tongues of elves, dwarves, hobbits, and men--and an examination of the fourteen languages created by J.R.R. Tolkien and spoken throughout his beloved Middle-earth

J.R.R. Tolkien is known worldwide as writer of the fantasy classics The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, among many others. But he was a linguist first and a writer second, and in many ways his stories served as vessels for the many intricate languages he created and that appeared throughout his works.

This beautifully illustrated book will delight fans of Middle-earth with its deep dive into Tolkien-as-linguist, his languages, comprehensive guides to the stark runes and flowing Elvish script he created for writing them, and an English-to-Elvish dictionary for all of the words he invented. A must-have for every Tolkien library!