Peter Roe Memorial Fund

The Peter Roe Memorial Fund exists to finance the production of small publications on subjects of interest to Tolkien readers and Society members. It was setup in memory of a member of the Society with the blessing of his parents.

The Origins of the Fund

In 1979, a young and very talented person joined the Society shortly after his sixteenth birthday. He had discovered Middle-earth some time earlier, and was so inspired by it that he even developed his own system of runes, similar to the Dwarvish Angerthas, but which utilised logical sound values, matching the logical shapes of the runes. Peter was also an accomplished cartographer, and his bedroom was covered with multi-coloured maps of the journeys of the Fellowship, plans of Middle-earth, and other drawings.

As if this was not enough, Peter was also a creative writer in both poetry and prose – the subject being incorporated into his own Dwarvish Chronicles. He was so enthusiastic about having joined the Society that he had written a letter ordering all the available back issues, and was on his way to buy envelopes when he was hit by a speeding lorry outside his home and died instantly.

Some time later, Jonathan and Lester Simons (at that time Chairman and Membership Secretary respectively) visited Peter’s parents to see his room and to look at the work on which he had spent so much care and attention in such a tragically short life.

It was obvious that Peter had produced, and would have continued to produce, material of such a high standard as to make a complete booklet, with poetry, calligraphy, stories and cartography. (Dwarvish Fragments, an unfinished tale by Peter, was published in Mallorn 15.)

With the consent of his parents, the then Committee set up a special account in honour of Peter which would be the source of finance for the Society’s special publications.

Peter Roe Memorial Booklets

This is a series of booklets published at irregular intervals by the Tolkien Society, funded by the Peter Roe Memorial Fund. They seek to forward Tolkien studies in all areas.

Full bibliographic details can be found on the Other Publications page.

  • 1: Some Light on Middle-earth. 1985 (ISBN 0905520025)
  • 2: Leaves from the Tree: J.R.R. Tolkien’s Shorter Fiction. 1991 (ISBN 0905520033)
  • 3: The First and Second Ages. 1992 (ISBN 0905520041)
    Republished in 2020 (ISBN 978-1-913387-53-2)
  • 4: Travel and Communication in Tolkien’s Worlds. 1996 (ISBN 0905520106)
  • 5: Digging Potatoes, Growing Trees – Volume 1. 1997 (ISBN 0905520084)
  • 6: Digging Potatoes, Growing Trees – Volume 2. 1998 (ISBN 0905520122)
  • 7: Tolkien, the Sea and Scandinavia. 1999 (ISBN 0905520114)
    Republished in 2021 (ISBN 978-1-913387-55-6)
  • 8: The Ways of Creative Mythologies: Imagined Worlds and their Makers. 2000 (ISBN 0905520149)
  • 9: Tolkien: A Mythology for England?. 2000 (ISBN 0905520165)
  • 10: The Best of Amon Hen Part 1. 2000 (ISBN 0905520157)
  • 11: Digging Potatoes, Growing Trees – Volume 3. 2001 (ISBN 0905520130)
  • 12: Sindarin Lexicon. 2001 (ISBN 0905520181)
  • 13: The Best of Amon Hen Part 2. 2002 (ISBN 090552019X)
  • 14: Tolkien: Influenced and Influencing. 2005 (ISBN 0905520203)
  • 15: Freedom, Fate and Choice in Middle-earth. 2012 (ISBN 9780905520285)
  • 16: Journeys & Destinations. 2015 (ISBN 9780905520216)
  • 17: Death and Immortality in Middle-earth. 2017 (ISBN 978-1-911143-33-8)
  • 18: Poetry and Song in the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien. 2018 (ISBN 978-1-911143-50-5)
  • 19: Tolkien the Pagan? Reading Middle-earth through a Spiritual Lens. 2019 (ISBN 978-1-911143-80-2)
  • 20: Adapting Tolkien. 2021 (ISBN 978-1-913387-69-3)
  • 21: Twenty-first Century Receptions of Tolkien. 2022 (ISBN 978-1-913387-12-9)
  • 22: Tolkien and Diversity2023 (ISBN: 9781915556141)
  • 23: Translating and Illustrating Tolkien2023 (ISBN: 9781915556288)
  • 24: Tolkien and the Gothic: 2024 (ISBN: 9781915556370)

Purchase

To purchase printed versions, check the Sales page for current availability.

To purchase the Kindle e-book of Peter Roe #16, visit Amazon UK. It is also available on Amazon USA, DE, FR, ES, IT, NL, JP, BR, CA, MX, AU, and IN.

Can I contribute to the Fund?

Yes, you can donate online. Simply enter your details, stating your wish that the money go towards the Fund in the message box.