The Lord of the Rings was a classic when I was a child. It was a tradition, a world I got a glimpse into and I was very proud of it. It was a very nice world... To this day I'm shocked to meet someone who hasn't seen or read the LOTR trilogy. I always wonder if they are aware of how much they are missing out on. But even if you know the Lord of the Rings, if you've read The Hobbit cover to cover, if you feel like you're practically living in Middle-earth, there may still be one story you're not familiar with, that of Tolkien himself. Image We usually refer to him simply as Tolkien. I guess it's because saying John Ronald Reuel Tolkien five times in a conversation gets a little boring. I suppose you could call him Ronald, that's what his friends called him, but Tolkien should be enough, for most people worth their salt. While researching this piece, I had the wonderful surprise of discovering that the name Tolkien is believed to be of German origin (the great man himself believed so), a variation of the word Toll-k?hn: foolishly brave, or foolishly intelligent. Isn't that brilliant, given the circumstances? It just seems to fit the whole Tolkien universe... Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay A tumultuous personal life Tolkien was born in January 1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Although he lived only four years in South Africa, he remembered it quite well and claimed that it inspired, to some extent, his later writings. But in 1896, Tolkien's father, Arthur, died of complications from rheumatic fever, forcing the family (now consisting of Ronald, his mother, Mabel, and his younger brother, Hilary) to return to England, more precisely to the village of Sarehole, near Birmingham. Soon after, Mabel and her sister converted to Catholicism and, of course, so did the boys. Tolkien would remain a devout Catholic throughout his life. Although poor, the family was quite happy. But not for long. In 1904, when Tolkien was only twelve, his mother, Mabel, died of diabetes (fatal before insulin) and he and his brother, Hilary, were placed in the care of the parish priest, Father Francis Morgan. Although the priest was theoretically responsible, the boys were put up for a short time with an unpleasant aunt, and then with a Mrs. Faulkner, the owner of a boarding house. It was in this boarding house, at the age of 16, that he met a young woman, Edith Bratt, who was three years his senior.Image They were immediately attracted to each other and became good friends. The story goes that Edith would be his muse, throughout his life, inspiring many of his stories, particularly the story of Beren and Luthien, a recurring story in his Leg-endarium. However, Father Francis, who was still responsible for the two boys, intervened and forbade Tolkien from seeing or speaking to this girl. Thus, the poor boy had to wait until he was 21 (when Father Francis was no longer responsible), to be able to continue his relationship with Edith. Meanwhile, his academic life was going well…and then not so well. As a boy he studied at King Edward's School, where he became part of a group of reading friends. They remained close friends, constantly exchanging their works, until 1916 when all but Tolkien died in the war. He already showed considerable interest in linguistics, having learned both Latin and Greek, and inventing his own language, for fun. Then he went to Oxford, to study classics, but he didn't do very well and changed to English language and literature. By this time, his relationship with Edith was also blossoming. But?