There have been a couple of LOTR threads so I thought some of you might find this interesting.
In The History of The Lord of the Rings, Christopher Tolkien traces through his father’s writings and tries to decipher how the story arc came together. JRR started LOTR with no idea where he was heading. He had already decided to include Tom Bombadil (from an earlier short story he wrote) but the only other idea he had was the party and Bilbo’s disappearance. Originally the story was going to be light-hearted like The Hobbit with the protagonist (he flopped between Bilbo and Frodo many times) going off for some adventure. The scene where Frodo and friends hide on the side of the road was first written with Gandalf as the rider who appears. Frodo hides not because he’s frightened but because he wants to put a scare into Gandalf.
And then, for some unknown reason, JRR scratches out Gandalf and replaces him with an unknown black rider. He has no idea who the black rider is–he doesn’t invent the Nazgul until much later–nor who the rider represents. But it was that chance encounter with a black horseman that turned what was to be another children’s tale into the dark saga it became.
Perhaps nobody will find that interesting but me but I like to learn the meandering path that great art takes.
Actually I just finished rereading “The Return of the Shadow” today.
Professor Tolkien had already come up with the idea of the Ring Wraiths by that point. In fact long before Bingo became Frodo. The Black Rider had already entered the picture by March 4, 1938 before Tolkien had even decided if the main character would be Bilbo, a son of Bilbo or an heir.
I agree on both of your points. I was just addressing the question of the black rider.
Reading HOMES did remove some of the magic for me. It also ended the happy little (faux) myth that the Professor simply translated the Redbook of Westmarch that I wish was true.
Ah, but at that point in the writing, Gandalf was not yet a mortal incarnation of a divine being who helped to create the world, but rather a cross of a wise old man and a shabby conjurer.
