Tolkien's Modern Reading, and Carpenter's biography

[kzer_za]

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So I started this book and it seems like it's going to be quite interesting. Ordway is cataloging the modern literature Tolkien read (more than generally believed) and secondarily pushing back against the portrayal of Tolkien as completely reactionary and out of touch with (if not hostile to) the modern world.

She really does not like Humphrey Carpenter. Blames him for creating a negative stereotype of Tolkien with his biography, not being fair to his subject, and caricaturing him. To a smaller extent she even questions his editing of the letters. Some of the quotes she gives from Carpenter do make him look kind of dubious, like that he went in planning a "slapstick" portrayal and Christopher hated the first draft. So I am curious: how widely his her perspective on Carpenter shared by Tolkien scholars? She does cite a few in support, though I get the feeling that she's going farther in her criticisms than most would.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Most of the buzz that I have seen about this book has been pretty positive. That having been said, I don't think most Tolkien scholars share Ordway's low opinion of Carpenter.

[N.E. Brigand]

Because this thread mentions perceptions of J.R.R. Tolkien as reactionary (a term he used to describe himself in a letter to his son Christopher), here's where I'll note this interesting remark from Jeet Heer, who writes for The Nation:

"Being a true reactionary is perfectly congruent with being a great artist -- Swift, Pope, most of the great modernists, Gene Wolfe. Catholicism often helps."

Elsewhere at that link, there are references to Wagner and Lovecraft.

[kzer_za]

Well that letter (53 right?) is clearly somewhat tongue-in-cheek. And I did say "completely" reactionary. Tolkien was generally conservative and could be called reactionary on certain matters, but he's also eclectic and can't be neatly put in a box. In that same letter for example he takes a swipe at the British Empire in the next paragraph, which most people on the right of his generation wanted to keep. He also writes repeatedly about the dangers of "embalming" the past for its own sake or for personal privilege, which is built deeply into the legendarium with the elves.

Part of the point of Ordway's book is that while Tolkien was critical of modernity, he was also engaged with it, appreciative of some aspects, and not just thoughtlessly rejecting it.

Gene Wolfe is a fascinating author and has some interesting overlap (and also major differences!) with Tolkien. Lovecraft though is in a completely different category for many reasons.