‘LOTR’ author JRR Tolkien was fined nearly Rs 11,000 in today’s money by Oxford University; here’s why

Oxford University on Tuesday shared an interesting piece of information about the noted author and scholar JRR Tolkien. 

Born on 3 January 1892, Tolkien became popular after he produced two epic novels – The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. 

Today, the University of Oxford said the author was fined for overdue library books in his first year at Oxford.  

The university said on this day in 1892, JRR Tolkien was born. “20 years later, he was fined £1 7s 6d for overdue library books in his 1st year at Oxford – that’s approx. £110 in today’s money,” the university said in a LinkedIn post.

The post triggered a wave of reaction over the sum of the fine and its value today.

Tung Siew Hoong, consultant, and advisor, said a £110 fine for overdue library books seemed stiff to him. “How many days overdue?” he asked.

Another user, Martial Dubuisson, said those inflation conversions do not really make any sense.

Kirk G Mensch, a professor, jumped in and said at least he was reading books. “It seems like that has gone out of vogue despite research demonstrating the many benefits of such an undertaking,” Mensch wrote.

Tolkien was in the middle of his studies in English Literature at Oxford University when the first World War broke out, as per the university website page dedicated to him. 

He was able to defer enlisting until his degree was finished when he joined the Oxford University Officer’s Training Corps. It was at this time that Tolkien first began to write, expressing his feelings through his poetry for the first time.