Sometime in August 1979, I was travelling with my father by train to London, when I first saw posters advertising the Ralph Bakshi animated version of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. The film had been released in the US the previous November and I aware of its existence because I had read articles about it production in Starburst magazine. Even at the age of 11 I was interested in genre films and television, having been raised on Doctor Who and Ray Harryhausen’s back catalogue of fantasy movies. Furthermore, I was familiar with Tolkien’s first novel, The Hobbit, as my father had read it to me when I was younger. I was impressed by the poster in that way that only an 11 year old can be. Why was Gandalf do gigantic? Also the A rating was enigmatic. Most animated films were usually rated U. Yet despite my interest, I didn’t see The Lord of the Rings at the cinema during the summer holidays. Later that year, I was at my local library, when I came across The film book of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. A landscape picture book filled with stills from the Bakshi film and with a very condensed version of the plot. Like the movie, the book ended with the Battle of Helm’s Deep. Needless to say, I was very interested by the book, because not only did it show me details of the film that I had missed at the cinema but it also gave me an overview of the plot of The Lord of the Rings. After speaking to one of the librarians, I discovered that The Lord of the Rings was actually made up of three books and that the first was The Fellowship of the Ring. Sadly, the book had been checkout by another library member, so I had to “reserve it”. Apparently there were a number of people ahead of me in the queue for this book, so I had to wait several months before I finally got my hands on a copy. If memory serves, that was in spring 1980. I was 12 years old when I started reading The Fellowship of the Ring and despite being a competent reader, I struggled initially to get to grips with the book. I found the verse and songs particularly difficult. Yet I doggedly pressed on and soon found myself lost in the tale. I think that most engaging aspect of the book was the sense that this was a living world with an immense sense of history. Each chapter would allude to people and events from the past that were of note and significance. I was already interested in history at school and this enthralled me in the same way. I was also immediately drawn to the map of Middle-earth in the Third Age that was included with the book. It further reinforced the credibility of Tolkien’s world as well as giving it a sense of scope. During the course of summer and autumn I subsequently read The Two Towers and The Return of the King. I ended the year an avid Tolkien fan. Then in March 1981, BBC Radio 4 began broadcasting its famous 26 part radio adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. I actually missed the first episode, which was initially broadcast at 12 noon on a Sunday. It was repeated at 10:30 PM on the following Wednesday but that was too late for me, being a school day. Fortunately a friend had recorded the episode on cassette and lent it too me. From then onwards, I ensured that I was available to listen to all subsequent episodes. As to the adaptation itself, it was outstanding and is considered to this day to be a genre milestone. The cast was incredible and so apt; with the great Sir Michael Hordern as Gandalf and Ian Holm as Frodo Baggins. Tolkien’s text suits radio well, providing much for the listeners to imagine. Furthermore, this adaptation improved my understanding of the books immensely, as they depict events in chronological order and used correct pronunciation of names and places. It is curious to reflect upon this particular path to fandom, mainly because it required a degree of effort upon my behalf to discover the source material, which I then had to read it and understand. A process that took about 9 months. Hence the fandom associated with books is different to that which stems from a film franchise or a TV show. I was an avid Star Wars fans for decades having watched the original film in the cinema upon its initial UK release. However, my relationship with that franchise has changed over the years and even waned. That is not the case with my love of Tolkien. As I’ve become older and more cognisant of the multiple layers that are present in his writings, I appreciate them even more. Their scope and complexity are still integral to their appeal but so are their philosophical and ethical musings. The use of language and verse now make far more sense to me and I appreciate their beauty. I suspect that in the years ahead, my interest in some types of fandom will inevitably end. But I suspect that will never be the case with Tolkien. Permalink