Tolkien's Lost Chaucer
John M. Bowers
Reviews and Awards
"... Bowers recounts the history of the Clarendon Chaucer, beginning with the circumstances under which it was commissioned and running up to the moment of its rediscovery. This is a surprisingly gripping story - Bowers does an impressive job of immersing us in the ups and downs, starts and stops that attended this ill-fated project." -- The Times Literary Supplement
"Bowers's knowledge of Tolkien's works is as thorough and impressive as his extensive knowledge of Chaucer's poetry, and the result is that he is able to draw lines of comparison and suggest provocative influences that make one think a little differently about Chaucer as well as Tolkien. This is an elegantly written and accessible book that shines an informative light on a shadowy corner of Tolkien's scholarship and that will bring Chaucer, a poet Tolkien hugely admired, before a popular audience, perhaps for the first time. Ultimately, indeed, Bowers does as great a service to Chaucer as to Tolkien." -- Tim William Machan, Studies in the Age of Chaucer, Volume 42, 2020
"The surviving material of the 'lost Chaucer' is fairly slight and in places very technical, but Bowers demonstrates neatly that even the most arcane philological detail could act as creative inspiration for Tolkien. It is refreshing that he discusses how this aborted edition displays Tolkien's weaknesses as a scholar ... as well as his superb literary skill ... The book also offers a fascinating, at times startling, insight into medieval studies in thefirst half of the 20th century ... The appetite for Tolkien's works, however fragmentary, seems to continue unabated. This book is a very welcome addition to the ever-growing library of his unfinished tales." -- History Today
"For anyone seriously interested in either Tolkien or Chaucer, Bowers' book will be indispensable. For others, it is a meticulous, elegant, and at times moving look into how one great author read another ... Bowers' book is insightful and enjoyable: a fitting testament to the two writers with whom it is concerned." -- Daniel Sutton, The Oxonian Review
"Bowers' book is full of such insights for the Tolkien aficionado. And if you're a Chaucer fan or scholar, youâll also find much to admire in Tolkien's detailed and sometimes illuminating work on the great poet." -- Oliver Tearle, Interesting Literature
"Having explored Middle Earth attentively and with deep appreciation, [Bowers] provides a welcome, fresh foray into both medieval and modern lore..." -- Spectrum Culture