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Humphrey Carpenter (1946–2005)

Autor(a) de Tolkien: A Biography

55+ Works 6,237 Membros 60 Críticas 1 Favorited

About the Author

Humphrey Carpenter is the award-winning author of biographies of Dennis Potter, J.R.R. Tolkien, W.H. Auden, and Ezra Pound. He broadcasts regularly on BBC radio. Carpenter is married with two children and lives in Oxford, England
Image credit: Humphrey Carpenter, 1994

Séries

Obras por Humphrey Carpenter

Tolkien: A Biography (1977) 2,768 exemplares
Mr Majeika (1985) 170 exemplares
W. H. Auden: A Biography (1981) 160 exemplares
Benjamin Britten: A Biography (1992) 153 exemplares
Spike Milligan (2003) 129 exemplares
Mr Majeika on the Internet (2001) 79 exemplares
Mr Majeika and the Haunted Hotel (1988) 76 exemplares
Mr Majeika and the Ghost Train (1994) 71 exemplares
Mr Majeika and the Dinner Lady (1990) 68 exemplares
Mr Majeika and the Music Teacher (1987) 61 exemplares
Jesus (Past Masters) (1980) 58 exemplares
Mr Majeika and the School Play (1991) 51 exemplares
Mr Majeika Vanishes (1997) 49 exemplares
Mr Majeika and the School Trip (1999) 49 exemplares
Dennis Potter: A Biography (1988) 44 exemplares
That was satire that was (2000) 38 exemplares
Founders of Faith (1986) — Contribuidor — 37 exemplares
Mr Majeika Joins the Circus (2006) 27 exemplares
Mr Majeika's Postbag (1990) 14 exemplares
The Captain Hook Affair (1979) 5 exemplares
T.V. Adventures of Mr. Majeika (1988) 4 exemplares
J.R.R. Tolkien (2022) 4 exemplares
J.R.R. Tolkien. Biografia (2023) 2 exemplares
Keble college (1987) 1 exemplar
Ghostclusters 1 exemplar

Associated Works

Três homens num barco (já para não falar do cão) (1889) — Introdução, algumas edições; Introdução, algumas edições7,662 exemplares
The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (1981) — Editor — 2,722 exemplares
The Wizard's Den: Spellbinding Stories of Magic & Magicians (2001) — Contribuidor — 23 exemplares
J.R.R. Tolkien: An Audio Portrait (CD) (2001) — Contribuidor — 18 exemplares
Apollo: Origins and Influence (1994) — Contribuidor — 5 exemplares

Etiquetado

Conhecimento Comum

Membros

Críticas

Humphrey Carpenter's authorized biography of Tolkien is a surprisingly balanced picture of the man. Carpenter clearly admires Tolkien's talent without being blind to his faults. Carpenter simply adores the man for who he was, faults and all, and does not try to paint some mythic portrait of Tolkien. Although Tolkien possessed an extraordinary mind, he was quite - in many aspects - an ordinary man, duty bound to professional obligations and family life. Tolkien preferred the 'quiet life' you see and was in many ways, a Hobbit from the Baggin's side of the tracks in temperament and lifestyle. Yet his mind (I suspect) possessed the longings of a Took...

J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography is immensely readable, and paints a wonderful portrait of a man who in my opinion, is the most important literary figure of the 20th century.
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
ryantlaferney87 | 21 outras críticas | Dec 8, 2023 |
The biography is fine, but what a dully disgusting life.
 
Assinalado
judeprufrock | 1 outra crítica | Jul 4, 2023 |
I fell in love with The Lord of the Rings when I was in high school. Nevertheless, this biography has remained unread on my shelves for over fifteen years. Why? Some authors are an absolute disappointment to read about. I guess I didn’t want to know if the Professor was one of them.

He’s not.

If you had to write a fictional biography for Tolkien it would look much like this.

Orphaned at an early age, he fell In love with a girl, also orphaned and living in the same boarding house.

His fascination with languages, learning ancient languages and even developing his own secret languages based on strict linguistical rules, showed themselves at an early age.

The only disappointment to me was that his fascinating circle of friends didn’t include women. He was a complete product of his time, attending boys’ prep schools and colleges. Only in the very later years is a female graduate student mentioned. This is often reflected in his books, where usually (but not always) women have secondary roles, leaving the adventuring and hero-ing to men.

Highly recommended.
… (mais)
½
 
Assinalado
streamsong | 21 outras críticas | May 30, 2023 |
Until I read this, I didn't know that biographies could be so engaging. Carpenter paints a vivid picture of Tolkien's life, skillfully balancing discussion of his day-to-day life with those elements that might tell us more about how his great works came to be. The writing style is immensely enjoyable, that even the mundanities of Tolkien's daily commutes seem like activity bursting with vitality.
 
Assinalado
mirryi | 21 outras críticas | May 24, 2023 |

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Estatísticas

Obras
55
Also by
6
Membros
6,237
Popularidade
#3,932
Avaliação
3.9
Críticas
60
ISBN
264
Línguas
16
Marcado como favorito
1

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