The Battle for Middle Earth and the Battle for Europe: J. R. R. Tolkien and The Great War.
When one is either at a loose end, hungover, or succumbing to feelings of disdain and anger typical of Brexit, Theresa May, and Wales’ grand-slam victory, one should look no further than The Lord of the Rings . Only Tolkien’s world of high fantasy can help an England fan remove Alun-Wyn Jones’ smug, grand-slam winning face from his or her immediate thoughts – enough praise alone for Tolkien’s mythology. This is where I have found myself recently; in a dingy Hyde Park living room, mulling over Brexit, procrastinating a dissertation, and weighing up England’s chances in Japan – all the while The Lord of the Rings streams in the background. My mind haplessly wandering, I began to question how a man could dream up and write such a condense, detailed, enchanting story, so far removed from reality its unrecognisable, and yet be so immersive at the same time. I then began to read about Tolkien himself, and in particular, his ‘Great War’. In 1911 John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
