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JRR Tolkien: 'I Never Expected a Money Success'

posted by cmn32480 on Wednesday October 28 2015, @10:46PM   Printer-friendly
from the one-ring-to-rule-them-all dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

"I never expected a money success," said Tolkien, pacing the room, as he does constantly when he speaks. "In fact, I never even thought of commercial publication when I wrote The Hobbit back in the Thirties.

"It all began when I was reading exam papers to earn a bit of extra money. That was agony. One of the tragedies of the underpaid professor is that he has to do menial jobs. He is expected to maintain a certain position and to send his children to good schools. Well, one day I came to a blank page in an exam book and I scribbled on it. 'In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.

The piece is a pleasant read about the greatest fantasy writer of all time.

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  • (Score: 4, Funny) by wonkey_monkey on Wednesday October 28 2015, @11:33PM

    by wonkey_monkey (279) on Wednesday October 28 2015, @11:33PM (#255805) Homepage

    "I never expected a money success," said Tolkien, pacing the room, as he does constantly when he speaks.

    Argh, zombie Tolkien has risen from the grave! Run away!

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  • (Score: 3, Funny) by arslan on Thursday October 29 2015, @12:49AM

    by arslan (3462) on Thursday October 29 2015, @12:49AM (#255830)

    Comic book guy: I believe the correct term is wraith

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29 2015, @06:43AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29 2015, @06:43AM (#255913)
      Oh, I think Barrow-wight has nice ring to it too...

      • (Score: 3, Funny) by ticho on Thursday October 29 2015, @08:43AM

        by ticho (89) on Thursday October 29 2015, @08:43AM (#255936) Homepage Journal

        Barrow-wight saved my life.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29 2015, @02:07PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29 2015, @02:07PM (#256021)

    Well said! (Translation: I was going to post darn near the same thing.) Except I'd add: It would have behooved the submitter to work in that he has been dead for over forty years. That's one of those things that should be covered under, "you never know who's actually reading the article and how familiar they are with the subject."