Tolkien’s Dickensian Dreams

Here is another astounding post from the Tolkienist. We’ve met him in our Battle of 5 (or 6) Blogs, and you should follow his work if you are an avid Tolkien Reader. I should warn, the Geek Index has been pretty high on A Pilgrim in Narnia this week, especially with the C.S. Lewis & Canada post on Wednesday. Next week there are a couple of Narnia posts that are on that geek fringe too, but should be fun!

A Tolkienist's Perspective

Dickens’ short story that inspired a Tolkien chapter

This is somewhat a Tolkien paper I had written a while back, with the expressed intention to publish it one day. When that day never seemed to arrive, I thought it would be suitable to post an edited version on this blog.

The following, although much abbreviated from the original, is still pretty long. So proceed with caution but, as always, please enjoy 🙂

View original post 3,607 more words

About Brenton Dickieson

“A Pilgrim in Narnia” is a blog project in reading and talking about the work of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, the Inklings, L.M. Montgomery, and the worlds they created. As a "Faith, Fantasy, and Fiction" blog, we cover topics like children’s literature, myths and mythology, fantasy, science fiction, speculative fiction, poetry, theology, cultural criticism, art and writing. This blog includes my thoughts as I read through my favourite writings and reflect on my own life and culture. In this sense, I am a Pilgrim in Narnia--or Middle Earth, or Fairyland, or Avonlea. I am often peeking inside of wardrobes, looking for magic bricks in urban alleys, or rooting through yard sale boxes for old rings. If something here captures your imagination, leave a comment, “like” a post, share with your friends, or sign up to receive Narnian Pilgrim posts in your email box. Brenton Dickieson (PhD, Chester) is a father, husband, friend, university lecturer, and freelance writer from Prince Edward Island, Canada. You can follow him: www.aPilgrimInNarnia.com Twitter (X) @BrentonDana Instagram @bdickieson Facebook @aPilgrimInNarnia

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5 Responses to Tolkien’s Dickensian Dreams

Susan Call Hutchison says:

July 3, 2015 at 10:42 am

Intriguing! I imagine Dicken’s goblin king was read and filed away in Tolkien’s memory, but not consciously referred to. I also wonder if Tolkien and Dickens weren’t both drawing on goblin lore , and their stories are similar because of that. Imagine two students in a creative writing class told to write a story with a vampire in it. Whether they drew on Stoker, Hammer Films or Twilight for what they knew about vampires, we’d likely find similarities not just in their characters, but in their stories.

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- Brenton Dickieson says:
  
  July 3, 2015 at 11:40 am
  
  These are great questions. Don’t we, whenever we write, hold together hundreds of stories, gurgling around, that seep into the mix?
  
  LikeLiked by 1 person
  
  - Susan Call Hutchison says:
    
    July 3, 2015 at 3:04 pm
    
    Well mine certainly gurgle! Great image.
    
    LikeLike
    
- seenlucky714 says:
  
  July 4, 2015 at 4:35 am
  
  Hello Brenton! I’m new to the blog community. Hoping you could provide some feedback. I like to call it Pulp Fiction prose. Maybe a weak description. I like inserting non-sequential events/ thoughts into an entry. Here is the link….I’m on WordPress. I am absolutely new but don’t hold back. I noticed we selected the same header.
  
  https://lookmeintheyeandtellme.wordpress.com/
  
  LikeLike
  
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