The first part of a series of screen adaptations of Tolkien's classic The Lord of The Rings is scheduled for release on December 19. Colin Duriez reflects on the abiding popularity of these elven tales.
The word 'spell' comes from an early English word meaning 'story'. Hence 'Gospel' was originally 'God's spell' - God's story. The spell that Tolkien's storytelling has cast is enormous.
The readership of his books is estimated at over 150 million (the print run of the first US paperback edition of The Silmarillion alone was reportedly over two million). He is read throughout the world in numerous languages. Several polls of readers have made The Lord of the Rings their first choice. The bookshop chain, Waterstones, and a network TV programme, Book Choice, commissioned a poll of readers to determine the five books 'you consider the greatest of the century'. The response was impressive. Around 26,000 readers responded, with 5,000 giving the first place to The Lord of the Rings, placing it in the number one position as the book of the century. Other polls repeated this preference.
