Review of The Gallant Edith Bratt
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The following review by Tom Hewitt appeared in Beyond Bree January '22, page 4, and is reproduced here with kind permission of the reviewer and editor.
The Gallant Edith Bratt: J.R.R. Tolkien's Inspiration is a Walking Tree Press publication. Walking Tree is known among Tolkien fans and scholars for its series of Tolkien related academic works. The purpose of this book is to place Edith Bratt (Edith), JRR Tolkien's (Tolkien) wife, more firmly as an acknowledged inspiration for, and supporter of, Tolkien's work.
The authors are clear that their undertaking is a difficult one, as there is little biographical information about Edith Bratt. It is clear from other biographer's efforts that there was even a concerted effort to keep much of Edith's life out of public record. To this end, the authors clearly combed exhaustively through the known resources, as well as the oral evidence uncovered through the years. They also use Tolkien family pictures and artwork; published and unpublished.
Because of the reliance on other sources, some of them very specific and hard to find, anyone approaching this text will do well to have some other texts on hand. Without the numerous watercolors and pictures, some from hard-to-find texts, some of the premises must be taken on faith. There are allusions to Edith's expression, or the formatting of a drawing by Tolkien. These allusions are used to draw larger conclusions about the state of mind of either Tolkien or Edith. This is a sort of biographical danger point for any scholar. Once a researcher decides what something means without empirical proof, the rest of the argument stands on wobbly legs. Unfortunately, the reader finds themselves in this situation often. Many of the conclusions the authors draw are ones the reader must take on faith. Internet searches do little to help, as there is a well-organized, and justified, protection of copyrights on Tolkien Estate materials.
Another difficulty with this text is that it contains many suppositions of what Edith's personal situations and state of mind was, based on texts that state how life was for Englanders of those social status and life circumstances similar to Edith's. While the cited circumstance may have been common, there is little evidence to suggest that it was absolutely the case. In the cases of actual facts, they are usually immediately footnoted. Some of these noted texts are ones that also make equally large suppositions, notably J.R.R. Tolkien: Codemaker, Spy-master, Hero. Once the assertions build up under "might have, may be, would have, could have. Was likely to, seems to have," and "probably," we begin to lose track of what is absolutely true. The authors acknowledge this issue in that much of Edith's life is kept secret, but this very fact begs the question; how much digging is absolutely necessary? Few assertions from the authors change the way in which one would look at any of Tolkien's texts.
Many pieces of research in the book challenge small biographical timeline pieces that might interest those who focus on the specific biography timeline of the Tolkiens. These are interesting pieces of clarity or fogging of current assertions. This is where, one might find, the quality of this text lies. This book makes it clear that there are many mysteries and unknown events in the life of the Tolkiens, and Edith especially. Others who seek to study more information on Edith's life will very likely want to start here. It is a text that is asserting the need for more research into Edith's life. This reads more like a call for information. After reading, I did approach a recent piece of information, about who one of the Tolkiens' au pairs might have been, with new eyes after reading this text, as it stated one of them stated that Edith frowned upon Tolkien speaking native Nordic in the house.
In the end, those who buy this book will have a greater understanding of the experiences and challenges of Edith's life in the context of the society around her. There is much to consider between its pages. Whether one comes away with a greater understanding or a desire for more information, relies upon the reader's previous biographical study. But if anyone wants an introduction to Edith as her own person, and otherwise glossed over biographical facts and possibilities, this is not a bad place to start.
Beyond Bree is the newsletter of the Tolkien Special Interest Group of American Mensa. Subscriptions are open to all lovers of Tolkien's Middle-earth, Mensan and non- Mensan alike. For more information on Beyond Bree, please visit beyondbree.org
The text of the review has been edited slightly in relation to that published in Beyond Bree with the permission / at the request of its author. All edits are typographical.
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