This miscellany explores the fascinating and enigmatic world of J.R.R. Tolkien, examining his place in literary history, his books and his iconic characters. The reader can explore facts and trivia from Tolkien's life and works, including his early life in southern Africa and Birmingham, Tolkien on the silver screen, his role in the two world wars and his friendship with C.S. Lewis, as well as the places that inspired his fictional world of Middle-earth. Both light-hearted and highly informative, this miscellany offers an insight for new and old Tolkien fans into one of the great writers of the twentieth century. ROBERT S. BLACKHAM is a member of the Birmingham Tolkien Strategy Group and vice chair of The Shire Country Park Friends, a park named to commemorate J.R.R. Tolkien's childhood connections with the area in Birmingham. The author gives talks and lectures about Tolkien in and around Birmingham and Oxford, and has made a large number of TV and Radio appearances in connection with this. He is the author of The Roots of Tolkien's Middle-Earth (Tempus, 2006); Tolkien's Birmingham (Mallorn, 2007); Tolkien's Oxford (The History Press, 2008); The Pitkin Guide to Tolkien (Pitkin, 2011); Tolkien and the Peril of War (The History Press, 2011).

This fascinating selection of 180 archive postcards and maps takes the reader on a nostalgic journey around historic Oxford, showcasing some of the finest buildings and streets in this English university city. The collection conjures a forgotten world of trams, horse-drawn buses, colleges, museums, churches, parks, waterways, monuments and the people connected with them though time. Arranged geographically, starting in the historic Broad Street, the reader journeys through the streets of north Oxford to the University Parks, Mesopotamia and the River Cherwell and its famous punt ramp between the upper and lower Cherwell, before returning by the once ladies only colleges of Lady Margaret Hall and Somerville College to St Giles' and the Martyrs' Memorial. The book will stir nostalgic memories for some, and presents a unique view of the past for others, offering a glimpse of the city before the age of mass motor car ownership.