Welcome to the land of elves and hobbits. Until February 12, 2020, the National Library of France (BnF) invites its visitors to explore the imaginary world of JRR Tolkien. An event of magnitude, since it is the largest exhibition ever devoted to the author of the Lord of the Rings . On the program: a great journey in the Middle Earth, to discover its landscapes, its people and its languages. In "The voice is free", Nicolas Carreau tells his exploration with Vincent Ferré, co-curator.
"The work of Tolkien is much more varied than we think," said Vincent Ferré. The Hobbit (published in 1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954) are well known, but the British author has also written lesser known stories, about twenty of which were published after his death by his son Christopher. At the Bnf, the manuscripts are displayed alongside dozens of watercolors, drawings and cards of all kinds, which describe in an extraordinarily precise way the imagination of the author.
Among the rarest pieces of the exhibition #Tolkien @laBnF, original editions, manuscripts, maps, watercolors, tapestries, weapons. I love this page that details the exact measurements of Hobbits. The writer had a sense of detail. Prodigious. pic.twitter.com/NQpEgLhg7t
- Stéphanie Belpêche (@StephBelpeche) October 21, 2019Manuscripts never exhibited in France
The Tolkien Retrospective is organized by theme, each room being dedicated to a work (Hobbit Room), a venue (Mordor Hall, the "Black Country") or a People (Elven Hall). Among the treasures exposed, three pages of manuscript falsely torn and stained with blood (red ink), which the author himself made before mentioning in his story: they are supposed to have been found by the heroes of the Lord of the rings after a bloody battle. "This is the first time we can admire these documents in France," says the curator of the exhibition, organized in collaboration with Oxford's rich Bodleian library. Another curiosity: a tree tracing the genealogy of the languages spoken in the Middle Earth.
The Hobbit, "an invention of Tolkien to put his children to sleep"
"At first, the Hobbit's story is Tolkien's invention of lulling his children to sleep." A professor of literature at Oxford, he uses his knowledge of medieval writings to support his stories, "says Vincent Ferré. During her lifetime, her work does not have the fame she knows today. "He had financial difficulties throughout his life, and in the 1950s he sold the Lord of the Rings manuscript to pay for his family's medical expenses." The buyer is none other than the Jefferson Market library, a New York institution, which also collaborates with the BnF for the exhibition.
The last part of the exhibition is devoted to the author himself, with biographical elements and archive photos. He is portrayed as a simple and friendly man, who prefers to read his stories in the pub, to his friends, rather than running the publishing houses.
Tolkien, Journey to Middle Earth
Until February 12, 2020 at the Bibliothèque François-Mitterand, in Paris