Anne E. Neimark's Mythmaker: The Life of J.R.R. Tolkien was first published in September of 1996. Written for young adults, Mythmaker is a biography of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit author J.R.R. Tolkien. Primarily, Neimark's book explores Tolkien's fascination with medieval texts and the languages of the world, fascinations which led to the creation of Tolkien's world-famous novels. The book, which has countless illustrations to illuminate the worlds that Tolkien created, explores Tolkien's life from his childhood to his time writing Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. The book also explores what influenced Tolkien's writing and how (and why) he created the things that he did.
Mythmaker was written for young adults. Despite that, the novel was lauded by critics for its attention to detail and its ability to bring Tolkien, who had died many years prior to the book's publication (in 1973), to life. In their review for the book, Booklist wrote that “Long before Harry Potter and J. K. Rowling, there were Gandalf, Bilbo Baggins, and J. R. R. Tolkien . . . [Mythmaker] will bring [Tolkien] to vivid life." In spite of the novel’s positive critical reviews, it is not widely read and not currently in print. Still, those that read Mythmaker love the book.
