The One hundred and fifty-ninth Roving Ranger

-:- Strange as news from Bree -:-

Life and Works

Oct 20, 2003. Tolkien and the Great War (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) is published.
Oct 21, 1963. Tolkien writes a letter to Mrs. Munby (Öffnet in neuem Fenster), in response to a number of questions posed by her son Stephen about The Lord of the Rings (Öffnet in neuem Fenster).
Oct 22, 1955. C.S. Lewis (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) wrote "The Dethronement of Power (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)", a review of The Two Towers (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) and The Return of the King (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) published in Time and Tide (Öffnet in neuem Fenster).
Oct 23, 1937. Tolkien writes Letter 18 (Öffnet in neuem Fenster), thanking Stanley Unwin (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) for calling him a genius, adding that he would start writing on something soon. [my emphasis]
Oct 24, 1952. Tolkien writes Letter 135 (Öffnet in neuem Fenster), on the cost of printing The Lord of the Rings (Öffnet in neuem Fenster), his current work, & the British atomic bomb.
Oct 25, 1944. Tolkien writes Letter 87 (Öffnet in neuem Fenster), sending chapters of The Lord of the Rings (Öffnet in neuem Fenster), and commenting on a letter from an American boy.
Oct 26, 1966. Finding himself short of a speech subject, Tolkien reads Smith of Wootton Major (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) to a room of about 800 people.

• Third Age, 3018. Frodo Baggins (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) awakes in Rivendell (Öffnet in neuem Fenster), recovered from his wound, and meets Gandalf (Öffnet in neuem Fenster). [Oct 24]

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Events & Shows

Please note: Tolkien 2027. Birmingham NEC 18-22 Aug 2027 [Tolkien Society]

The 13th International Tolkien Mailing Competition (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) is live [application by Nov 5; run by the Hungarian Tolkien Society]

Thistle’s Tale of Brandywine Magic and Mayhem (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) [TORn; on the first Brandywine Festival LARP by Burgschneider]

The Children’s Theater of Madison (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) will stage The Hobbit [Feb 7 -22, 2026; Wisconsin, USA]

The Rangers of the North (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) are meeting up [Oct 25, Manchester, UK; Bluesky, see also FB (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)]

For all events check out the International Tolkien Fellowship (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) [FB] and the Tolkien Guide Calendar (Öffnet in neuem Fenster).

Scholarship & Fandom

I did something involving Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Astrid Lindgren, Tove Jansson, and Terry Pratchett.

Wayne G. Hammond & Christina Scull have Legacy and Faith (Öffnet in neuem Fenster).

Stephen C. Winter has “The Beacons of Gondor Are Alight, Calling for Aid. War is Kindled.” Gandalf Speaks of The Ancient Alliance of Gondor and Rohan. (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)

The members of the German smial Rheinhessen (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) have funded a public bookcase (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) in their village of Abenheim. [Facebook]

Tom Hillman has A sad tale of Milton Waldman, to whom Tolkien wrote a famous letter (Öffnet in neuem Fenster).

Miriam Ellias has The Grey Havens And Our Longing For Tolkien's Elves (Öffnet in neuem Fenster).

Roäc the Grey Haven Raven has A World Mental Health Day Reflection (Öffnet in neuem Fenster). [Substack]

doubtfulsea has It’s in Writing (1) (Öffnet in neuem Fenster).

Dimitra Fimi has Constructions of Childhood in Tolkien’s Legendarium (3): The hobbits as children. (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) [Substack]

TolkienLibrary.com (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) founder and collector, Pieter Collier, has moved to Norway (Öffnet in neuem Fenster).

Famed organist Anna Lapwood seems to have taken a liking to Lighting the Beacons (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)(Instagram; Howard Shore, RotK OST).

Artist couple Into Far Lands has just published a chronological map of Númenor (Öffnet in neuem Fenster), planning for Aman & Valinor. [reddit/TolkienArt]

Tolkien's Medievalism in Ruins (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) is out (see New Books in Literary Studies podcast).

Vincent Ferré has The Dynamics of Creation in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Fiction: Peoples, Languages, and Imaginary Geography (Öffnet in neuem Fenster). [In French]

Kristine Larsen has A Plane, a Plaque, and a Prize: J.R.R. Tolkien and Peter Medawar with the Journal of Tolkien Research (Öffnet in neuem Fenster).

American Tolkien Society Collection (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) now available for research.

The Journal of Inklings Studies (Volume 15, Issue 2, October 2025) has published another issue (Öffnet in neuem Fenster).

• Several items are free access, of particular interest is John Garth’s Revealed: Tolkien's 1939 Lecture on Fairy-stories (Öffnet in neuem Fenster). Carl Hostetter has offered corrections (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) [Facebook]

Matěj Čadil / The Road goes ever on

Merchandise & Franchise

Plans to reopen Tolkien and Lewis pub approved (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) [BBC]

Oxford Eagle and Child pub will be 'sensitively' restored (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) [Oxford Mail]

"Did You Ever Know That You're My Frodo?" (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) Bette Midler singing for Stephen Colbert [Youtube]

Another mobile game gone: Official Sunset Announcement: LoTR: Rise to War (Öffnet in neuem Fenster).

FAN EXPO HQ to Celebrate 25th Anniversary of The Lord of The Rings with 11-City Cast Reunion Tour in 2026 (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) [PR Newswire]

Inter alia

Cost Of ‘Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker’ Approaches $600 Million (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) [Forbes]

‘Inside George’s Brain’: The Audacious Effort to Bring the Star Wars Creator’s Museum Dream to Life (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) [Wall Street Journal]

Rare New US Bank Licence Issued by OCC for Erebor (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)[East & Partners]

How Hobbit-Inspired Startup Plans to Replace Silicon Valley Bank (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) [Wall Street Journal; see also Who is Palmer Luckey? Trending for launching a crypto-friendly bank approved by US regulators (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) [Economic Times]

Atari’s launching a new retro console for the holidays: its one-time console war rival (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)¹ [Polygon]

Legendary movie poster artist Drew Struzan has passed away (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) [Hollywood Reporter; see his work with Instagram (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)]

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Have a look at all Roving Rangers published so far. (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)

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1. h/t Phantastik News (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) ↩