The King Under the Mountain

The Search for J. R. R. Tolkien

D. J. Taylor

A sparkling exploration of the myths that J. R. R. Tolkien created around himself, examining the social and political worlds that surrounded the creator of Middle-Earth, by award-winning biographer D. J. Taylor.

In the past seven decades J.R.R. Tolkien’s major works—The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion—have sold over half a billion copies, been made into prodigiously successful Hollywood movies, and had an incalculable influence on the generations of fantasy writers who followed in their wake.

But Tolkien himself remains a mystery—a deeply conservative Oxford don specializing in an abstruse subject and a diehard Roman Catholic who regarded biography as a waste of time, was suspicious of literary criticism, and jealously guarded his private life from an intrusive media. Of no major twentieth century literary figure is so little known.

The King Under the Mountain is an attempt to decipher this puzzle. Part biography, part critical study, and part fan’s notes offering insight into the deepest recesses of Tolkien’s imaginative world, it explores the myths that Tolkien created around himself, examines the social and political contexts in which he operated and, above all, investigates the kind of person—and the kind of writer—that Tolkien imagined himself to be.

D. J. Taylor is a novelist, critic ,and biographer whose Orwell won the Whitbread Prize for Biography. His most recent books are Kept; Bright Young People: The Rise and Fall of a Generation; Ask Alice; and Derby Day, which was nominated for the Booker Prize and was selected as a Washington Post Best Book of the Year.

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Endorsements & Reviews

Praise for D. J. Taylor’s Orwell: The New Life:

“Taylor makes use of Orwell’s own intellectual tools: his exposure of doublethink and of the magic tricks of oppression, his championing of those who suffer, and his commitment to clear thought. Taylor deploys all this to throw light on the people Orwell failed to notice or fully understand — including, perhaps, himself.” Sarah Bakewell, The New York Times Book Review

"Mr. Taylor’s Orwell: The New Life is a new text that completes the picture by fleshing out Orwell’s emotional life with recently discovered letters and interviews with the last living people to have known him. Expertly told and subtle in judgment, The New Life will not be the last word in the ever-growing field of Orwelliana, but it will become its central monument.” Domonic Green, The Wall Street Journal

“This book ranks as the new definitive work on Orwell. A useful introduction for readers new to Orwell and also illuminating for those who thought they knew everything about him.” Library Journal

“Taylor expertly illuminates how early influences provided Orwell with a keen interest in the power of language and the language of power. The subtitle of Taylor’s authoritative account reflects newly available material but could just as accurately reflect the renewed life given to Orwell in our post-fact world.” Booklist (starred review)

“Novelist and book critic Taylor delivers a sterling account of the life and works of George Orwell. Taylor’s meticulous research illuminates how Orwell’s political commitments informed his fiction. This stands out in the crowded field of Orwell biographies.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Praise for The Lost Girls:

“Highly entertaining account of the volatile lives of four young women.” The Wall Street Journal

“Because of D. J. Taylor’s vivid and affecting group biography, the 'lost girls' will never be lost again." The Washington Post

“A lively, perceptive, and gossip-strewn inquiry into an overlooked aspect of an influential corner of literary life. Lost Girls features war, snobbery, high culture (and low), exotic locations, and a fast and often bizarre dramatis personae that, when its members stray, tend to do so in the most intriguing ways.” The New Criterion

“Taylor gives his subjects dimension, sympathy, and credit for their contributions to letters. This book opens a window onto a fascinating literary and social period and will inspire readers to explore it further in both history and fiction.” Booklist