Oxonmoot 2024

Literary criticism of Tolkien’s life and works ever seeks for fresh angles. Back in the early 1980s I reread The Lord of the Rings for examples of political and moral thinking, and wrote two articles which I then published, both now on the T.S.  website.  I also noticed two sentences in The Return of the King which struck me very forcibly, given my training as a school librarian in a multicultural school and local authority, when I had to examine books of the past as well as the present which might upset students of colour or minority ethnic groups, and then to advocate for and accept removal or re-editing of the books. I wondered if, when the Second Edition was being prepared in 1966, these sentences and some other words and phrases had been called to Tolkien’s attention, he might have agreed to their removal. There are blogs, articles and books which concentrate on racial issues; and I sympathise with readers of colour; an edited International Edition might partly answer complaints.