I’ve just received an interesting and encouraging e-mail from an admirer of Tolkien who asks for my opinion of the Jackson movies. Here’s an abridged version of her e-mail and my reply: 
Hello Prof. Pearce,
I just finished reading a 1998 edition of your book “Tolkien: Man and Myth”, published in Great Britain by HarperCollins, a nice, used hardcover edition I ordered online. I can’t tell you how pleased I am that I discovered it, and I honestly can’t remember where I read about it. Of all the books on Tolkien and his work I have read over the years, yours is the only one that addresses the profound influence his Catholic faith had on his approach to his mythology, and of course his life. Perhaps there are other books out there that may do the same, but I have been reading Tolkien interpretations and analyses for almost 40 years and have not found one that has satisfied my own questions and intimations about his oeuvre the way your book has.
I discovered JRRT at age 14, and now at age 57 am still mining the depths of his great trilogy, and other writings, as well as his artwork and letters. I am also a devout Catholic, and recognized ,even before I knew it for certain, the themes that recur and run like threads through his mythologies, connecting everything to the Truth of Christianity. It has always pained me to read how others misunderstood him, as it must have pained him, but in the end his work has endured in spite of the critics, not unlike Christianity itself! Your book was a breath of fresh air to me, and I want to thank you for finally satisfying my longing for a validation of what I experienced in Prof. Tolkien’s books as well. I especially liked Ch.7,”Orthodoxy in Middle Earth”.  I often wondered about his personal thoughts on his faith as relative to his work.
Your book has made all other books about JRRT practically unnecessary, at least for me, with the exception of those books that deal with the literary sources he used for his mythologies, as I am an English Lit major myself and a lifelong student of the subject.  Perhaps it is my love for my Catholic faith and my love for the same literature and language which drew me to JRRT’s writings in the first place – but at 14 how was I to know, except that it all resonated someplace deep inside, and still does.
 
This email is maybe too long an intrusion into your time, but I do have one question you perhaps may be able to answer: Do you think Prof. Tolkien would have approved and /or appreciated Peter Jackson’s movies?  When the first one appeared in 2002, I refused to see it, as there had been so many bad attempts to bring LOTR to the screen in one form or another, but just before “The Two Towers” was released my husband brought home a video of The Fellowship, saying “I bought this for you because I know how much you like the books and thought you might enjoy this.” I was, and remain, totally captivated by them all.  They are visually stunning, and despite the additions or omissions, I find them completely satisfying for what they are.  And the music is wonderful.  I think my poor husband is sorry he ever brought the first one home…but imagine a beloved book you have adored from childhood and enjoyed over and over as an adult brought to life so masterfully before your eyes.
Please feel free to disagree with me, I will not be offended. My opinions in these matters come not from scholarship but pure wonder and enjoyment. I truly want your scholarly opinion about how JRRT might have seen them. Have his children responded to the movies at all?
 
My reply:

Thanks so much for your encouraging e-mail. It’s always reassuring to hear positive feedback! The reason that I wroteTolkien: Man & Myth was to address the woeful lack of scholarship on the importance of Tolkien’s Catholicism on his work. On this topic, you might be interested to learn that I have a new book on the LotR coming out soon, entitled Frodo’s Journey: Discovering the Hidden Meaning of The Lord of the Rings (Saint Benedict Press), which goes somewhat deeper into the Catholic dimension.
Regarding your specific question about Tolkien’s likely response to Peter Jackson’s movies, I have written about this in my recent book, Catholic Literary Giants (Ignatius Press), in an essay entitled “Would Tolkien Have Given Peter Jackson’s Movie the Thumbs-Up?” My conclusion is that he wouldn’t have done, principally because of his own perfectionism and his suspicion of film as a medium. (Tolkien’s son, Christopher, did not approve of the films, though Tolkien’s grandchildren seem more positive.) In the same book I also wrote an essay giving my own judgement on Jackson’s movies, entitled “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: The Successes and Failures of Tolkien on Film”. My own view is essentially positive, with some reservations. I certainly enjoy the movies. I would add, however, that Jackson’s recent Hobbit adaptation is horrible and bears very little in common with the Christian spirit or even the basic plot-line of Tolkien’s book.