Tree and Leaf - Including Mythopoeia (Paperback, New Ed)

Fairy-stories are not just for children, as anyone who has read Tolkien will know. In his essay 'On Fairy-Stories', Tolkien discusses the nature of fairy-tales and fantasy and rescues the genre from those who would relegate it to juvenilia. This is aptly and elegantly illustrated in the haunting short story, 'Leaf by Niggle', which recounts the story of the artist, Niggle, who has 'a long journey to make' and is seen as an allegory of Tolkien's life. Written in the same period when 'The Lord of the Rings' was beginning to take shape, these two works show Tolkien's mastery and understanding of the art of subcreation, the power to give fantasy 'the inner conscience of reality'.

This edition also contains an introduction by Christopher Tolkien together with the poem 'Mythopoeia' which relates an argument between two unforgettable characters as they discuss the making of myths.

'Tree and Leaf' is an eclectic, provocative and entertaining collection of works which reveals the diversity of J.R.R. Tolkien's imagination, and the breadth of his talent as a creator of fantastic fiction.

"This book must be read… it goes far to explain the nature of his art and justify his success" THE CAMBRIDGE REVIEW

"A haunting and successful demonstration of the qualities of faerie" NEW YORK TIMES

"While springing from deep rooted convictions, his art has imaginative magic of a very rare quality" BIRMINGHAM POST