J.R.R. Tolkien was a romantic. When he met his future wife, Edith, at the age of 16, he was instantly smitten with her and immediately began an informal courtship, taking her to local tea houses on a regular basis. When the priest who acted as Tolkien’s guardian found out about his romance, however, he forbade him from having contact with Edith until the age of 21, so as not to distract from his studies. Tolkien reluctantly obeyed. For five long years, he waited for waited for the one he knew wa

At sixteen, J.R.R. Tolkien fell in love with Edith Bratt, a fellow orphan he met in a Birmingham boarding house. Forbidden to see her until he turned twenty-one, Tolkien waited in silence for three years. On his birthday, he wrote to her—only to learn she was engaged. He went to her anyway, won her back, and married her before leaving for World War I. Edith later inspired Lúthien, the immortal elf who chose love over eternity. On their shared grave in Oxford are two names: Lúthien and Beren. Mid