Published by Santa Barbara News. April 13, 2010. Karna Hughes
The Tolkien legacy : Crime novelist talks about new book, his famous grandfather and living in Santa Barbara
KARNA HUGHES, NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
April 13, 2010 7:50 AM
He's as conversant in hobbits, orcs and the storied landscape of Middle Earth, from Bag End to Bara-dûr, as the next "Lord of the Rings" fan.
The difference is Simon Tolkien is just that: a Tolkien, grandson of the late author J.R.R. Tolkien, whose trilogy of fantasy books has been read by millions the world over.
But fewer know that the younger Tolkien is a published author in his own right. Today his second book, a crime novel called "The Inheritance" ($24.99), will be published by Minotaur Books.
To promote the book, he'll do a stint on NPR today and be at a Barnes & Noble in New York Thursday. And although he doesn't have any local appearances planned, area residents might cross paths with him anyway. For nearly a year, he's made his home in Montecito, along with his wife, Tracy, a St. Louis native, and children Nicholas, 19, and Anna, 8.
"I lived 25 years in London and my wife is an American. I think we thought we wanted a complete change," Mr. Tolkien told the News-Press while sitting on a bench in the garden of the Santa Barbara Mission, a place he enjoys visiting on occasion. After living in England all that time, they thought it "only fair" to move to the United States and chose Santa Barbara after visiting the town in 2008.
"We got incredibly lucky, unbelievably lucky" said the Oxford native, 51, in a British accent. "I love it. I love every inch of it. It's kind of one of the best things that ever happened to us." His only regret? "I wish I'd come here earlier. I think it's so beautiful."
Set in England in the late 1950s, "The Inheritance" involves the murder of an Oxford historian and war hero, Colonel John Cade, who spent his days examining illuminated manuscripts in a manor house in the country.
All evidence points to his son, Stephen, who was soon to be disinherited, but other characters begin to emerge as suspects, from Mr. Cade's diffident adopted son, Silas, to his scholarly assistant, Sasha Vigne, to boarders at his home, Reginald and Jeanne Ritter.
The action takes place just before the death penalty was abolished in England, when punishment was carried out swiftly, according to the author. Because Stephen Cade is facing the hangman's noose, "it provides you with a ticking clock and a great deal of tension."
As the story unfolds, Mr. Tolkien weaves in plot lines ranging from an incident at a rural church in northern France in World War I to a mysterious book dating back to the 15th century containing a secret code to a police inspector intent on uncovering the truth.
"I did history when I was at university and I like the idea that there is something in the past that catches up with people," said Mr Tolkien, who studied modern history at Trinity School at Oxford University before going to law school in London.
"And that's in 'Lord of the Rings,' which is weird. This sense that the past, even though it's not your past, holds you. I've always been fascinated by that idea that there is something or someone now dead or now gone that then exerts a hold over people in the present and they have to go back into their past to find what it is and solve what happens to them now."
Writing came late in life to Mr Tolkien, who was a barrister for about a decade. His job was somewhat equivalent to an American criminal trial attorney, only "you wear a wig and a gown and all this weird stuff." And while he mostly represented the defense, he also worked on occasion for the Crown Prosecution Service, representing the prosecution in serious crimes.
He doesn't miss the high stress of preparing for trials - "before each trial, it didn't get easier" — but the adrenaline rush and challenge of presenting cases was exciting.
Mr Tolkien started writing when he was 40, just before the millennium and as the first of the Peter Jackson blockbuster film versions of the Tolkien trilogy was about to come out.
"Everybody everywhere was talking about 'Lord of the Rings.' And I think that kind of mid-life crisis was related to the fact that I wanted to look in the mirror and think that I was not just the grandson of the author of the blockbuster."
In hindsight, the famous writer's legacy proved daunting to many of his six grandchildren when it came to their own writing. "Looking back, having J.R.R. Tolkien as a grandfather, we all think, well, I'm not going to be able to do that," said Mr. Tolkien. "I think it kind of helps that I'm not trying to do fantasy fiction, like Stephen King's son (who writes horror)." (Unlike Joe Hill, Mr. Tolkien said he's never wanted to use a pen name.)
A cousin is a poet, and Simon Tolkien's father, Christopher, the public face of the Tolkien estate, has devoted years to publishing J.R.R.'s unfinished works.
Simon Tolkien doesn't blame his grandfather for being overwhelmingly successful: "I admire him a great deal. I'm kind of moved by his story."
J.R.R. Tolkien was orphaned at 12 and had dealt with many hardships before achieving acclaim as a brilliant linguist, scholar and fantasy writer. "I like that I came from there."
And he has fond memories of the man. "My parents divorced when I was 5," he said. A few years later, he would go and stay with his father and grandfather on his own. His mother would put him on the train from Oxford to Bournemouth on the south coast of England, where his grandparents would pick him up and take him to visit the Miramar Hotel.
"My half-brother and half-sister were 10 years younger than me ... and my cousins were 10 years older than me, so I was the cute age," he said. "I was not away at university and not a baby." He has memories of walking by the sea, playing games and talking with his grandfather, who "continually had a pipe in his mouth, like Gandalf (the beloved wizard of his books), I guess."
"I felt he was really quite there for me. He'd talk to me about how things were actually like. He was a very warm and caring person who could quite identify with me. And I was very sad when he died." (The older Tolkien died in 1973 when Simon was 14.) With his grandfather, he played word games like Constantinople, in which opponents try to make as many words as they can out of the name. "I remember him looking at me over his eyebrows and saying, ' And have you heard of "silo," Simon?' " Having raptly read "The Lord of the Rings" as a 9-year-old, Mr. Tolkien spent a lot of time "cross-examining" him about the books. For example, the author mentioned a few wizards in the trilogy without going into their stories.
"This was a real invitation for a 10-year-old kid, 'cause I would fix on every name... I wanted to know who these wizards were, where they were, what they did. I mean morning, noon and night. That was kind of messed up."
But "I was quite in awe of him as well," he said. "I got the impression he was totally who he was." Nowhere was that more evident than in his devotion to his Roman Catholic faith.
The younger Tolkien recalls attending church with him. Even though following Vatican II, services were in English, his grandfather would respond to the liturgy in Latin. "Which to me, age 11, was excruciating. When the priests said, 'Lord be with you. And also with you,' he would say 'Et cum spiritu tuo,' and everyone would look 'round."
Had his grandfather lived, Mr. Tolkien thinks he would have been pleased by his own writerly aspirations. "I think he thought writing stories, creating things was the best thing people can do."
Mr. Tolkien plans to continue writing novels and has already written his next, tentatively titled "King of Diamonds," which will pick up again with police detective inspector William Trave, introduced in "The Inheritance."
And he's already passing the torch on to the next generation. He read his son, Nicholas, "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy when he was 8, and he's currently reading it to his daughter, Anna. "She likes it," he said. "And she was very pleased Gandalf survived Moria."
e-mail: khughes@newspress.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Published by Santa Barbara News. April 13, 2010
KARNA HUGHES, NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
April 13, 2010 7:50 AM
He's as conversant in hobbits, orcs and the storied landscape of Middle Earth, from Bag End to Bara-dûr, as the next "Lord of the Rings" fan.
The difference is Simon Tolkien is just that: a Tolkien, grandson of the late author J.R.R. Tolkien, whose trilogy of fantasy books has been read by millions the world over.
But fewer know that the younger Tolkien is a published author in his own right. Today his second book, a crime novel called "The Inheritance" ($24.99), will be published by Minotaur Books.
To promote the book, he'll do a stint on NPR today and be at a Barnes & Noble in New York Thursday. And although he doesn't have any local appearances planned, area residents might cross paths with him anyway. For nearly a year, he's made his home in Montecito, along with his wife, Tracy, a St. Louis native, and children Nicholas, 19, and Anna, 8.
"I lived 25 years in London and my wife is an American. I think we thought we wanted a complete change," Mr. Tolkien told the News-Press while sitting on a bench in the garden of the Santa Barbara Mission, a place he enjoys visiting on occasion. After living in England all that time, they thought it "only fair" to move to the United States and chose Santa Barbara after visiting the town in 2008.
"We got incredibly lucky, unbelievably lucky" said the Oxford native, 51, in a British accent. "I love it. I love every inch of it. It's kind of one of the best things that ever happened to us." His only regret? "I wish I'd come here earlier. I think it's so beautiful."
Set in England in the late 1950s, "The Inheritance" involves the murder of an Oxford historian and war hero, Colonel John Cade, who spent his days examining illuminated manuscripts in a manor house in the country.
All evidence points to his son, Stephen, who was soon to be disinherited, but other characters begin to emerge as suspects, from Mr. Cade's diffident adopted son, Silas, to his scholarly assistant, Sasha Vigne, to boarders at his home, Reginald and Jeanne Ritter.
The action takes place just before the death penalty was abolished in England, when punishment was carried out swiftly, according to the author. Because Stephen Cade is facing the hangman's noose, "it provides you with a ticking clock and a great deal of tension."
As the story unfolds, Mr. Tolkien weaves in plot lines ranging from an incident at a rural church in northern France in World War I to a mysterious book dating back to the 15th century containing a secret code to a police inspector intent on uncovering the truth.
"I did history when I was at university and I like the idea that there is something in the past that catches up with people," said Mr Tolkien, who studied modern history at Trinity School at Oxford University before going to law school in London.
"And that's in 'Lord of the Rings,' which is weird. This sense that the past, even though it's not your past, holds you. I've always been fascinated by that idea that there is something or someone now dead or now gone that then exerts a hold over people in the present and they have to go back into their past to find what it is and solve what happens to them now."
Writing came late in life to Mr Tolkien, who was a barrister for about a decade. His job was somewhat equivalent to an American criminal trial attorney, only "you wear a wig and a gown and all this weird stuff." And while he mostly represented the defense, he also worked on occasion for the Crown Prosecution Service, representing the prosecution in serious crimes.
He doesn't miss the high stress of preparing for trials - "before each trial, it didn't get easier" — but the adrenaline rush and challenge of presenting cases was exciting.
Mr Tolkien started writing when he was 40, just before the millennium and as the first of the Peter Jackson blockbuster film versions of the Tolkien trilogy was about to come out.
"Everybody everywhere was talking about 'Lord of the Rings.' And I think that kind of mid-life crisis was related to the fact that I wanted to look in the mirror and think that I was not just the grandson of the author of the blockbuster."
In hindsight, the famous writer's legacy proved daunting to many of his six grandchildren when it came to their own writing. "Looking back, having J.R.R. Tolkien as a grandfather, we all think, well, I'm not going to be able to do that," said Mr. Tolkien. "I think it kind of helps that I'm not trying to do fantasy fiction, like Stephen King's son (who writes horror)." (Unlike Joe Hill, Mr. Tolkien said he's never wanted to use a pen name.)
A cousin is a poet, and Simon Tolkien's father, Christopher, the public face of the Tolkien estate, has devoted years to publishing J.R.R.'s unfinished works.
Simon Tolkien doesn't blame his grandfather for being overwhelmingly successful: "I admire him a great deal. I'm kind of moved by his story."
J.R.R. Tolkien was orphaned at 12 and had dealt with many hardships before achieving acclaim as a brilliant linguist, scholar and fantasy writer. "I like that I came from there."
And he has fond memories of the man. "My parents divorced when I was 5," he said. A few years later, he would go and stay with his father and grandfather on his own. His mother would put him on the train from Oxford to Bournemouth on the south coast of England, where his grandparents would pick him up and take him to visit the Miramar Hotel.
"My half-brother and half-sister were 10 years younger than me ... and my cousins were 10 years older than me, so I was the cute age," he said. "I was not away at university and not a baby." He has memories of walking by the sea, playing games and talking with his grandfather, who "continually had a pipe in his mouth, like Gandalf (the beloved wizard of his books), I guess."
"I felt he was really quite there for me. He'd talk to me about how things were actually like. He was a very warm and caring person who could quite identify with me. And I was very sad when he died." (The older Tolkien died in 1973 when Simon was 14.) With his grandfather, he played word games like Constantinople, in which opponents try to make as many words as they can out of the name. "I remember him looking at me over his eyebrows and saying, ' And have you heard of "silo," Simon?' " Having raptly read "The Lord of the Rings" as a 9-year-old, Mr. Tolkien spent a lot of time "cross-examining" him about the books. For example, the author mentioned a few wizards in the trilogy without going into their stories.
"This was a real invitation for a 10-year-old kid, 'cause I would fix on every name... I wanted to know who these wizards were, where they were, what they did. I mean morning, noon and night. That was kind of messed up."
But "I was quite in awe of him as well," he said. "I got the impression he was totally who he was." Nowhere was that more evident than in his devotion to his Roman Catholic faith.
The younger Tolkien recalls attending church with him. Even though following Vatican II, services were in English, his grandfather would respond to the liturgy in Latin. "Which to me, age 11, was excruciating. When the priests said, 'Lord be with you. And also with you,' he would say 'Et cum spiritu tuo,' and everyone would look 'round."
Had his grandfather lived, Mr. Tolkien thinks he would have been pleased by his own writerly aspirations. "I think he thought writing stories, creating things was the best thing people can do."
Mr. Tolkien plans to continue writing novels and has already written his next, tentatively titled "King of Diamonds," which will pick up again with police detective inspector William Trave, introduced in "The Inheritance."
And he's already passing the torch on to the next generation. He read his son, Nicholas, "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy when he was 8, and he's currently reading it to his daughter, Anna. "She likes it," he said. "And she was very pleased Gandalf survived Moria."
e-mail: khughes@newspress.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Published by Santa Barbara News. April 13, 2010
