The Saga of Eric Brighteyes - Illustrated: Tolkien's Bookshelf #6: Volume 6 - Brossura

Haggard, H Rider

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0987555448 ISBN 13: 9780987555441

Casa editrice: Leaves of Gold Press, 2013

Riassunto

THE PROFESSOR'S BOOKSHELF #6: THE SAGA OF ERIC BRIGHTEYES - ILLUSTRATED. Rider Haggard is among a small selection of Victorian and Edwardian writers whom Professor J.R.R. Tolkien acknowledged by name. Professor Tolkien once enthused in an interview that 'Eric Brighteyes' was 'as good as most sagas and as heroic'. Haggard’s classic is an action-packed adventure filled with Viking feasts duels, battles on land and sea, romance, treachery, magic, beautiful women and brave heroes. Haggard writes that Eric 'was strong and great of stature, his hair was yellow as gold, and his grey eyes shone with the light of swords.' This could be a sentence from 'The Lord of the Rings'. For both authors, landscape plays as important a part as any character, and is described in concise yet evocative language. Haggard plunges his readers among the dizzying precipices, waterfalls, fast flowing rivers, icy winters and stormy seas of his fantastic Iceland, much as Tolkien sweeps us into Middle-Earth. Lancelot Speed, whose striking images enrich this volume, was a highly accomplished and prolific fantasy illustrator during Tolkien's lifetime. He illuminated many titles Professor Tolkien is known to have read, and there is no doubt Tolkien was familiar with his vibrant drawings. A dwarf-forged sword wrested from Barrow Dwellers, its bright blade engraved with runes; the appellation: 'Ring-giver'; poetry and song; a hero with grey eyes - these and many more resemblances of style and content exist between Haggard's classic tale and 'The Lord of the Rings'.

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L'autore:

Sir Henry Rider Haggard, KBE (22 June 1856 - 14 May 1925) was an English author. He wrote adventure novels in exotic settings, chiefly colonial Africa, where he lived, worked and travelled for several years. His stories were the first in the 'Lost World' literary genre, which influenced popular American pulp writers such as Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, Philip José Farmer, and Abraham Merritt. Tolkien greatly enjoyed Haggard's novels, in particular 'She' (1887)and 'Eric Brighteyes' (1891). It can be imagined that he would have been interested in the other three titles in the immensely popular 'She' series when they appeared - 'Ayesha: The Return of She' (1905),' She and Allan' (1921), and 'Wisdom's Daughter' (1923). Fantasy author H.P. Lovecraft, too, praised Haggard. To 21st century readers parts of Haggard's work may seem 'politically incorrect'. He was a man of his time, as we are men and women of ours. His books are not devoid of racism, sexism and ruthless exploitation of wild animals; it is best, however, to with-hold judgement and not allow it to spoil the pleasure of reading literary classics. Several of Haggard's books contain references to volcanoes. Reading them, one is reminded of Tolkien's descriptions of Mount Doom. In 'She', Haggard depicts marshlands reminiscent of the Dead Marshes in The Lord of the Rings. Haggard's protagonists, like Tolkien's, make long journeys, endure painful ordeals, travel underground and are often swept into wars. They encounter beings who are either impossibly long-lived or immortal. Landscape, rock formations and geography play a vital role in Haggard's adventures, as they do in Tolkien's work.

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• Editore: Leaves of Gold Press
• Data di pubblicazione: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0987555448
• ISBN 13: 9780987555441
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero edizione: 1
• Numero di pagine: 376
• Disegnatore: Speed Lancelot