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Secondary literature, usually equal to Tolkien study, is literature about J.R.R. Tolkien, his academic work, or his Middle-earth legendarium, written by someone outside the Tolkien family. This literature includes reference works, atlases, thorough examinations, essay collections, biographical, art books, and recipe books. This category excludes, however, literature directly concerning adaptations of Tolkien's works.

Apart from numerous, singular books by various professors, linguists, Medieval scholars, et cetera, secondary literature also includes many compilative series, such as Tolkien Studies, the Mallorn and Amon Hen journals, the Cormarë Series, Journal of Tolkien Research, and Peter Roe Memorial Series, each of whose installments feature essays or reviews by different Tolkien enthusiasts, on a spectrum from scholars to common fans.

See also Category:Secondary literature.

Secondary literature is a large portion of the outstanding collection of Pieter Collier of TolkienLibrary.com. The book I Am in Fact a Hobbit (2003) by Perry Bramlett is one of few English-language works including a bibliography of such literature.

Terminology

Secondary literature is a contrast to "primary literature", which encompasses authorized works that solely or mainly present J.R.R. Tolkien's own material, such as his novels, The History of Middle-earth, publications of his lectures and Medieval writings, and The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. Secondary literature may or may not be directly authorized by or connected to the Tolkien Estate.

Most secondary literature, of any format, falls under Tolkien study or Tolkien criticism, sometimes called Tolkienology[1] or Tolkien research. The most involved kind of secondary literature is Tolkien scholarship, in which a Tolkien expert draws intensely on their own academic or professional experience to examine Tolkien's life or works with particular focus.

Examples

A Companion to J.R.R
A Companion to J.R.R. Tolkien
ed. by Stuart D. Lee (2014)
Musical Scores and the Eternal Present
Musical Scores and the Eternal Present
by Chiara Bertoglio

(2021)

J.R.R
J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist & Illustrator
by Hammond and Scull

(1995)

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Author

The following books are solo or duo-authored books. Essay collections and collaborative works are in the next table.

Author / co-author Publication
Anderson, Douglas A. The Annotated Hobbit
Amendt-Raduege, Amy "The Sweet and the Bitter": Death and Dying in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings
Anderson, Robert Tuesley Recipes from the World of Tolkien
Arthur, Sarah Walking with Frodo: A Devotional Journey through The Lord of the Rings
Bernthal, Craig Tolkien's Sacramental Vision
Bertoglio, Chiara Musical Scores and the Eternal Present
Bowers, John M. Tolkien's Lost Chaucer
Blackham, Robert S. The J.R.R. Tolkien Miscellany, The Roots of Tolkien's Middle-earth, Tolkien's Oxford, Tolkien and the Peril of War, The Pitkin Guide to Tolkien, J.R.R. Tolkien: Inspiring Lives
Bratman, David Gifted Amateurs and Other Essays: On Tolkien, the Inklings, and Fantasy Literature
Bunting, Nancy The Gallant Edith Bratt
Butynskyi, Christopher The Inklings, the Victorians, and the Moderns
Burns, Marjorie Perilous Realms: Celtic and Norse in Tolkien's Middle-earth
Caldecott, Stratford The Power of the Ring
Campbell, Liam The Ecological Augury in the Works of JRR Tolkien
Casagrande, Cristina Friendship in The Lord of the Rings
Carpenter, Humphrey J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography & The Inklings: C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien and Their Friends
Carruthers, Leo Tolkien and Religion: Like an Invisible Lamp
Carswell, John Tolkien's Requiem
Carter, Lin Tolkien: A Look Behind The Lord of the Rings
Chance, Jane Tolkien's Art: A Mythology for England & The Lord of the Rings: The Mythology of Power
Cilli, Oronzo Tolkien's Library: An Annotated Checklist
Coutras, Lisa Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings: Sources of Inspiration
Croft, Janet Brennan War and the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien
Cummins, Antony The Ultimate Unofficial Guide to Tolkien's World
Curry, Patrick Defending Middle-earth: Tolkien: Myth and Modernity & Deep Roots in a Time of Frost: Essays on Tolkien
Day, David An Atlas of Tolkien, A Tolkien Bestiary, The Dark Powers of Tolkien, & The Battles of Tolkien
Dickerson, Matthew Ents, Elves, and Eriador: The Environmental Vision of J.R.R. Tolkien & A Hobbit Journey: Discovering the Enchantment of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth
DiStefano, Matthew J. The Wisdom of Hobbits: Unearthing Our Humanity at 3 Bagshot Row
Doyle, Mark Utopian and Dystopian Themes in Tolkien's Legendarium
Duriez, Colin J.R.R. Tolkien: The Making of a Legend
Fimi, Dimitra Tolkien, Race and Cultural History
Ferré, Vincent Tolkien: sur les rivages de la Terre du Milieu
Flieger, Verlyn Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World, A Question of Time: J.R.R. Tolkien's Road to Faërie, Interrupted Music: The Making Of Tolkien's Mythology, Green Suns and Faërie: Essays on J.R.R. Tolkien, There Would Always Be a Fairy Tale: More Essays on Tolkien
Frailey, A. K. The Road Goes Ever On: A Christian Journey Through The Lord of the Rings
Freeman, Austin Tolkien Dogmatics
Fredrick, Candice Women Among the Inklings: Gender, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams (with Sam McBride)
Fonstad, Karen Wynn The Atlas of Middle-earth
Foster, Robert The Complete Guide to Middle-earth
Garbowski, Christopher Recovery and Transcendence for the Contemporary Mythmaker
Garth, John Tolkien and the Great War, Tolkien at Exeter College, & The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien: The Places That Inspired Middle-earth
Gilliver, Peter The Ring of Words: Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary
Glyer, Diana Pavlac Bandersnatch: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the Creative Collaboration of the Inklings
Grimm, Tom The Unofficial Lord of the Rings Cookbook
Groom, Nick Tolkien in the Twenty-first Century
Grybauskas, Peter A Sense of Tales Untold
Hammond, Wayne G. J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist & Illustrator, The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide, The Art of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, & The Art of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (with Christina Scull)
Halsall, Michael John Creation and Beauty in Tolkien's Catholic Vision
Hazell, Dinah The Plants of Middle-earth: Plants and Sub-creation
Heims, Neil Great Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien
Helms, Randel Tolkien's World & Tolkien and the Silmarils: Imagination and Myth in The Silmarillion
Higgins, Sørina The Inklings & King Arthur: J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, C. S. Lewis, and Owen Barfield on the Matter of Britain
Hildebrandt, Greg Greg and Tim Hildebrandt: The Tolkien Years
Hillman, Thomas P. Power, Pity, and Tolkien's Ring
Honegger, Thomas Tweaking Things a Little
Horne, Mark J.R.R. Tolkien: The Mind Behind the Rings
Howe, John A Middle-earth Traveler: Sketches from Bag End to Mordor
Hren, Joshua Middle-earth and the Return of the Common Good
Jenkins, Cyril Gary Amid Weeping There is Joy
Judd, Walter and Graham A. Flora of Middle-earth
Kane, Douglas Charles Arda Reconstructed: The Creation of the Published Silmarillion
Kreeft, Peter J. The Philosophy of Tolkien: The Worldview Behind The Lord of the Rings
Lee, Alan The Lord of the Rings Sketchbook & The Hobbit Sketchbook
Lehning, Amber The Map of Wilderland: Ecocritical Reflections on Tolkien's Myth of Wilderness
Lobdell, Jared England and Always: Tolkien's World of the Rings, The World of the Rings: Language, Religion, and Adventure in Tolkien, A Tolkien Compass, & The Rise of Tolkienian Fantasy
Loconte, Joseph A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War
MacLachlan, Christopher Tolkien and Wagner: The Ring and Der Ring
Markos, Louis On the Shoulders of Hobbits
Milbank, Alison Chesterton and Tolkien as Theologians
McBride, Sam Tolkien's Cosmology: Divine Beings and Middle-earth
McIntosh, Jonathan S. The Flame Imperishable: Tolkien, St. Thomas, and the Metaphysics of Faërie
Morelli, Luigi Tolkien, Mythology, Imagination and Spiritual Insight & J.R.R. Tolkien, Owen Barfield and the Cosmic Christ
Morse, Robert Bilbo's Birthday and Frodo's Adventure of Faith
Nagel, Rainer Hobbit Place-names: A Linguistic Excursion through the Shire (Cormarë Series no. 23)
Noad, Charles E. The Trees, the Jewels and the Rings
Noel, Ruth S. The Languages of Tolkien's Middle-earth
North, Wyatt J.R.R. Tolkien: A Life Inspired
Olsen, Corey Exploring J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit
Ordway, Holly Tolkien's Modern Reading & Tolkien's Faith: A Spiritual Biography
Petty, Anne C. Tolkien in the Land of Heroes
Pearce, Joseph Tolkien: Man and Myth, Frodo's Journey: Discover the Hidden Meaning of The Lord of the Rings, & Bilbo's Journey: Discover the Hidden Meaning of The Hobbit
Purtill, Richard Lord of the Elves and Eldils & J.R.R. Tolkien: Myth Morality & Religion
Ryken, Phil The Messiah Comes to Middle-earth
Rateliff, John D. The History of The Hobbit
Risden, E. L. Tolkien's Intellectual Landscape
Rosebury, Brian Tolkien: A Critical Assessment & Tolkien: A Cultural Phenomenon
Rosegrant, John Tolkien, Enchantment, and Loss: Steps on the Developmental Journey
Salo, David A Gateway to Sindarin
Shippey, Tom The Road to Middle-earth & J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century
Siburt, James E. Myth, Magic, and Power in Tolkien's Middle-earth
Smith, Mark Eddy Tolkien's Ordinary Virtues
Smith, Ross Inside Language
Snyder, Christopher The Making of Middle-earth: The Worlds of Tolkien and the Lord of the Rings
Sturch, Richard Four Christian Fantasists. A Study of the Fantastic Writings of George MacDonald, Charles Williams, C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien
Tally Jr., Robert T. J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit: Realizing History Through Fantasy & Representing Middle-earth: Tolkien, Form, and Ideology
Testi, Claudio A. Pagan Saints in Middle-earth
Tyler, J. E. A. The Complete Guide to Middle-earth
Ware, Jim Finding God in The Hobbit & Finding God in The Lord of the Rings
White, Michael Tolkien: A Biography
Whittingham, Elizabeth A. The Evolution of Tolkien's Mythology
Wood, Ralph C. Tolkien Among the Moderns & The Gospel According to Tolkien: Visions of the Kingdom in Middle-earth
Zaleski, Philip and Carol The Fellowship: The Literary Lives of the Inklings

Editor

In this context, editors are those who envision, select (most often), and oversee a collaboration of Tolkienian writers for a single publication with a particular focus. Many such books are in the Cormarë Series or Peter Roe Memorial Series.

Editor / co-editor Publication
Agøy, Nils Ivar Between Faith and Fiction: Tolkien and the Powers of His World
Arduini, Roberto Once Upon A Time... The Hobbit
Bassham, Gregory + Bronson, Eric The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy: One Book to Rule Them All
Bogstad, Janice Picturing Tolkien: Essays on Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings Film Trilogy
Boto, José María Miranda Law, Government, and Society in J.R.R. Tolkien's Works
Caldecott, Stratford Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings: Sources of Inspiration
Chance, Jane Tolkien's Modern Middle Ages & Tolkien the Medievalist
Collier, Ian Journeys & Destinations
Conrad-O-Briain, Helen J.R.R. Tolkien: The Forest and the City
Croft, Janet Brennan Tolkien on Film: Essays on Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings, Perilous and Fair: Women in J.R.R. Tolkien's Work and Life, "Something Has Gone Crack": New Perspectives on J.R.R. Tolkien in the Great War, Tolkien and Shakespeare: Essays on Shared Themes and Language, & Tolkien in the New Century
Devaux, Michaël Tolkien Today
Donovan, Leslie A. Approaches to Teaching Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and Other Works & Perilous and Fair: Women in J.R.R. Tolkien's Work and Life
Drout, Michael D. C. J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment
Dubs, Kathleen Middle-earth and Beyond: Essays on the World of J.R.R. Tolkien
Eden, Bradford Lee Middle-earth Minstrel: Essays on Music in Tolkien & The Hobbit and Tolkien's Mythology
Eilmann, Julian Music in Tolkien's Work and Beyond
Eilmann, Julian & Turner, Allan Tolkien's Poetry
Estes, Douglas Theology and Tolkien: Practical Theology
Ferré, Vincent Tolkien Today
Fisher, Jason Tolkien and the Study of His Sources
Flieger, Verlyn Tolkien's Legendarium: Essays on The History of Middle-earth
Hammond, Wayne G. + Scull, Christina The Lord of the Rings 1954-2004: Scholarship in Honor of Richard E. Blackwelder
Hart, Trevor Tree of Tales: Tolkien, Literature, and Theology
Helen, Daniel Death and Immortality in Middle-earth
Hiley, Margaret Tolkien's Shorter Works with Frank Weinrich
Honegger, Thomas Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings: Sources of Inspiration, Translating Tolkien: Text and Film, Tolkien in Translation, Tolkien and Modernity 1, Sub-creating Arda, & Root & Branch: Approaches towards Understanding Tolkien
Hostetter, Carl F. Tolkien's Legendarium: Essays on The History of Middle-earth
Houghton, John William Tolkien in the New Century
Hynes, Gerard J.R.R. Tolkien: The Forest and the City
Kaveny, Philip E. Picturing Tolkien: Essays on Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings Film Trilogy
Kerry, Paul E. Light Beyond All Shadow: Religious Experience in Tolkien's Work & The Ring and the Cross
Khovacs, Ivan Tree of Tales: Tolkien, Literature, and Theology
Kirnier-Ludwig, Monika Binding Them All: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on J.R.R. Tolkien and His Works
Kowalik, Barbara O What a Tangled Web: Tolkien and Medieval Literature: A View from Poland
Ladavas, Alberto Once Upon A Time... The Hobbit
Lam, Adam How We Became Middle-earth (Cormarë Series no. 13)
Lee, Stuart D. A Companion to J.R.R. Tolkien
Lehoucq, Roland The Science of Middle-earth (with Loic Mangin and Jean-Sebastien Steyer)
Mann, Maureen F. Laughter in Middle-earth
Martsch, Nancy Tolkien in the New Century
McIlwaine, Catherine The Great Tales Never End & Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth
Miesel, Sandra Light Beyond All Shadow: Religious Experience in Tolkien's Work
Milon, Anna Poetry and Song in the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien & Tolkien the Pagan? Reading Middle-earth through a Spiritual Lens
Neubauer, Łukasz Middle-earth, or There and Back Again (Cormarë Series no. 44)
Ovenden, Richard The Great Tales Never End: Essays in Memory of Christopher Tolkien
Pearce, Joseph Tolkien: A Celebration
Rateliff, John D. A Wilderness of Dragons: Essays in Honor of Verlyn Flieger & Tolkien in the New Century
Reid, Robin Anne Tolkien in the Land of Heroes
Reynolds, Patricia Proceedings of the J.R.R. Tolkien Centenary Conference
Reynolds, Trevor The First and Second Ages
Ridoux, Charles Tolkien Today
Rodrigues, Nuno Simões Nólë Hyarmenillo: An Anthology of Iberian Scholarship on Tolkien with Martin Simonson & Angélica Varandas
Röttinger, Annika "Something Has Gone Crack": New Perspectives on J.R.R. Tolkien in the Great War
Schneidewind, Friedhelm Music in Middle-earth & Music in Tolkien's Work and Beyond
Segura, Eduardo Myth and Magic: Art according to the Inklings
Sherwood, Will Twenty-first Century Receptions of Tolkien & Adapting Tolkien
Siewers, Alfred K. Tolkien's Modern Middle Ages
Simonelli, Saverio Once Upon A Time... The Hobbit
Simonson, Martin Representations of Nature in Middle-earth
Steimel, Heidi Music in Middle-earth
Streitberger, Sebastian Binding Them All: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on J.R.R. Tolkien and His Works
Turner, Allan G. The Silmarillion: Thirty Years On
Vaccaro, Christopher The Body in Tolkien's Legendarium: Essays on Middle-earth Corporeality
Weinrich, Frank Tolkien and Modernity 1 & Tolkien and Modernity 2
Wells, Sarah The Ring Goes Ever On: Proceedings of the Tolkien 2005 Conference
Williams, Hamish Tolkien and the Classical World
Wood, Ralph C. Tolkien Among the Moderns
Zimbardo, Rose A. Understanding The Lord of the Rings: The Best of Tolkien Criticism

Decade

See also

References

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