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THE RED FAIRY BOOK– A BOOK THAT INSPIRED TOLKIEN. With original illustrations. 'I have been a lover of fairy stories since I learned to read,' Professor J.R.R. Tolkien once stated. 'The Red Fairy Book' was one of Tolkien's favorites. Fantasy and medieval literature specialist Douglas A. Anderson asserted, 'As a child Tolkien found delight in the variously colored fairy tale books of Andrew Lang. Especially he enjoyed "The Red Fairy Book", for it contained Lang's retelling of one of the greatest dragon stories in northern literature, that of Fafnir from the "Volsung Saga."' Dart-Thornton’s introduction sheds more light on Tolkien’s connection with ‘The Red Fairy Book’ and its editor, Andrew Lang. 'The Red Fairy Book' was illustrated by H.J. Ford and Lancelot Speed. As a child, and later as an adult, Tolkien was exposed to these pictures as he leafed through the pages of the fairy tales. Consciously or unconsciously, he came under their spell. More than 100 drawings adorned the pages of the original 1890 edition. This is a close replica of that edition, with every illustration and embellishment included. Twenty-first century readers are able to enjoy the pictures as young Tolkien would have enjoyed them. This gorgeously illustrated book was a source of immense joy to Tolkien as he was growing up, and contributed to his conception of 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the Rings'.