He was a competent scholar, but a lot of his time was spent researching other languages in the Bodleian library. Uninspired by the classics, John was able to switch to his real love – English literature. John did not particularly shine in this subject and grew to enjoy the pleasures of University life, though his meagre income made it difficult to keep up with the spending habits of more affluent students. J.R.R.Tolkien in Oxfordįrom an academic point of view, his separation from Edith seemed to do the trick, and a year later he won an exhibition at Exeter College, Oxford where he would study classics. It is a testament to his belief in faithfulness and honesty that he was willing to wait several years to meet his wife such sentiments of nobility frequently appear in his writings for example, the magnificent love story of ‘Beren and Luthien’ ( The Silmarillion 1977). John faithfully waited until his 21st birthday, and on this date, he renewed his contact with Edith and successfully persuaded her to marry him. Father Morgen made John promise not to see Edith, and John reluctantly agreed to his request. On finding out about this romance, his guardian Father Francis Morgan, prohibited John from seeing Edith until he was 21 and no longer under his care. This was partly due to falling in love with his childhood sweetheart Edith. He enjoyed studying languages especially Greek, Anglo Saxon, and later at Oxford, Finnish.Īlthough a scholar at King Edward VI school, he initially failed to win a scholarship to Oxford. Tolkien was an excellent scholar, with an unusually specialised interest in languages. After his mother’s passing, he was brought up by the family’s Catholic priest, Father Francis Morgen. In 1904, when John was just 12, his mother Mabel died from diabetes leaving a profound mark on him and his brother. His early childhood was, by all accounts, a happy one he was brought up in the Warwickshire countryside (many regard this idealised upbringing as the basis for the Shire in Lord of the Rings). After three years in South Africa, he returned to England with his Mother Mabel unfortunately, his father died one year later, leaving him with little memory of his father.

Tolkien was born in 1892, Bloemfontein, South Africa.

Humphrey carpenter tolkien