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The Hobbit
''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the '' New York Herald Tribune'' for best juvenile fiction. It is recognized as a classic in children's literature and is one of the best-selling books of all time, with over 100 million copies sold. ''The Hobbit'' is set in Middle-earth and follows home-loving Bilbo Baggins, the titular hobbit who joins the wizard Gandalf and the thirteen dwarves of Thorin's Company on a quest to reclaim the dwarves' home and treasure from the dragon Smaug. Bilbo's journey takes him from his peaceful rural surroundings into more sinister territory. The story is told in the form of a picaresque or episodic quest; several chapters introduce a new type of monster or threat as Bilbo progresses through the landscape. Bilbo gains a new level of maturity, c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tolkien's Artwork
Tolkien's artwork was a key element of his creativity from the time when he began to write fiction. A professional philologist, J. R. R. Tolkien prepared Non-narrative elements in The Lord of the Rings, a wide variety of materials to support his fiction, including illustrations for his Middle-earth fantasy books, facsimile artefacts, Tolkien's maps, more or less "picturesque" maps, calligraphy, and sketches and paintings from life. Some of his artworks combined several of these elements. In his lifetime, some of his artworks were included in his novels ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''; others were used on the covers of different editions of these books. Posthumously, collections of his artworks have been published, and academics have begun to evaluate him as an artist as well as an author. Early work: sketches Early in his life, Tolkien, taught by his mother, made many sketches and paintings from life. He drew with skill and depicted landscapes, buildings, tree ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Picaresque Novel
The picaresque novel ( Spanish: ''picaresca'', from ''pícaro'', for ' rogue' or 'rascal') is a genre of prose fiction. It depicts the adventures of a roguish but appealing hero, usually of low social class, who lives by his wits in a corrupt society. Picaresque novels typically adopt the form of "an episodic prose narrative" with a realistic style. There are often some elements of comedy and satire. The picaresque genre began with the Spanish novel '' Lazarillo de Tormes'' (1554), which was published anonymously during the Spanish Golden Age because of its anticlerical content. Literary works from Imperial Rome published during the 1st–2nd century AD, such as '' Satyricon'' by Petronius and ''The Golden Ass'' by Apuleius had a relevant influence on the picaresque genre and are considered predecessors. Other notable early Spanish contributors to the genre included Mateo Alemán's '' Guzmán de Alfarache'' (1599–1604) and Francisco de Quevedo's '' El Buscón'' (16 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Houghton Mifflin
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as star (as, for example, in ''the A* search algorithm'' or '' C*-algebra''). An asterisk is usually five- or six-pointed in print and six- or eight-pointed when handwritten, though more complex forms exist. Its most common use is to call out a footnote. It is also often used to censor offensive words. In computer science, the asterisk is commonly used as a wildcard character, or to denote pointers, repetition, or multiplication. History The asterisk was already in use as a symbol in ice age cave paintings. There is also a two-thousand-year-old character used by Aristarchus of Samothrace called the , , which he used when proofreading Homeric poetry to mark lines that were duplicated. Origen is known to have also used the asteris ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thorin Oakenshield
Thorin Oakenshield (Thorin II) is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 novel ''The Hobbit''. Thorin is the leader of the Company of Dwarves who aim to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from Smaug the dragon. He is the son of Thráin II, grandson of Thrór, and becomes King of Durin's Folk during their exile from Erebor. Thorin's background is further elaborated in Appendix A of Tolkien's 1955 novel ''The Return of the King'', and in '' Unfinished Tales''. Commentators have noted that Thorin is Old Norse both in name and character, being surly, illiberal, independent, proud, aristocratic, and like all Dwarves greedy for gold. Tolkien was a Roman Catholic; from a Christian perspective, Thorin exemplifies the deadly sin of avarice, but is able to free himself from it at the time of his death. This deathbed conversion has been compared to the moral transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens's ''A Christmas Carol''. Thorin appears in Peter Jackson's ''The Ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Wiley & Sons
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Publishing, publishing company that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company was founded in 1807 and produces books, Academic journal, journals, and encyclopedias, in print and electronically, as well as online products and services, training materials, and educational materials for undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education students. History The company was established in 1807 when Charles Wiley opened a print shop in Manhattan. The company was the publisher of 19th century American literary figures like James Fenimore Cooper, Washington Irving, Herman Melville, and Edgar Allan Poe, as well as of legal, religious, and other non-fiction titles. The firm took its current name in 1865. Wiley later shifted its focus to scientific, Technology, technical, and engineering subject areas, abandoning its literary interests. Wiley's son Joh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wizard (Middle-earth)
The Wizards or Istari in J. R. R. Tolkien's fiction were powerful angelic beings, Maiar in Middle-earth, Maiar, who took the physical form and some of the limitations of Man (Middle-earth), Men to intervene in the affairs of Middle-earth in the Third Age, after catastrophically violent direct interventions by the Valar, and indeed by the one god Eru Ilúvatar, in the earlier ages. Two Wizards, Gandalf the Grey and Saruman the White, largely represent the order, though a third Wizard, Radagast the Brown, appears briefly. Two Blue Wizards are mentioned in passing. Saruman is installed as the head of the White Council, but falls to the temptation of power. He imitates and is to an extent the double of the Dark Lord Sauron, only to become his unwitting servant. Gandalf ceaselessly assists the Company of the Ring in their quest to destroy One Ring, the Ring and defeat Sauron. He forms the double of Saruman, as Saruman falls and is destroyed, while Gandalf rises and takes Saruman's pla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Of Toronto Press
The University of Toronto Press is a Canadian university press. Although it was founded in 1901, the press did not actually publish any books until 1911. The press originally printed only examination books and the university calendar. Its first scholarly book was a work by a classics professor at University College, Toronto. The press took control of the university bookstore in 1933. It employed a novel typesetting method to print issues of the ''Canadian Journal of Mathematics'', founded in 1949. The press has always had close ties with University of Toronto Libraries. The press was partially located in the library from 1910-1920. The University Librarian Hugh Hornby Langton, the lead librarian of the University of Toronto Libraries, served as the first general editor of the University of Toronto Press. Sidney Earle Smith, president of the University of Toronto in the late 1940s and 1950s, instituted a new governance arrangement for the press modelled on the governing structur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sequel
A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same fictional universe as an earlier work, usually chronologically following the events of that work. In many cases, the sequel continues elements of the original story, often with the same characters and settings. A sequel can lead to a series, in which key elements appear repeatedly. The difference between more than one sequel and a series is somewhat arbitrary. Sequels are attractive to creators and publishers because there is less risk involved in returning to a story with known popularity rather than developing new and untested characters and settings. Audiences are sometimes eager for more stories about popular characters or settings, making the production of sequels financially appealing. In film, sequels are very common. There are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Morris's Influence On Tolkien
William Morris's influence on J. R. R. Tolkien was substantial. From an early age, Tolkien bought many of Morris's books, including his fantasies, poetry, and translations. Both men liked the Norse sagas, disliked mechanisation, and wrote fantasy books which they illustrated themselves. On the other hand, Morris was a Socialism, socialist and Atheism, atheist, while Tolkien was a Catholic Church, Catholic. Scholars have identified multiple elements of Tolkien's fantasy writings that match Morris's writings. These range from general aspects like use of archaism and a medieval setting, to specific features like details of life in a Nordic hall and a savage character who brings the protagonist rabbits. Morris's influence extends through Tolkien to the Tolkien artist Alan Lee (illustrator), Alan Lee and the filmmaker Peter Jackson. Together, they have spread a medievalist aesthetic to a wide modern fantasy audience. Context J. R. R. Tolkien went to Exeter College, Oxford, as Wil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Morris
William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditional British textile arts and methods of production. His literary contributions helped to establish the modern fantasy genre, while he campaigned for socialism in ''fin de siècle'' Great Britain. Morris was born in Walthamstow, Essex, to a wealthy middle-class family. He came under the strong influence of medievalism while studying Literae Humaniores, classics at Oxford University, where he joined the Birmingham Set. After university, he married Jane Morris, Jane Burden, and developed close friendships with Pre-Raphaelite artists Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti and with Gothic Revival architecture, Neo-Gothic architect Philip Webb. Webb and Morris designed Red House, Bexleyheath, Red House in Kent where Morris lived from 1859 t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adventure Fiction
Adventure fiction is a type of fiction that usually presents danger, or gives the reader a sense of excitement. Some adventure fiction also satisfies the literary definition of Romance (prose fiction)#Definition, romance fiction. History In the introduction to the ''Encyclopedia of Adventure Fiction'', Critic Don D'Ammassa defines the genre as follows: D'Ammassa argues that adventure stories make the element of danger the focus; hence he argues that Charles Dickens's novel ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is an adventure novel because the protagonists are in constant danger of being imprisoned or killed, whereas Dickens's ''Great Expectations'' is not because "Pip's encounter with the convict is an adventure, but that scene is only a device to advance the main plot, which is not truly an adventure." Adventure has been a common theme (literature), theme since the earliest days of written fiction. Indeed, the standard plot of Heliodorus, and so durable as to be still alive in Adventu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fairy Tales
A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the Folklore, folklore genre. Such stories typically feature Magic (supernatural), magic, Incantation, enchantments, and Myth, mythical or fanciful beings. In most cultures, there is no clear line separating myth from folk or fairy tale; all these together form the literature of preliterate societies. Fairy tales may be distinguished from other folk narratives such as legends (which generally involve belief in the veracity of the events described) and explicit moral tales, including beast fables. Prevalent elements include dragons, Dwarf (Germanic mythology), dwarfs, Elf, elves, Fairy, fairies, Giant (mythology), giants, Gnome, gnomes, Goblin, goblins, griffins, merfolk, Monster, monsters, monarchy, Pixie, pixies, talking animals, Troll, trolls, Unicorn, unicorns, Witchcraft, witches, Magician (fantasy), wizards, magic, and enchantments. In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
