From his fiction set in the world of Middle-earth to his influential scholarship on Beowulf and fairy stories, J. R. R. Tolkien is the father of fantasy literature.

Tropes, character-types and his own personal history have inspired the fantasy genre for generations but the sheer size of his legendarium and the studies surrounding his work are monumental. Using a lively A-Z structure, Adam Roberts provides 26 essays that offer stimulating fresh takes and engaging entry points into Tolkien’s life and works. With entries such as ‘A is for Ainulindalë’ and ‘D is for Dragon’, digging into Middle-earth’s lore and creatures, ‘G is for Gandalf’ and ‘W is for Women’ exploring the importance of his characters and their thematic significance, entries such as ‘I is for Inklings’ and ‘S is for Somme’, trace the influences and experiences of the man himself. Drawing upon the entirety of Tolkien and his son Christopher Tolkien’s oeuvre as well as popular adaptations such as Peter Jackson’s trilogies and Amazon’s The Rings of Power, An A-Z of Tolkien’s essays pull our marvels from the text that launch fascinating discussions alert to key concepts discussed by fans and Tolkien scholars alike.

Thought-provoking and rewarding on each new page, this lexicon of the ideas and creations of one of our most celebrated writers invites renewed appreciation of a mind, world and mythology as complex, though infinitely more magical, than our own.