Die Bovadium Fragmente

J.R.R. Tolkiens ganz persönlicher Kampf gegen die Zerstörung der Umwelt

Mit Originalillustrationen von J.R.R. Tolkien

Nahe der alten Stadt Bovadium erfand einst ein Daemon die Motores. Die begeisterten Menschen wurden bald zu ihren Sklaven. Mit diesem Buch beweist Tolkien, dass er erfasste, was die Menschen erst später begriffen: die Katastrophe, die mit der Automobilisierung von Städten auf uns zurollte. 

Anfang der 1950er Jahre tobte in Oxford eine Kontroverse, und mitten drin J.R.R. Tolkien. Die nahe gelegenen Morris-Automobilwerke hatten den Verkehr ins Unerträgliche ansteigen lassen, und neue Straßen drohten, den Charakter der Universitätsstadt zu zerstören. Als Reaktion darauf verfasste Tolkien eine satirische Fantasy-Geschichte –  Die Bovadium Fragmente –, die erzählen, wie schreckliche Maschinen die Stadt erobern. Und die Motores verstopfen die Straßen mit Lärm und Gestank, bis alles Leben zum Stillstand kommt. Hier zeigt sich Tolkien von seiner ironischen, gelehrten und doch auch tragischen Seite. Die von Christopher Tolkien edierte Ausgabe aus Tolkiens Nachlass ist mit Bildern von seiner Hand, zeitgenössischen Fotos und Plänen versehen. Sie enthält einen exclusiven Essay von Richard Ovenden, dem Direktor der Bodleian Library, zur Geschichte Oxfords in der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts.



J.R.R. Tolkien was born on 3rd January 1892 in Bloemfontein.

After serving in the First World War, Tolkien embarked upon

a distinguished academic career and was recognised as one of

the finest philologists in the world. He is, however, best known

as the creator of Middle-earth and author of such classic and

extraordinary works of fiction as The Hobbit, The Lord of the

Rings and The Silmarillion. His books have been translated into

more than 80 languages and have sold many millions of copies

worldwide. He was awarded a CBE, and an honorary Doctorate

of Letters from Oxford University in 1972. He died in 1973 at

the age of 81.

Ch ristopher Tolkien, born on 21 November 1924, was the

third son of J.R.R. Tolkien. During the Second World

War he served in the Royal Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm as

a pilot. At the end of the war he returned to Oxford University

and became a Fellow and Tutor in English of New College in

1964, lecturing in the University on early English and northern

literature. Appointed by J.R.R Tolkien to be his literary

executor, he devoted himself after his father's death in 1973

to the completion and publication of his writings, notably

The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, the twelve volumes collectively

known as The History of Middle-earth, and The Children of Húrin,

Beren and Lúthien and The Fall of Gondolin. In 1975 he moved

with his wife Baillie to live in France and in 2016 was awarded

the University of Oxford's Bodley Medal for his outstanding

contribution to the world of literature, culture, science and

communication. He died on 16 January 2020 at the age of 95.

Richard Ovenden is Bodley's Librarian and Helen Hamlyn

Director of University Libraries, the 25th person

to hold the senior executive position in the library of the

University of Oxford, having moved to the Bodleian Libraries

in 2003 as Keeper of Special Collections. He is also the

current head of the University of Oxford's Gardens, Libraries

and Museums group. Since 1987 he has worked in a number

of important archives and libraries, including the House of

Lords Library, the National Library of Scotland (as a Curator

of Rare Books) and in the University of Edinburgh, where he

was Director of Collections. Richard was awarded the OBE in

The Queen's Birthday Honours, 2019