Quote:Tolkien's magical world of Middle-Earth - a land inhabited by tobacco-smoking, ale-brewing, Halfling superheroes, eon-old Elven kings, chanting time-travellers, messianic wizards and satanic war-lords - remains unparalleled in its scope and vision and unsurpassed in its appeal and fascination for countless millions of people of all ages the world over.

Now, in this long-awaited study, Professor Helms shows how the master story-teller succeeded in combining a scholarly knowledge of traditional mythological literature with an imaginative genius to create fantasy epics of universal significance.