With his richly detailed world of Middle Earth and the epic tales he told around it, J.R.R. Tolkien invented the modern fantasy novel. For readers and students getting to grips with this world for the first time, J.R.R. Tolkien: A Guide for the Perplexed is an essential guide to the author's life and work.

The book helps readers explore:

* Tolkien's life and times
* Tolkien's mythical world
* The languages of Middle Earth
* The major works - The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
* Posthumously published writings - from The Silmarillion to the recently discovered The Fall of Gondolin

With reference to adaptations of Tolkien's work including the Peter Jackson films, notes on Tolkien's sources and surveys of key scholarly and critical writings, this is an accessible and authoritative guide to one of the 20th century's greatest and most popular writers.