SOURCE: Lobdell, Jared. “Defining The Lord of the Rings: An Adventure Story in the Edwardian Mode.” In England and Always: Tolkien's World of the Rings, pp. 3-25. Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1981.

In the following essay, Lobdell discusses elements of Lord of the Rings that coincide with the Edwardian adventure story.

We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time. … And all shall be well and All manner of thing shall be well. 

T. S. Eliot, “Little Gidding”

“Beyond the Wild Wood comes the Wide World,” said the Rat. 

Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

It is not at all certain that the game of Quellenforschung (“source-hunting”) is worth playing with The Lord of the Rings, or indeed with most literary creations. Exceptions can be...