l a t e r   & l i f e

Tolkien's marriage to Edith was very happy and lasted 56 years. They had four children, John (1917), Michael (1920), Christopher (1924) and Priscilla (1929). Edith was always very supportive of Ronald's writings and never lost faith in him. She died in 1971 aged 82 and he was utterly devasted. On her gravestone there is the name "Luthien" under Edith's name. It represents the female character from the greatest romance he ever created from is work on Middle Earth. He always represented Edith as the most beautiful elf and himself as the man. The tale of Aragorn and Arwen also mirrors their romance. When Tolkien died in 1973 his headstone, next to Edith's has the name "Beren" engraved on it- the man from the mythical romance.

When Tolkien was 81, shortly before his death, he was awarded an honourary membership of the University of Oxford for his contributions to literature. Whilst he did continue with his writing, he was a lost soul after Edith's death. Tolkien died in 1973 at the age of 81 on Sunday the 2nd of September at a nursing home. This extraordinary man will always he immortalised because of his literary masterpieces.

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