By The place a writer chooses to write at assumes great importance and over time, becomes part of their fandom. For instance, the cafe JK Rowling wrote her bestselling Harry Potter books has become iconic. Similarly, author JRR Tolkien had written his celebrated books, Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit at his home, and now, according to a report in The Guardian, efforts are being made to convert it into a museum. Actors like Ian McKellen and Martin Freeman, who essayed the roles of Gandalf and Bilbo Baggins, in Peter Jackson’s adaptations of Tolkien’s books, are partaking in this.
The place in question is 20 Northmoor Road in Oxford where the author and his family stayed for 17 years. The same report informs that author Julia Golding has started a charity named Project Northmoor. This has initiated a crowdfunding campaign to raise £4.5m ($6m) to buy the house and then convert it into a literary centre. “Unbelievably, considering his importance, there is no centre devoted to Tolkien anywhere in the world. The vision is to make Tolkien’s house into a literary hub that will inspire new generations of writers, artists and film-makers for many years to come,” actor John Rhys-Davies was quoted as saying.
“To raise $6m in three months is a huge challenge. However, we need only to look at Frodo and Sam’s journey from Rivendell to Mount Doom, which took that same amount of time – and we are inspired that we can do this, too,” Golding was further quoted as saying. “Our vision is to make Tolkien’s house not a dry museum, but a homely house of continuing creativity,” the project organisers was quoted.
