Mythmakers Encore: Things You Don't Know About Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Oxford

There are many experts on the Inklings but there are still lots you might not know about how they lived in their home of Oxford. Julia Golding challenges some myths and makes some new ones about Tolkien and Lewis, and their experiences here. Was the Eagle and Child Pub where Narnia and The Lord of the Rings was first read aloud - or was that somewhere else? What's the mental geography of Oxford for someone who lives here long-term? Find out about Oxford as a place for military training for both writers and the surprising role of Wytham Woods. We jump from local ferries to sport to favorite trees - there's bound to be something in this that you didn't know and might find enriches your reading of their work. We go on to pick our favourite fantasy forest. Can you guess where it is?

00:00 Introduction: Welcome to Mythmakers from Oxford

01:23 The Inklings' Meetings: Eagle and Child Myths Debunked

04:41 Oxford as Backdrop: The Real Geography of Middle-earth and Narnia

05:30 The Kilns and Shotover: C.S. Lewis's Countryside Retreat

06:58 Tolkien's North Oxford: Rivers, Willows, and the Charwell

08:51 Port Meadow and River Walks: Shire-like Landscapes

09:59 The Road Goes Ever On: Personal Reflections on Epping Forest

11:14 Military Training Grounds: Wytham Woods and the Trenches

13:42 Bivouacking Under the Stars: Lewis's Letters from Training

15:38 University Parks and Drill Practice: Tolkien's Training Ground

17:09 The Bucklebury Ferry: Oxford's Lost River Crossings