. Ancient Greek, Norse, Finnish mythologies; Tolkien saw them as reflections of the societies that they came from. So naturally, he felt that England needed a mythology of its own. And The Lord of the Rings could be just that. As Lonconte points out “his earliest writings were a way of coping with the violence and suffering [of the war].” Tolkien’s works did serve as a pseudo-mythology, created from the reality of the Great War. While they may not have been allegory, they did reflect the travesties and realities of the time and served as a reflection that humanity was not beyond the real possibility of such brutalism. And more importantly, as Frodo reflects in his final moments on Mount Doom, nobody is immune to the calls of true evil.

And as a note, while Tolkien’s “myth” might sound gloomy, it was a mentality and belief in hope that he wanted to portray in his writing. That might seem like he just did a poopy job, but you have to remember just how much hope and inspiration his characters found. Throughout the TLOR and The Hobbit, his characters manage to cling to what little they had. And I’m sure it was this mentality that Tolkien wanted to publicize with his work.

OK…enough of this analysis stuff. What did I think of the book? Well, Lonconte’s writing is thorough, unique, and interesting. He can be kind of boring, repetitive, and jumpy in his writing and style. But, the insights he provides not just about Tolkien’s life and writing, but about the historical spirit and culture of the world (then and now) make A Hobbit, a wardrobe, and a Great War a jammed pack and constantly riveting reading for anyone from a Tolkienier to (funny enough) a missionary.

-  M. Harris