Tolkien Estate blocks new Tolkien book

[elronds_daughter]

You do have a point, Ibrin. I can definitely see the publishers using the Tolkien connection as a selling point. (And I realize my comment above falls under the Tolkien-fan-reading-his-brother's-bio-to-find-out-more-about-JRR category. So, case in point.)

As you said, one would need to read the manuscript to be sure, but (thinking about the aforementioned category), if even a part of their market is Tolkienites (which it certainly must be; one cannot possibly write a book about a Tolkien and not expect JRR's followers to jump on the bandwagon), they might, however unintentionally, skew it to be more a sideways biography of the Man himself rather than his brother, as advertised. In that case, I suppose the complaints of the Estate would be perfectly legitimate. I would expect that they might be willing to settle for royalties (I would, if it were me), but it may well be that they tried and the publisher refused.

And of course we'll probably never know the real reasons.

So, much as I would love to read a biography of Hilary, I suppose I can try for an all-sides view and see how the Estate might be unhappy about such a thing.


P.S. Apologies for all the parentheticals.

[Mithalwen]

I doubt there would be many takers for the bio of an Evesham fruit farmer if he weren't JRR's brother. But I am suprised that they can stop it since there are so many unauthorised Celebrity bios that most people have to put up with.

Can you libel the dead? Surely copyright is the only thing?

It dos seem a bit extreme especially when Gardener is such a mainstay of Oxonmoot and the TS which is proud and protective of its relationship with the surviving family.

[Morwen]

^^No, libel is only for the living.

[Tuor in Gondolin]

Originally posted by Mithalwen
Can you libel the dead?

So you've seen the movie Death on the Nile
with Peter Ustinov, Mia Farrow, Angela Lansbury, etc.

[Mithalwen]

I have - and not only that version but I can't get the significance ..I remember whodunnit and how but nothing in the motive for libel.

[Andsigil]

Something about this whole thing gives me the impression of the Tolkien Estate cutting off its nose to spite its face.

[Mister Underhill]

Bizarre is right, especially considering that the Facebook page for Wheelbarrows at Dawn says in a post dated 10/22/10 that "Chris Tolkien" was slated to attend the launch party. I wonder what eleventh hour dispute killed the book.

The Tolkien Estate has managed to cultivate a reputation -- deserved or not -- as a lumbering litigious behemoth obsessed with control, an irony which I'm sure is not lost on most Tolkien fans. I wonder if they're sensitive to that or if they're just too old and too wealthy to care.

Here's an old Downs thread about Hilary.

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Mister Underhill

Bizarre is right, especially considering that the Facebook page for Wheelbarrows at Dawn says in a post dated 10/22/10 that "Chris Tolkien" was slated to attend the launch party.

I suspect that refers to Hilary Tolkien's grandson Christopher rather than JRR's son. I'm sure I recently read a critic who distinguished between the two by calling JRR's son Christopher and Hilary's grandson Chris, but I cannot now recall the source. Here's a family tree on Wiki: Tolkien family tree.

Originally Posted by Mister Underhill

I wonder what eleventh hour dispute killed the book.

The book had already been extensively rewritten in an attempt to accommodate the wishes of the Estate.

Originally Posted by Mister Underhill

The Tolkien Estate has managed to cultivate a reputation -- deserved or not -- as a lumbering litigious behemoth obsessed with control, an irony which I'm sure is not lost on most Tolkien fans. I wonder if they're sensitive to that or if they're just too old and too wealthy to care.

It's really disheartening to recall that the Estate also rejected Professor Michael Drout's edition of Tolkien's translation of Beowulf. And they are sitting on Tolkien's private journal or diary, something scholarship would really benefit from seeing.

Originally Posted by Mithalwen

It dos seem a bit extreme especially when Gardener is such a mainstay of Oxonmoot and the TS which is proud and protective of its relationship with the surviving family.

Let me second this. Anyone who attended the session on this book at Oxonmoot this past September could not miss the genuine sincerity of the authors and their personal enthusiasm for the project. These are not fringe carbetbaggers using a cheap trick to hitch a ride on Tolkien's fame. Like other members of the Tolkien Society, they are exceptionally devoted fans of the author. If I am remembering correctly, they worked with Hilary's family on the book, which is based on a recently discovered stash of Hilary's family mementoes.

I have to say I'm very glad I attended this session, particularly in light of this news. I came away with a greater appreciation of the family relationships and some interesting information not in Carpenter's biography.

And in the interests of full disclosure, I should mention that after Oxonmoot I became friends with Angie Gardner on Facebook and am also friends there with Professor Drout, although I've not had any correspondence with them about their books.