"Return of the Ring: Celebrating Tolkien in 2012" was a five-day conference organised by the Tolkien Society to mark the 75th anniversary of the publication of The Hobbit. Return of the Ring was one of the largest Tolkien-specific events ever held and followed on from the Tolkien Society's earlier conferences in 1992 and 2005.
Few twentieth-century authors can compete with J.R.R. Tolkien. More than three-quarters of a century after the publication of The Hobbit in 1937, his works continue to captivate millions of readers across the world. As a collection of papers delivered in 2012 at the Tolkien Society’s international conference of the same name, The Return of the Ring is representative of the wide and varied responses Tolkien’s works have generated over the decades. The first volume focuses primarily on Tolkien’s life, examining the influence of war, philosophy, and religion on his mythology. The second volume is much more diverse, covering themes from medievalism and romanticism through to fantasy and modernity. With contributions from the likes of John Garth, Colin Duriez, Ronald Hutton, and Janet Brennan Croft, The Return of the Ring is essential for scholars and casual readers alike.
About Return of the Ring
“Return of the Ring: Celebrating Tolkien in 2012” was a five-day conference organised by the Tolkien Society to mark the 75th anniversary of the publication of The Hobbit. Held at Loughborough University 16–20 August 2012, it brought together a unique mixture of fun, fandom and scholarship. In addition to the excellent selection of scholars featured in these proceedings, there were singers, re-enactors, artists, performers, figures from fandom and Tolkien’s grandson. With around 500 delegates from across the globe, Return of the Ring was one of the largest Tolkien-specific events ever held and followed on from the Tolkien Society’s earlier conferences in 1992 and 2005, which respectively marked the centenary of Tolkien’s birth and the 50th anniversary of the publication of The Lord of the Rings.
 
CONTENT:
Introduction by Lynn Forest-Hill
Tolkienesque Transformations: Post-Celticism and Possessiveness in 'The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun' by Yoko Hemmi
Tolkien's Devices: The Heraldry of Middle-earth by Jamie McGregor
Tolkien and the Gothic by Nick Groom
Frodo and Faramir: Mirrors of Chivalry by Constance G.J. Wagner
An Old Light Rekindled: Tolkien's Influence on Fantasy by Anna E. Thayer (née Slack)
'In the memory of old wives': Old Tales and Fairy-stories in Middle-earth by Troels Forchhammer
Tolkien and Nonsense by Maureen F. Mann
Stars Above a Dark Tor: Tolkien and Romanticism by Anna E. Thayer (née Slack)
The Ainulindale and Tolkien's Approach to Modernity by Reuven Naveh
Tolkien, the Russians and Industrialisation by Jim Clarke
Legal bother: Law and related matters in The Hobbit by Murray Smith
Tolkien's Faërian Drama: Origins and Valedictions by Janet Brennan Croft
Tolkien's women of Middle-earth by Chris Barclay
Colours in Tolkien by Christopher Kreuzer
Thirty Years of Tolkien Fandom by Nancy Martsch.