"There are few writers who can claim the popularity and enduring appeal of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. Renowned biographer Michael White looks back over the little-known life of this most treasured of writers."
"There are few writers who can claim the popularity and enduring appeal of John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. It was while marking a series of exam papers, he suddenly found himself writing: "In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit", thus setting in motion the epic works of 'The Hobbit' and 'The lord of the rings', for which we know him today. This is the story of how the man who created these works became one of the giants of modern literature."@en
"White describes Tolkien's early childhood in South Africa, the tragic early death of his parents, and his close relationship with his younger brother as they struggled to find their way in a world filled with kindly but distant aunts. Tolkien's eventual academic success and his many years as a Professor at Oxford, provide the backdrop to the creation of The Lord of the Rings which was destined to become the biggest selling novel of all time."@en

Tolkien a biography