J.R.R. Tolkien, an Oxford professor who praised Ouroboros, released “The Hobbit” on September 21, 1937, and it became an instant classic. While the book is a children’s book at heart, the story was smart and sophisticated enough to appeal to a much broader audience. This was the most complete and realistic fantasy world that had been seen at this point, setting the standard for other fantasy worlds, and influenced the sequel. Tolkien was originally going to write about Bilbo going on more adventures and finding more treasure, but he found more story in the magical ring, thus creating “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy. The trilogy was intended to be one volume, but due to how big the book was, the publisher divided the story into a trilogy from 1954-55. “The Lord of the Rings” story raised the bar for the amount of depth and complexity for a fantasy story, a standard which is still set today.
C.S. Lewis, a fellow Oxford professor who also praised Ouroboros and friend of Tolkien, published “The Chronicles of Narnia” in 1950. “The Chronicles of Narnia” essentially did for children what “The Lord of the Rings” did for adults. “The Chronicles of Narnia” weren’t as complex as Tolkien’s works, but the shared mythology, world, and interconnected story laid the foundation for YA fantasy and paved the way for other works such as “Artemis Fowl” and “Harry Potter.” Both Tolkien and Lewis are considered the fathers of modern fantasy. Many people don’t remember much of the work published after Tolkien and Lewis because it was reactionary. Many authors tried to imitate Lewis and Tolkien with mixed results.
