The world of J. R. R. Tolkien is filled with strange creatures, elaborately crafted lore, ancient tongues, and magic that exists only in fantasy; yet the lessons taught by hobbits and wizards speak powerfully and practically to our real lives. Courage, valor, trust, pride, greed, and jealousy--these are not fictional virtues. This is the stuff of real life, the Christian life. Professor and author Louis Markos takes us on the road with Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, with looks at selected classic works of literature as well, to show how great stories bring us so much more than entertainment. They inspire and convict, imparting truth in unforgettable ways.
Rediscover the virtue of great storytelling and the power of fantasy to transform our reality.
"Thoughtful, helpful, insightful, On the Shoulders of Hobbits reminds us just how much is to be gained by standing on the shoulders of Tolkien and Lewis, those Christian literary giants."
Michael Ward, Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics and co-editor of The Cambridge Companion to C.S. Lewis
"A book that richly celebrates the place of story in our lives-even as it invites us to walk the road with, and glean life lessons from, some of J.R.R. Tolkien's finest characters."
Kevin Belmonte, editor of A Year with G.K. Chesterton, and lead historical consultant for the film, Amazing Grace.
"Louis Markos' thoughtful exploration of virtue through the writings of JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis is a valuable resource for parents, teachers, and young people seeking models and guides for living a life shaped by, and infused with, the richness of Christian virtues."
Holly Ordway, Houston Baptist University and author of Not God's Type
Louis Markos (www.Loumarkos.com) holds a BA in English and History from Colgate University and an MA and PhD in English from the University of Michigan. He is a Professor of English and Scholar in Residence at Houston Baptist University, where he teaches courses on British Romantic and Victorian Poetry and Prose, the Classics, C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, and Film. Dr. Markos holds the Robert H. Ray Chair in Humanities and teaches classes on Ancient Greece and Rome for HBU's Honors College. He is the author of six published books (see below) and two lecture series with the Teaching Company (The Life and Writings of C. S. Lewis; Plato to Postmodernism: Understanding the Essence of Literature and the Role of the Author). His Literature: A Student's Guide and On the Shoulders of Hobbits: The Road to Virtue in Tolkien and Lewis are both due out in 2012. He has published some five dozen articles and reviews in such journals as Christianity Today, Touchstone, Theology Today, Christian Research Journal, Mythlore, Christian Scholar's Review, Saint Austin Review, American Arts Quarterly, and The City, and had his modern adaptation of Euripides' Iphigenia in Tauris performed off-Broadway in the Fall of 2011 (his adaptations of Euripides' Helen and Sophocles' Oedipus are scheduled for performance in 2012 and 2013). He is also the co-author of a script on C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lion Awakes, that is currently in pre-production. He is a popular speaker in Houston, and has spoken on such topics as C. S. Lewis, ancient Greece, ancient Rome, and Dante in two dozen states and in Oxford and Rome.
