To Read & To Write

“Tolkien On Fairy Stories: Expanded Edition, with Commentary and Notes”, edited by Verlyn Flieger and Douglas A. Anderson, is a great reference resource for anyone seriously studying fairy-tales, or for anyone who just enjoys them. Included is an introduction by Flieger, which goes over “On Fairy-Stories”, a lecture which Tolkien presented to an audience at the University of St. Andrew on March 8, 1939 for the Andrew Lang Lecture. Flieger breaks down the essay, addressing each section such as Tolkien’s answer to the question “what is a fairy story” and “what is the origin of the story”. Then, she goes into immediate context, larger context, and publication history. Suffice it to say, there is enough here to even do without reading the actual essay, for the introduction sums it up comprehensively and succinctly. But there’s nothing quite like reading Tolkien’s own writing on the matter of fairy-stories itself. Even without taking studious notes, it is possible to read this essay and...