Simon Tolkien

Simon Tolkien
Biographical Information
Born	12 January 1959
Education	Trinity College, Oxford
Occupation	Author, barrister
Location	Southern California
Website	SimonTolkien.com

Simon Mario Reuel Tolkien (born 12 January 1959) is the eldest son of Christopher Tolkien and grandson of J.R.R. Tolkien. He is the only child of Christopher's first marriage, to Faith Faulconbridge. Since 2011, he has acted as a director of the Tolkien Estate along with Baillie Tolkien, Michael George Tolkien, and Steven Maier.

Biography

Simon Tolkien studied modern history at Trinity College in the University of Oxford. After which, he embarked on a fifteen-year career as a criminal lawyer and became a barrister in 1994.

In 1984, he married Tracy Steinberg, who was Jewish. Steinberg owned and operated a vintage clothing store in Chelsea, London, called Steinberg & Tolkien, which shut down in September of 2007. Later, Tolkien moved to Southern California with his wife and their two children.

In January of 2000, Simon Tolkien began writing fiction. Tolkien's first novel, The Stepmother (published in the United States as Final Witness: A Novel), was published in 2003. The Inheritance: A Novel, his second book, was published on April 13, 2010 by Minotaur Books.

Simon Tolkien disagreed with the then policy of his grandfather's estate over the adaptations of his grandfather's works. As a result, he had a strained relationship with his father over that point, however they subsequently reconciled.

He was consulted on the development of the television series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and he helped develop its story and the character arcs. As a result, he is credited as a "series consultant".

Family Tree

J.R.R. Tolkien 1892-1973

Edith Bratt 1889-1971

John Tolkien 1917-2003

Michael Tolkien 1920-1984

Faith Faulconbridge 1928-2017

Christopher Tolkien 1924-2020

Baillie Klass b. 1941

Priscilla Tolkien 1929-2022

Tracy Steinberg

SIMON TOLKIEN b. 1959

Adam Tolkien b. 1969

Rachel Tolkien b. 1971

Nicholas Tolkien b. 1990

Bibliography

Novels

• 2003: The Stepmother (U.K.) / Final Witness: A Novel (U.S.)
• 2010: The Inheritance: A Novel
• 2011: The King of Diamonds
• 2012: Orders from Berlin: A Thriller
• 2017: No Man's Land: A Novel
• 2025: The Palace at the End of the Sea: A Novel
• 2025: The Room of Lost Steps: A Novel

Articles

J.R.R. and Simon Tolkien

• 2003: The Mail On Sunday
  • "My Grandfather", 23 February 2003
• 2010: Huffington Post, 26 April 2010
  • "In My Grandfather's Footsteps" (External link)
• 2022: J.R.R. Tolkien: The Art of the Manuscript (second edition)
  • "The Art of the Manuscript"
• 2025: The Catholic Herald, 9 October 2025
  • "Life without God: grandson of JRR Tolkien on how losing his own faith shaped his novels on Catholicism"

Interviews

• 2003: The Telegraph, 23 February 2003
  • "J R R Tolkien's grandson 'cut off from literary inheritance'" (by Chris Hastings)
• 2010: Festival Art and Books Journal, issue 5 (May 2010)
  • "Interview with Simon Tolkien " (by Alex Lewis)
• 2010: WAMC Northeast Public Radio, 18 May 2010
  • "Audio The Book Show #1139 - Simon Tolkien
• 2010: Mythprint vol. 47, no. 6
  • "Interview with Simon Tolkien" (by Jason Fisher)
• 2010: Mallorn 50
  • "A man of mystery" (by Mike Foster)
• 2012: The Telegraph 18 November 2012
  • "Simon Tolkien JRR Tolkien's grandson admits Lord of the Rings trauma" (by Andrew Hough)
• 2012: The Guardian, 24 November 2012
  • "'Being Tolkien's grandson blocked my writing ..." (by Joanna Moorhead)
• 2017: The Prancing Pony Podcast
  • No Man’s Land: An Interview with Simon Tolkien (audio)
• 2025: Rock, Paper, Swords! Podcast
  • Simon Tolkien: Spanish Civil War Novels, Rings of Power & J.R.R. Tolkien’s Legacy

External links

• Official Website
• Simon Tolkien at Wikipedia
• The Lord of Confusion