JRR Tolkien redefined fantasy for a new generation

JRR Tolkien believed fantasy literature was an entirely different world

Tolkien effectively invented modern fantasy, which often relies on an intricate universe, complete with its own languages, cultures, lifeforms, physics, and systems. When an author did this effectively, he called it “Faërie”—a sort of enchantment that transports the reader into the fictional world.

The US paperbacks of Tolkien's books led to the popularization of fantasy

Tolkien initially resisted publishing his books in paperback because of the stigma attached to the format, with many believing that serious fiction was first published in hardback. When Ballantine Books eventually published the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy in 1965, though, the genre became more popular, leading Ballantine to continue publishing adult fantasy and expanding the genre’s bounds.

Lewis Carroll's 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' turned the fantasy genre upside down

A lot of 19th-century British fantasy was often stiff; its children’s literature was often overly didactic. Carroll’s novel—about a young girl who falls into an unusual world full—was neither, offering vivid, psychedelic imagery and seemingly nonsensical word games.

JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis met at Oxford and bonded over Norse mythology

The “Lord of the Rings” mastermind and “The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe” author were colleagues at Oxford University and shared an appreciation for Norse mythology, which continues to inform the fantasy genre. They were also a part of the same informal literary group, the Inklings, where they’d discuss one another’s works-in-progress.

‘Beowulf’ is a foundational text for modern fantasy

The story is the earliest surviving poem in the English language and enshrined many Anglo-Saxon ideals about heroism, loyalty, and adventure. JRR Tolkein was an enthusiastic fan of the poem, even lecturing about it in 1936, and mirrored many of its themes in “Lord of the Rings.” Critics have also highlighted the influence on later fantasy stories, including “Harry Potter.”

Tolkien's grandson says 'Lord of the Rings' was influenced by WWI

JRR Tolkien fought in World War I, an experience his grandson, Simon Tolkien, says informed the fantasy legend’s famous trilogy. The companionship between Frodo and Sam and Sauron’s pervasive evil, according to the younger Tolkien, were directly influenced by time on the battlefield.

One writer believes fantasy is a form of realism

The literary genre has become massively popular in the 2020s, turning a previously marginal form into a mainstream concern. Spufford, a literary novelist who grew up loving books that explored fantastic worlds, argues that fantasy is so popular because it so accurately reflects the real world.

Early English fantasy writers built on horror and Gothic texts

After the success of 19th-century books like Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” and Robert Louis Stevenson’s “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” readers were eager for more stories that deviated from realism. Early 20th-century texts like George MacDonald’s “Phantastes” and Lord Dunsany’s “The King of Elfland’s Daughter” met the moment, laying the groundwork for the fantasy genre.

Fantasy has dozens of subgenres

“Fantasy” itself is a rather broad way of characterizing fiction. The genre encompasses many subgenres, including epic (like JRR Tolkein’s “Lord of the Rings”), dark (like Neil Gaiman’s “Coraline”), or even superhero (like your favorite Marvel or DC comics).

'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' was the first major American fantasy novel

Baum blended elements of Hans Christian Andersen, the Brothers Grimm, and Lewis Carroll, placing them in an American context. The illustrations of William Wallace Denslow brought the fantastical elements to life, as seen below. The book was an instant smash hit, selling out its initial 10,000-book pressing within the first eight months. By the time it entered the public domain in 1956, it had sold 3 million copies.

JRR Tolkien believed fairy tales needed dramatic reversals of fortune

Tolkien coined the term "eucatastrophe" to define what he believed as an essential key to good storytelling: “The consolation of fairy-stories [is] the joy of the happy ending: or more correctly of the good catastrophe, the sudden joyous ‘turn.'"

Ursula K. Le Guin worked to dismantle fantasy's clichés

The author is one of the genre’s most legendary names, constructing high fantasies like “The Earthsea Cycle” that detail intricate new worlds. In 2004, she delivered a lecture criticizing books and movies that rely on a simple formula: white characters, Medieval settings, and a battle between good and evil. “Whenever I find a fantasy that is set in a genuinely imagined society and culture instead of this lazy-minded, recycled hokum,” she said, “I feel like setting off fireworks.”

Tove Jansson's illustrations for 'The Hobbit' rankled some of its diehard fans

The Nordic illustrator was asked to contribute illustrations for the 1960 Swedish translation of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit." Some fans were critical, though, arguing that the images didn't accurately represent Tolkien's Middle-earth. One of their most convincing pieces of evidence was Jansson's portrayal of Gollum, which she turned into a massive beast. After seeing it, Tolkien realized he needed to specify that the character was "a small, slimy creature."

'Harry Potter’ transformed the young adult publishing industry

The series’ success reshaped the market for youth fiction. In 1997, about 3,000 young adult titles were published annually. By 2009, that number soared to 30,000 as publishers chased the next major phenomenon.

'All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost.'

- "The Lord of the Rings" author JRR Tolkien (1892-1973)

The fantasy-based tabletop role-playing game 'Dungeons and Dragons' has seen a renaissance in the last few years

It's becoming mainstream after being relegated to the dorks for decades. LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman has contemplated the role the game played in his own formation as a person and a business leader.

The 1925 ‘Wizard of Oz’ predates the classic 1939 film

The film differs significantly from the 1900 book and the later 1939 film adaptation: Dorothy is 18 years old, the Tin Woodman is a villain, and the entire story of Oz is framed by a toy-maker reading the original Baum book to his granddaughter.

Rowling adopted initials to appeal to young male readers

At her publisher’s suggestion, Joanne Rowling used the pen name “JK Rowling,” believing boys might be less likely to buy a fantasy novel written by a woman.

Young readers are increasingly interested in graphic novels

Sales for the form, which relies on illustration as much as text but otherwise follows the form of the novel, are up 69% among young school-aged children. The genre has many sophisticated, intellectual, and critically-acclaimed titles, though it's sometimes derided as a less serious form of literature. Still, studies find that young children who read graphic novels and comics report higher levels of affinity for reading.

'Labyrinth' initially flopped

The fantasy movie, directed by Henson and starring David Bowie, exited theaters less than a month after its release. Later, though, the movie would become a cult classic and would inspire many writers and artists to create similarly whimsical worlds.

'Everybody else is working to change, persuade, tempt and control them. The best readers come to fiction to be free of all that noise.'

- Author Philip Roth (1933-2018)

Osamu Dazai's 'No Longer Human' found a new generation of readers, thanks to TikTok

The novel was published in 1948, a month after the writer's suicide, and went on to become a classic of Japanese literature. Decades later, an English translation gained popularity on TikTok, where younger readers praised the book for its handling of alienation. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Mid-century modern graphic designers, known for their bright colors and bold lines in advertising, also found success with children's books.

Twain started writing 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' to distract himself

In 1876, Twain mentioned that “a double-barreled novel” he’d been working on was essentially dead. Instead, he began working on “another boys’ book—more to be at work than anything else.” That book was “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” the text that would go on to define American literature.

Charles Dickens' novels inspired a young Norman Rockwell

Rockwell is considered a narrative painter who tells stories through his portraits of everyday Americans. The interest in using images to tell stories began at a young age, when his father read Dickens aloud to him while the young Norman illustrated the books’ scenes.

The first robot in literature may have been a 'mechanical man' in 1907's 'Ozma of Oz,' a book in L Frank Baum's 'Wizard of Oz' series.

Dr. Seuss was likely the first to use the word 'nerd' in print

The word appeared in 1950's "If I Ran the Zoo," but there are theories that the word (or forms of it) were already part of popular slang before the book was published.

Walt Disney's early film 'Alice's Wonderland' was a groundbreaking innovation in the silent film era

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, but became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

Famed poet TS Eliot rejected the manuscript for George Orwell's political fable 'Animal Farm,' writing that its criticism of authoritarianism was not 'the right point of view.'

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After NASA's Voyager 1 captured Earth as a single pixel as it left the solar system in 1990, astronomer Carl Sagan used the image to reflect on humanity's fragility and the responsibility to protect 'the only world we've ever known.'

Before writing 'Walden,' transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau nearly burned down his hometown with a campfire that grew out of control.

The 19th-century painters of the Hudson River School were among the first American romantics, with portraits that displayed the natural beauty of the young country.

In recent years a child anxiety expert has created and tested a novel phobia and anxiety treatment approach for children, focused on changing how parents respond to the fears.

The Dracula character, now seen as the vampire archetype, was inspired by a seafood-induced nightmare its creator experienced.

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

In 1963, a basement renovation in Turkey revealed a passageway to a hidden, multilevel underground city that once housed as many as 20,000 people

Clever Hans was a 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations, tell time, and read and comprehend German, until a psychology student discovered how he got his answers.

One disco producer saw 'Star Wars' four times on its opening weekend and was so inspired that he recorded the album 'Star Wars and Other Intergalactic Funk,' which produced a chart-topping single.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

In 2009, the nation was gripped by the story of a missing young boy who was believed to be floating over Colorado in a homemade balloon, until it was revealed that he was at home the whole time.

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

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