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Miriam Ellis
8 hours ago4 min read
The Fairbairns of Westmarch - Traditions Worth Keeping
Without Bilbo's three books of lore , without Frodo's poignant narrative, without Sam passing these written treasures on to Elanor in...
3 views


Miriam Ellis
Mar 14 min read
Marcho, Blanco and Dark Ages Hobbit Hardihood
Late Third Age traveling companions of the hobbits were wont to be surprised by their hardihood. Likewise, if readers only meet the...
105 views


Miriam Ellis
Feb 263 min read
Gandalf's First Lessons in Pity for Hobbits?
Gandalf takes it upon himself to apprentice Frodo to the art of pity, but Bilbo appears to need no schooling in the subject - or is it...
143 views


Miriam Ellis
Jan 13 min read
A Seat at Professor Tolkien's Desk
Professor Tolkien has just risen from his desk, for a moment. His pipe is still smoking in a china bowl, and his dip pen rests for a...
221 views


Miriam Ellis
Dec 12, 20244 min read
The Many Mercies of Bilbo Baggins
The fate of the Free Peoples of Middle-earth famously hinges on the pity of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. Yet, there is more to explore about...
102 views


Miriam Ellis
Dec 10, 20243 min read
Why Jane Austen's Persuasion is a Seasonal Masterpiece
The autumnal, brooding quiet in which Jane Austen's Persuasion begins feels as if it will never lift. Anne Elliot is fading away like a...
39 views


Miriam Ellis
Dec 9, 20243 min read
Come for Yule at Bag End in 1427
Do you hang seasonal art in your home to keep your dwelling in tune with the round of the year? It's a lovely, mindful custom and perhaps...
126 views


Miriam Ellis
Dec 7, 20244 min read
Why Mansfield Park is My Favorite Jane Austen Novel
It does not sparkle like Pride and Prejudice , thrill like Persuasion , or even produce laughter like Northanger Abbey , but Jane...
64 views


Miriam Ellis
Nov 30, 20243 min read
Frogmorton and the Magic of Names on Tolkien's Maps
If you love the hobbits as I do, you may wish that J.R.R. Tolkien had been granted the time to write a dozen more books about them and...
111 views


Miriam Ellis
Nov 26, 20244 min read
The Periannath as Seen by Men and Themselves
When Boromir attends the Council of Elrond, he nearly laughs aloud at the spectacle of an aged, tiny being called a hobbit offering to...
72 views


Miriam Ellis
Nov 24, 20243 min read
Why Northanger Abbey Charms and Captivates Me
I treasure Northanger Abbey for the feeling it gives of a young Jane writing to a young us. The author knows what it is to be free from...
26 views


Miriam Ellis
Nov 23, 20243 min read
Ingwë, the Vanyar, and the Art of Contentment
Had all J.R.R. Tolkien's elves been like the Vanyar, The Silmarillion would not exist. Ingwë, High King of all the elves, is satisfied...
77 views


Miriam Ellis
Nov 19, 20243 min read
Christopher Tolkien: Steward of a Star
When Eärendil is set to sail the skies with a Silmaril on his brow as a sign of hope for Middle-earth, Elrond is left behind to gaze from...
98 views


Miriam Ellis
Sep 26, 20245 min read
Why We Love Jane Austen
Why do we love Jane Austen with such devotion? Every reader's answers will be unique, but as I researched all known images and...
123 views


Miriam Ellis
Sep 25, 20245 min read
Illustrating Pride and Prejudice with Love and Respect for Jane Austen
Elegant, gallant, beloved Pride and Prejudice is Jane Austen's most sparkling novel, with a plot that moves like a swift, crystal-clear...
130 views


Miriam Ellis
Aug 3, 20243 min read
The Voices of Ents in Tolkien
By the time Merry and Pippin escape from their orc captors, things have gotten quite momentous and arduous in The Lord of the Rings. But...
379 views


Miriam Ellis
Aug 1, 20244 min read
Thranduil, Dwarven Necklaces, and Elf-Friends
"I will take your gift, O Bilbo the Magnificent!" said the king gravely. "And I name you elf-friend and blessed..." - The Hobbit, Chapter...
399 views


Miriam Ellis
Jul 19, 20245 min read
The Golden Hall and the Silver Horn
For many readers, Tolkien offers a lavish, if temporary, escape from our increasingly-utilitarian culture into a realm of visual riches....
311 views


Miriam Ellis
Jul 13, 20243 min read
My Brand New Tolkien Patreon Announcement for Patrons of the Arts Like You!
It's a fascinating cultural development that just as tech giants are threatening to replace millennia of human history in the arts with...
120 views


Miriam Ellis
Jul 11, 20245 min read
The Fine Frailty of Gandalf and the Long Service of CÃrdan
Because many readers first encounter Gandalf through hobbit eyes, our lasting idea of him may be of a great, powerful figure, sometimes...
551 views
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