Tolkien wrote the dark tale when he was but a 22 year old student. It is based on a character from Kalevala, the Finnish national epic, which he as a linguist studied. His biographer has said that the work was important for the creation of new languages. Tolkien himself has commented that it was then that he began writing legends of his own.
(Score: 2) by vux984 on Monday June 15 2015, @02:16AM
/shrug
I suppose. Although credited as " JRR Tolkien edited by Christopher Tolkien"; its as about as much a novel by JRR Tolkien as Blade Runner is a movie by Philip K Dick.