'Thomas Alan Shippey' (born
September 9,
1943) is a scholar of
medieval literature, including
Anglo-Saxon England, and of modern
fantasy and
science fiction, in particular the works of
J. R. R. Tolkien, about whom he has written several scholarly studies. He is widely considered one of the leading academic scholars on Tolkien. Shippey currently holds the
Walter J. Ong Chair of Humanities at
Saint Louis University's College of Arts and Sciences.
His work and life cross paths in many ways with that of Tolkien; like Tolkien, he attended
King Edward's School, Birmingham in
Birmingham and taught
Old English at
Oxford University. He occupied Tolkien's former chair at the
University of Leeds.
In addition to writing books of his own, he has edited a number of collections, such as ''The Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories'', and
as of 2003 is the editor of the journal ''
Studies in Medievalism''.
Under the pseudonym of John Holm, he is also the co-author (with
Harry Harrison) of
The Hammer and the Cross trilogy of
alternate history/
fantasy novels.
Books
★ ''Old English Verse'' (London: Hutchinson's, 1972)
★ ''Poems of Wisdom and Learning in Old English'' (Cambridge:
D.S. Brewer, Ltd., 1976; 2nd ed., 1977)
★ ''Beowulf''. Arnold's Studies in English Literature series (London, 1978).
★ ''The Road to Middle-earth'' (London:
Allen & Unwin, 1982; Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1983), 2nd ed. (London: Harper Collins, 1993), also Revised and Expanded edition (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003)
★ ''J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century'' (London:
Harper Collins, 2000;
Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 2001)
★ ''Roots and Branches: Selected Papers on Tolkien'' (Zurich and Berne:
Walking Tree Publishers, Cormarë Series 11, 2007, ISBN 978-3-905703-05-4)
External link
★
Tom Shippey page at Saint Louis University