08/27/2025
Before J.R.R. Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings, he lived a love story as epic as any fantasy tale.
In 1908, 16-year-old Tolkien met Edith Bratt, a fellow orphan three years older than him. They fell in love, sharing quiet moments over tea and playfully tossing sugar cubes into each other’s hats. But their happiness was short-lived—Tolkien’s guardian, Father Francis Xavier Morgan, disapproved of their relationship because of religious differences and forbade them from seeing each other until Tolkien turned 21.
For three years, they were kept apart. On his 21st birthday, Tolkien wrote to Edith, only to find she was engaged to another man, believing he had forgotten her. Yet their love proved stronger—Edith ended her engagement, and they reunited, marrying in 1916 before Tolkien was sent off to fight in World War I.
They spent 55 years together, raising four children. When Edith passed away in 1971, Tolkien had "Lúthien"—the name of his most beloved elven heroine—engraved on her gravestone. When he died in 1973, he was laid to rest beside her as "Beren."
To Tolkien, Edith was Lúthien, the woman who had danced for him in a glade and captured his heart forever.
