Tolkien’s best-known works are from his legendarium, but he wrote a lot of other things as well, including fairy stories, poetry, translations, adaptations and, of course, academic essays. Discover some of Tolkien’s other incredible works here.
Fairy Tales & Children’s Stories
Fairy stories – that is, stories about the interaction of humans with the “Perilous Realm” – were often on Tolkien’s mind. Of course, his best-known fairy tales are The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, but he wrote others as well.
Tolkien also wrote some stories explicitly for children. While these may or may not fall under the genre of fairy stories (the line is a bit fuzzy), it makes sense to put them here as well. They are, of course, entirely suitable for adults, as well.
Tales from the Perilous Realm
This book collects five stories that every Tolkien enthusiast will want to read: “Farmer Giles of Ham,” “Smith of Wootton Major,” “Roverandom” and “The Adventures of Tom Bombadil”
Letters from Father Christmas
A book of illustrated letters from Father Christmas that Tolkien wrote for his children as they grew up.
Mr. Bliss
Here’s what we know about Mr. Bliss: He likes tall hats and his new motor car. Tolkien write this fun little story for his kids when they were young.
Translations & Adaptations
Tolkien was a scholar of old languages and literatures. As such, over the years he made many translations and adaptations of older works. While translating and adapting are two very different activities – he’s very clear about that in his essay “On Translating Beowulf” – I’ve collected them under this single heading, because some of his translations and adaptations are collected in the same volume (such Beowulf).
A Middle English Vocabulary
Tolkien’s first book was a glossary for Kenneth Sisam’s Fourteenth Century Verse & Prose (later included with that volume). While not a translation itself, it’s a very useful reference for students interested in Middle English
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl & Sir Orfeo
Tolkien wanted to make these Middle English poems accessible to readers, so he created Modern English poetic translations for lovers of literature
The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún
This alliterative verse adaptation of a classic story from the Edda was written by Tolkien while he was Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford
The Fall of Arthur
Read Tolkien’s take on the story of King Arthur and his ultimate downfall
Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary
Tolkien taught Beowulf in his classes for many years, and he even tried his hand at translating it. Includes his poetic adaptation “Lay of Beowulf,” and his own composition, “Sellic Spell.”
The Story of Kullervo
Not quite an adaptation, but not quite part of his legendarium either, the story of “hapless Kullervo” is sourced from the Kalevala and is the basis for the character Túrin Turambar in The Silmarillion
The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun
Edited by Verlyn Flieger
The poem of Aotrou and Itroun (Breton for Lord and Lady) is a tragedy about lovers who seek help from a corrigan – a type of evil fairy – but end up with a cursed potion. Based loosely on a Breton song, Tolkien adds his own twists and ideas as well.
Essays & Academic Works
Tolkien wrote many essays and longer academic studies over the course of his career as English reader (lecturer) at Leeds and Oxford. Some of these have been collected and published in various volumes over the years.
Finn and Hengest
Edited by Alan Bliss
Commentary on two episodes of Old English poetry related to Finn Folcwalding, King of the Frisians, and the Anglo-Saxon Hengest. Essential for the student of Old English language and literature.
The Monsters and the Critics, and Other Essays
Tolkien’s seminal essay “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics” changed the entire course of Beowulf studies – this book is essential for any student of Old English literature. Also included in this edition are Tolkien’s essays “On Translating Beowulf,” “On Fairy-Stories,” “A Secret Vice,” and “English and Welsh”
Beowulf and the Critics
Edited by Michael D. C. Drout
An in-depth look at the development of Tolkien’s essay “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics,” including the much longer essay from which the final lecture was pared down
Tolkien on Fairy-Stories
Edited by Verlyn Flieger and Douglas A. Anderson
This critical edition of Tolkien’s classic essay “On Fairy-Stories” provides access to other drafts, notes, and commentary related to the Professor’s literary theory about the uses and usefulness of fairy tales.
A Secret Vice
Edited by Dimitra Fimi and Andrew Higgins
Tolkien’s secret vice was his love of crafting constructed languages (“conlangs”). This volume presents his essay, “A Secret Vice,” along with its early drafts and a previously unpublished “Essay on Phonetic Symbolism.”
