Secret Fire - The Spiritual Vision of JRR Tolkien

The huge success of the Lord of the Rings films has brought a new readership to the classic works of JRR Tolkien. Hence the timely nature of this new book on the background of the spiritual vision underpinning his epic. Tolkien was not identified in public as a spiritual writer in the same way as his friend CS Lewis, but Caldecott demonstrates the Christian ethos of the book and the hidden presence of Tolkien's Catholicism. Frodo is a 'very Christian type of hero', while the vices of the races of middle-Earth are offset by the 'courage and courtesy, kindness and humility, generosity and wisdom, in those same hearts'. Essential reading for those who would like to understand the spiritual background to Lord of the Rings.