Celebrating the stories of Middle-earth and their Anglo-Saxon connections

This year has seen the publication of JRR Tolkien’s The Fall of Gondolin, his tale of a beautiful, mysterious city destroyed by dark forces which The Lord of the Rings author called ‘the first real story’ of Middle-earth; a template for everything he wrote afterwards. It is expected to be the last of the series edited by Tolkien’s son Christopher.

Artist Alan Lee is joined by Tolkien experts Mark Atherton and John Garth to explore the grand sweep of Tolkien’s world, which has finally come into full view.

Tolkien was a Professor of Old English/Anglo-Saxon and Middle English language and literature at Oxford, and this literature, particularly Beowulf, influenced his own writings. Tolkien also based the people of Rohan, the Rohirrim, on the historical Anglo-Saxons giving them Anglo-Saxon names, customs, and poetry.

Followed by a book signing.

Mark Atherton is Lecturer in English at the University of Oxford. A specialist in Old English language and narrative prose, he is also author of There and Back Again: J R R Tolkien and the Origins of The Hobbit (2012) and Teach Yourself Complete Old English (Anglo-Saxon) (2010)

John Garth is a journalist and leading Tolkien specialist. He is author of the acclaimed biographical Tolkien and the Great War, winner of the Mythopoeic Award for Scholarship 2004 and the definitive study of Tolkien's undergraduate life, Tolkien at Exeter College.

Alan Lee is a renowned British artist. He has illustrated numerous Tolkien books and calendars and together with John Howe was a concept artist for both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film series.

Chaired by Julia Eccleshare, writer, broadcaster and lecturer, and the Guardian's children's books editor.

Image: Alan Lee's cover illustration for The Fall of Gondolin

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