Beowulf

By J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien,

Book cover of Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary

Book description

The translation of Beowulf by J.R.R. Tolkien was an early work, very distinctive in its mode, completed in 1926: he returned to it later to make hasty corrections, but seems never to have considered its publication.

This edition is twofold, for there exists an illuminating commentary on the text of…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Beowulf as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I loved this book because it illuminated Tolkien’s lifelong fascination with Beowulf, probably his greatest influence. The translation is good, but the commentary is better, and the inclusion of two short works, Sellic Spell and the Lay of Beowulf, showed me Tolkien’s delight in “re-tellings.”

His creative genius was seldom far removed from his scholarly work. 

If you love Beowulf...

Ad

Book cover of The Ballad of Falling Rock

The Ballad of Falling Rock by Jordan Dotson,

Truth told, folks still ask if Saul Crabtree sold his soul for the perfect voice. If he sold it to angels or devils. A Bristol newspaper once asked: “Are his love songs closer to heaven than dying?” Others wonder how he wrote a song so sad, everyone who heard it…

Want books like Beowulf?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 40 books like Beowulf.

Browse books like Beowulf

Book cover of Tolkien's Legendarium: Essays on The History of Middle-earth
Book cover of Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-Earth
Book cover of The Monsters and the Critics, and Other Essays

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,889

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like Beowulf, you might also like...

Book cover of Dark Fae Outcast

Dark Fae Outcast by Autumn M. Birt,

Trapped in our world, the fae are dying from drugs, contaminants, and hopelessness. Kicked out of the dark fae court for tainting his body and magic, Riasg only wants one thing: to die a bit faster. It’s already the end of his world, after all.

But while scoring his last…

Book cover of Curiosity and the Cat

Curiosity and the Cat by Martin Treanor,

Curiosity is certain she saw fairies at the bottom of the garden. Little does she know . . . they saw her first.

Emotionally abandoned by her mother and infatuated by a figurine of a fairy ballerina she discovers in an old toy shop, eight-year-old Curiosity Portland steals the figurine,…

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Beowulf, Anglo Saxons, and the Middle Ages?

Beowulf 20 books
Anglo Saxons 51 books
The Middle Ages 434 books