J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia

J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment

Editor	Michael D. C. Drout
Language	English
Subject	J. R. R. Tolkien
Publisher	Routledge
Publication date	2006
Publication place	United States
Media type	Hardcover
Pages	720
ISBN	978-0415969420
OCLC	71004244
Dewey Decimal	828/.91209 22
LC Class	PR6039.O32 Z664 2007

The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment, edited by Michael D. C. Drout, was published by Routledge in 2006. A team of 127 Tolkien scholars on 720 pages cover topics of Tolkien's fiction, his academic works, his intellectual and spiritual influences, and his biography. Co-editors were Douglas A. Anderson, Verlyn Flieger (both Drout's co-editors also of Tolkien Studies), Marjorie Burns and Tom Shippey.^[1][2]

The development of the encyclopedia was interrupted by Taylor & Francis's takeover of Routledge. All the images and redirection entries (like "Balrog: see Monsters") were dropped, making the work less accessible than it could have been. Further, the editing process was severely curtailed, leaving many imperfections in the text. Reviewers noted the uneven handling of topic: some essays were excellent, while others were sketchy.