During the summer break, the 15-Minute History podcast team are republishing some of their favorite episodes. This episode and discussion on J.R.R. Tolkien originally aired on October 10, 2022.

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Familiar to millions as the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien believed that myths used stories of heroes to inspire generations of readers. He began his writing career with a children’s book, and when his publisher asked for a sequel, Tolkien had to give it some thought. For much of his life, he had lamented the fact that much of English mythology had been destroyed by invading armies or imported from abroad. (For example, the most famous English myth, that of King Arthur, was a blend of Scottish and French stories.) On putting pen to paper for the first time on his magnum opus, The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien began to craft an alternate mythology for his homeland that would tell heroic tales that, he believed, were lacking in modern Britain.

Join us as we teach you about heroism through the eyes of J.R.R. Tolkien, how he incorporated heroism into stories, and how history influenced his view of heroes in fiction and real life.