托爾金出生於南非的布隆方丹。4歲時因為父親去世而舉家遷回英格蘭。1915年23歲時托爾金從英國牛津大學畢業，參加第壹次世界大戰。托爾金因患“戰壕熱”而在醫院裏待到了大戰結束。正是這段在醫院的日子裏，他開始了他最初的寫作生涯。
戰後，托爾金成為了壹名語言學家。他是1918年-1920年版的《新英語詞典》的編委。但他更以研究盎格魯－薩克森語著稱，這使得他廣泛接觸到英國以及北歐各地流傳的神話和民間傳說。
1937年，托爾金完成了他的第壹部作品《霍比特人》。盡管這是壹部童話，但它同樣適合成人閱讀。由於這部作品銷量不錯，出版商（Allen & Unwin）說服托爾金寫作續集。這鼓勵托爾金完成了他最有名的作品——史詩三部曲《魔戒》。這部作品的寫作持續了將近壹年，並受到了托爾金的密友C·S·劉易斯的支持。
《魔戒》的開頭類似兒童作品，但之後寫作風格迅速變得嚴肅和黑暗。《魔戒》是20世紀最流行的文學作品之壹，無論從是銷售量還是讀者評價來講。托爾金的重要影響在於，在《魔戒》成功之後，奇幻小說這壹文學體裁迅速發展起來。
英文翻譯
Reuel Tolkien (John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, 1892 on 1 year 3 ~ September 2, 1973, the British linguist, writer. He created a fantasy novel "The Lord of the Rings" The well-known trilogy. He called for JRR Tolkien.
Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa. 4-year-old when his father died because his family and move back to England. 23-year-old in 1915 when Tolkien graduated from Oxford University, participated in the First World War. Tolkien suffering from "trench fever" and in the hospital until the end of World War II. It is this day in the hospital, he began his writing career first.
After the war, Tolkien became a linguist. He is a 1918 -1920 edition of the "New English Dictionary," the editorial board. However, he is more research to Anglo - Saxon language of that which makes his extensive contacts in Britain and the Nordic spread all over the folklore and mythology.
In 1937, Tolkien completed his first work "The Hobbit." Although this is a fairy tale, but it is also suitable for adults to read. This works because of good sales, publishers (Allen & Unwin) to convince the sequel to Tolkien writing. This has encouraged Tolkien to complete his most famous works - the epic trilogy "The Lord of the Rings." The work of writing going on for almost a year, and Tolkien was a close friend of C S Lewis.
"The Lord of the Rings" at the beginning of similar works for children, but after writing style quickly becomes serious and dark. "The Lord of the Rings" in the 20th century's most popular literary works, in terms of sales is still speaking readers evaluation. Tolkien's influence is important, in the "Lord of the Rings" success, the fantasy novels of this genre of literature has developed rapidly