The Gallant Edith Bratt
The Gallant Edith Bratt is a biographical work on Edith Tolkien by Nancy Bunting and Seamus Hamill-Keays. The book re-examines Edith's role in J.R.R. Tolkien's life, looking at documentary evidence and the role Edith played in Tolkien's literary creation. It was published as No. 46 in the Cormarë Series.
Contents
- Series' Editors Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Chapter 1: In the Beginning
- Chapter 2: Childhood
- Chapter 3: Dresden House, 1903-1907
- Chapter 4: The Faulkners', Birmingham, 1908-1910
- Chapter 5: Charlton Kings, 1910-1913
- Chapter 6: Waiting in Warwick, 1913-1915
- Chapter 7: Waiting in Warwick, 1915-1916
- Chapter 8: Edith Bratt Tolkien Confronts the War, 1916
- Chapter 9: Edith Bratt Tolkien's Wanderings, 1917
- Chapter 10: Edith: Creation, Subcreation, and Tinúviel/Lúthien
- Epilogue
- Appendix Concerning Tolkien and Sanskrit
Reception
The book was reviewed by Shaun Gunner, Chair of The Tolkien Society in the journal Mallorn. In reviewing the book, Gunner said he felt the authors had done a "genuinely thorough job in looking into Edith’s early life and upbringing, teaching about her family, education, wealth and accommodation." However, he critiqued the book as "incomplete" for only covering her life from her birth to 1917, for making their own suppositions, and for "pointed" critiques of Humphrey Carpenter's biography of Tolkien. He concluded he could only "partially" recommend the work.
Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond, writing in the Journal of Tolkien Research, took a similar line to Gunner saying that the authors "usefully expand our sources of information on
Edith’s early life. Their industry in doing so is commendable". However, Scull and Hammond were similarly frustrated by the "concentrated siege" on Humphrey Carpenter, and concluded: "Bunting and Hamill-Keays’s book [..] is haphazardly argued, excessively speculative, and sometimes vituperative, and cannot be recommended except for the few new facts it firmly documents."
Referencias
1. Esta ficha se ha importado inicialmente de TolkienGateway.net el día 30/05/2026.
