A comprehensive history and analysis of the Soviet illustrated editions of The Lord of the Rings published between 1981 and 1993, this book explores the production and reception of these works against a backdrop of oppressive state censorship, restrictive publishing practices and logistical struggles of translating such long texts. Highlighting the intense creativity, innovation and resourcefulness of illustrators from the USSR, Illustrating The Lord of the Rings in the Soviet Bloc demonstrates how new forms of Tolkienian imagery reforged Western fantasy artwork and brought fresh iconographical diversity to late 20th-century fantasy visuals. In employing comparative analysis to reconcile the neglected Soviet illustrations with their popular Western equivalents, the book situates both pictorial traditions within the wider cultural and political contexts of the period and reflects upon their relevance to current debates regarding visual heterogeneity in fantasy.
Carefully reconstructing the diverse Middle-earth visions of illustrators such as Gyozo Vida, Jerzy Czerniawski, Yassen Panov, Alexander Korotich, Èduard Zarjanskij, Denis Gordeev and Sergei Iukhimov, Illustrating The Lord of the Rings in the Soviet Bloc broadens notions of how Tolkien's work was received beyond Anglo-centric, Western audiences. A vivid record of artistic reception and the permeability of cultural boundaries during the final years of Communist rule, author Joel Merriner offers an art historian's analysis of these illustrations of Tolkien's beloved work and sheds new light on the role of visual art in shaping cultural content.
Joel Merriner is Associate Lecturer in Art History at the University of Plymouth, UK. His latest research focuses on the global imaginary and the interconnected nature of Tolkien book illustration, fanart and film. He has presented at the Tolkien Society Seminar several times.
Matthew Sangster is Senior Lecturer in Romantic Studies, Fantasy and Cultural History at the University of Glasgow. He has published widely on authorship, literary institutions, city writing, media culture, and digital humanities. He is particularly interested in Fantasy histories, communities and transmedia. He is external curator for the British Library's 2022 Fantasy exhibition.
Dimitra Fimi is Senior Lecturer in Fantasy and Children's Literature at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. She has published monographs on J.R.R. Tolkien and Celtic-inspired children's Fantasy, as well as articles and essays on myth and Fantasy, medievalism, world-building, adaptation, artlangs, and visual culture. She has co-edited Tolkien's manuscripts on invented languages, and has won awards for her books and essays. She sits on the editorial boards of the
Journal of Tolkien Research and co-edits the
Perspectives on Fantasy series.
Brian Attebery is Professor of English at Idaho State University, USA and Editor or the Journal of the Fantastic in Art. His publications include Stories about Stories: Fantasy and the Remaking of Myth (2019) and Ursula K. Le Guin: Always Coming Home (2019). In 2019 he was Leverhulme Visiting Professor of Fantasy at the University of Glasgow.
