{"product_id":"the-bovadium-fragments-together-with-the-origins-of-bovadium-by-j-r-r-tolkien-richard-ovenden","title":"The Bovadium Fragments: Together with The Origins of Bovadium By J.R.R. Tolkien ,  Richard Ovenden","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublished: \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e09\/04\/2026\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenres: Fantasy - Fiction - Historical Fiction - Classics\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv itemprop=\"description\" id=\"scope_book_description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDeluxe slipcased edition of this previously unknown short satirical fantasy by J.R.R. Tolkien edited by his son, Christopher Tolkien, accompanied by illustrations from the author together with an essay, 'The Origin of Bovadium', by Richard Ovenden OBE, and featuring an exclusive foldout colour frontispiece.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs Christopher Tolkien notes in his Introduction, The Bovadium Fragments was a ‘satirical fantasy’ written by his father, which grew out of a planning controversy that erupted in Oxford in the late 1940s, when J.R.R. Tolkien was the Merton Professor of English Language and Literature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWritten initially for his own amusement, Tolkien’s tale was a private academic jest that poked gentle fun at such things as 'the pomposities of archaeologists' and 'the hideousness of college crockery'. However, it was at the same time expressing a barbed cri de coeur against the inexorable rise of motor transport and 'machine-worship' that was overwhelming the tranquillity of his beloved city.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEnriched by a selection of illustrations by the author, and enhanced by Christopher Tolkien's notes and commentary, readers can enjoy at last this tale of an imagined Oxford viewed through the lens of future (and not wholly reliable) academic study.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRichard Ovenden's accompanying essay paints a vivid portrait of Oxford during that time. He also provides rich background to the casus belli which led to the furore that Tolkien witnessed first-hand, as the embers of debate between town planners and the university colleges were fanned into flame.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlayful, erudite, and ultimately tragically moving, The Bovadium Fragments is like nothing else that J.R.R. Tolkien wrote, and its themes remain both provocative and timely. Within its lines may be found a concern for the fragility of our natural world, a love of which that was shared by both father and son. As Christopher Tolkien’s final presentation of his father’s work, it is therefore perhaps fitting that The Bovadium Fragments should be their coda.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"pdp-spec\"\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003ePublisher information\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublisher:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan itemprop=\"publisher\"\u003eHarperCollins Publishers\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eISBN:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan itemprop=\"isbn\"\u003e9780008815134\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNumber of pages:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan itemprop=\"numberOfPages\"\u003e144\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eDimensions:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan itemprop=\"height\"\u003e228\u003c\/span\u003e x \u003cspan itemprop=\"width\"\u003e149\u003c\/span\u003e x \u003cspan itemprop=\"depth\"\u003e12\u003c\/span\u003e mm\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eWeight:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan itemprop=\"weight\"\u003e660 g\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLanguage:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan itemprop=\"inLanguage\"\u003eEnglish\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eEdition:\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan itemprop=\"bookEdition\"\u003eDeluxe edition\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Starlight Library","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":52082178457913,"sku":null,"price":120.0,"currency_code":"IQD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0951\/4624\/6457\/files\/61knJ2bqjCL._SL1500.jpg?v=1775291944","url":"https:\/\/starlightlibrary.shop\/products\/the-bovadium-fragments-together-with-the-origins-of-bovadium-by-j-r-r-tolkien-richard-ovenden","provider":"Starlight Library","version":"1.0","type":"link"}