The Notion Club Papers
Encyclopedia
The Notion Club Papers is the title of an abandoned novel by J. R. R. Tolkien
, written during 1945 and published posthumously in Sauron Defeated
, the 9th volume of The History of Middle-earth
. It is a space/time/dream travel story, written at the same time as The Lord of the Rings
was being developed. The story itself revolves around the meetings of an Oxford
arts discussion group called the Notion Club, a fictionalization of (and a play on words on the name of) Tolkien's own such club, The Inklings.
During these meetings, Alwin Arundel Lowdham discusses his lucid dreams about Númenor
; through these dreams, he "discovers" much about the Númenor story and the languages of Middle-earth (notably Quenya
, Sindarin
, and Adûnaic
— the last very interesting since it is the sole source of most of the material on this language). While not finished, at the end of the given story it becomes clear Lowdham himself is a reincarnation of sorts of Elendil
. (Alwin is a modernization of the name Ælfwine
, Old English
for Elf-friend, or Elendil in Quenya.) Other members of the Club also mention their vivid dreams of other times and places.
Tolkien not only created fictional meetings for these papers but also created a fictional history for the manuscript of the papers. According to the papers, the meetings occurred in the 1980s; they even mention events that occurred in the 1970s and 1980s. About one-quarter of the papers were found among sacks of waste paper in 2002 at Oxford by a Mr. Green. Mr. Green published a first edition containing excerpts from these papers, indicating that they were written during the 1980s by one of the participants. Two scholars read the first edition, asked to examine the manuscripts, and then submitted a full report. The "Notes to the Second Edition" mentions the contradictory evidence in dating the manuscripts, and an alternative date is presented: they may have been written in the 1940s.
These papers, which make a number of comments on Lewis' Space Trilogy
, remind one of C. S. Lewis
' commentary to Tolkien's poem The Lay of Leithian
, in which Lewis created a fictional history of scholarship of the poem and even referred to other manuscript tradition to recommend changes to the poem.
The Notion Club Papers may be seen as an attempt to re-write The Lost Road
, published and discussed in The Lost Road and Other Writings
, as being another attempt to tie the Númenórean legend in with a more modern tale. There is, however, no direct connection between the modern settings of the two stories within the fictional frame.
According to Christopher Tolkien
, had his father continued The Notion Club Papers, he would have linked the real world of Alwin Lowdham with his eponymous ancestor Ælfwine of England (who compiled the Lost Tales) and with Atlantis. One of the members of the Notion Club, one Michael George Ramer, combines lucid dreams with time-travel and experiences the tsunami that sank Númenor. He can't tell if its history, or fantasy, or something in between.
The Notion Club Papers mentions a great storm occurring during 1987 in England
, and indeed the fictional commentary, placing the 'actual' storm on 12 June, notes that this provides evidence that it could not have been written in the 1940s unless one was prepared to concede that "some person or persons in the nineteen-forties possessed a power of 'prevision'". In real life the Great Storm of 1987
occurred in October of that year.
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
, written during 1945 and published posthumously in Sauron Defeated
The History of The Lord of the Rings
The History of The Lord of the Rings is a 4-volume work by Christopher Tolkien that documents the process of J. R. R. Tolkien's writing of The Lord of the Rings. The History is also numbered as volumes 6 to 9 of The History of Middle-earth...
, the 9th volume of The History of Middle-earth
The History of Middle-earth
The History of Middle-earth is a 12-volume series of books published from 1983 through to 1996 that collect and analyse material relating to the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, compiled and edited by his son, Christopher Tolkien. Some of the content consists of earlier versions of already published...
. It is a space/time/dream travel story, written at the same time as The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
was being developed. The story itself revolves around the meetings of an Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
arts discussion group called the Notion Club, a fictionalization of (and a play on words on the name of) Tolkien's own such club, The Inklings.
During these meetings, Alwin Arundel Lowdham discusses his lucid dreams about Númenor
Númenor
Númenor is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. It was a huge island located in the Sundering Seas to the west of Middle-earth, the main setting of Tolkien's writings, and was known to be the greatest realm of Men...
; through these dreams, he "discovers" much about the Númenor story and the languages of Middle-earth (notably Quenya
Quenya
Quenya is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Quenya is one of the many Elvish languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called Quendi in Quenya. The tongue actually called Quenya was in origin the speech of two clans of Elves...
, Sindarin
Sindarin
Sindarin is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Sindarin is one of the many languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called the Eledhrim or Edhellim in Sindarin....
, and Adûnaic
Adûnaic
Adûnaic is a fictional language in the fantasy works of J. R. R. Tolkien.One of the languages of Arda in Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, it was spoken by the Men of Númenor during the Second Age.-Fictional history:...
— the last very interesting since it is the sole source of most of the material on this language). While not finished, at the end of the given story it becomes clear Lowdham himself is a reincarnation of sorts of Elendil
Elendil
Elendil is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
. (Alwin is a modernization of the name Ælfwine
Ælfwine
Ælfwine is an Old English personal name and may refer to:In history:*Ælfwine of Deira , child-King of Deira*Ælfwine of Elmham , bishop of Elmham and Dunwich...
, Old English
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
for Elf-friend, or Elendil in Quenya.) Other members of the Club also mention their vivid dreams of other times and places.
Tolkien not only created fictional meetings for these papers but also created a fictional history for the manuscript of the papers. According to the papers, the meetings occurred in the 1980s; they even mention events that occurred in the 1970s and 1980s. About one-quarter of the papers were found among sacks of waste paper in 2002 at Oxford by a Mr. Green. Mr. Green published a first edition containing excerpts from these papers, indicating that they were written during the 1980s by one of the participants. Two scholars read the first edition, asked to examine the manuscripts, and then submitted a full report. The "Notes to the Second Edition" mentions the contradictory evidence in dating the manuscripts, and an alternative date is presented: they may have been written in the 1940s.
These papers, which make a number of comments on Lewis' Space Trilogy
Space Trilogy
The Space Trilogy, Cosmic Trilogy or Ransom Trilogy is a trilogy of science fiction novels by C. S. Lewis, famous for his later series The Chronicles of Narnia. A philologist named Elwin Ransom is the hero of the first two novels and an important character in the third.The books in the trilogy...
, remind one of C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
' commentary to Tolkien's poem The Lay of Leithian
The Lay of Leithian
The Lay of Leithian is an unfinished poem written by J. R. R. Tolkien. It tells the Tale of Beren and Lúthien, the story of the love of the mortal Man Beren and the immortal Elf maiden Lúthien. The poem consists of over 4200 verses. It was published after Tolkien's death in The Lays of Beleriand...
, in which Lewis created a fictional history of scholarship of the poem and even referred to other manuscript tradition to recommend changes to the poem.
The Notion Club Papers may be seen as an attempt to re-write The Lost Road
The Lost Road and Other Writings
The Lost Road and Other Writings is the fifth volume of The History of Middle-earth, a series of compilations of drafts and essays written by J. R. R. Tolkien...
, published and discussed in The Lost Road and Other Writings
The Lost Road and Other Writings
The Lost Road and Other Writings is the fifth volume of The History of Middle-earth, a series of compilations of drafts and essays written by J. R. R. Tolkien...
, as being another attempt to tie the Númenórean legend in with a more modern tale. There is, however, no direct connection between the modern settings of the two stories within the fictional frame.
According to Christopher Tolkien
Christopher Tolkien
Christopher Reuel Tolkien is the third and youngest son of the author J. R. R. Tolkien , and is best known as the editor of much of his father's posthumously published work. He drew the original maps for his father's The Lord of the Rings, which he signed C. J. R. T. The J...
, had his father continued The Notion Club Papers, he would have linked the real world of Alwin Lowdham with his eponymous ancestor Ælfwine of England (who compiled the Lost Tales) and with Atlantis. One of the members of the Notion Club, one Michael George Ramer, combines lucid dreams with time-travel and experiences the tsunami that sank Númenor. He can't tell if its history, or fantasy, or something in between.
The Notion Club Papers mentions a great storm occurring during 1987 in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and indeed the fictional commentary, placing the 'actual' storm on 12 June, notes that this provides evidence that it could not have been written in the 1940s unless one was prepared to concede that "some person or persons in the nineteen-forties possessed a power of 'prevision'". In real life the Great Storm of 1987
Great Storm of 1987
The Great Storm of 1987 occurred on the night of 15/16 October 1987, when an unusually strong weather system caused winds to hit much of southern England and northern France...
occurred in October of that year.