Tolkien Estate blocks new Tolkien book - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Morthoron · 11-16-2010, 08:07 PM

Whatever the convoluted legalistic circumlocutions, it all sounds like much ado about nothing, and ridiculously litigious on the part of the Tolkien Estate. Here we have two brothers who have been dead nearly forty years. FORTY YEARS! Unless J.R.R. paraded about in women's clothing in a foxhole in France and was referred to as Jane Tolkien by his comrades, I don't think much that is earth-shaking could come out of letters from two brothers.

I have long respected the conservative nature by which the Tolkien Estate transacted their business, and protected the authorial integrity of my favorite writer; however, there comes a point when it is simply asinine, particularly in the case of a biography about Tolkien's brother which seemed to originally receive the blessings of the Estate, and the authors considered appropriate to the task after being vetted.

Personally, the objections seem trivial -- as small and mean as snobby Hobbits like Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, who took pettiness to a higher level.

Sorry Tolkien Estate, you missed the boat on this one and received a self-inflicted black eye.

11-16-2010, 08:07 PM	#10
Morthoron Curmudgeonly Wordwraith Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Ensconced in curmudgeonly pursuits Posts: 2,515	Whatever the convoluted legalistic circumlocutions, it all sounds like much ado about nothing, and ridiculously litigious on the part of the Tolkien Estate. Here we have two brothers who have been dead nearly forty years. FORTY YEARS! Unless J.R.R. paraded about in women's clothing in a foxhole in France and was referred to as Jane Tolkien by his comrades, I don't think much that is earth-shaking could come out of letters from two brothers. I have long respected the conservative nature by which the Tolkien Estate transacted their business, and protected the authorial integrity of my favorite writer; however, there comes a point when it is simply asinine, particularly in the case of a biography about Tolkien's brother which seemed to originally receive the blessings of the Estate, and the authors considered appropriate to the task after being vetted. Personally, the objections seem trivial -- as small and mean as snobby Hobbits like Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, who took pettiness to a higher level. Sorry Tolkien Estate, you missed the boat on this one and received a self-inflicted black eye. __________________ And your little sister's immaculate virginity wings away on the bony shoulders of a young horse named George who stole surreptitiously into her geography revision.