J. R. R. Tolkien
The request for a sequel prompted Tolkien to begin what would become his most famous work: the epic novel "The Lord of the Rings" (originally published in three volumes 1954–1955). Tolkien spent more than ten years writing the primary narrative and appendices for "The Lord of the Rings", during which time he received the constant support of the Inklings, in particular his closest friend C. S. Lewis, the author of "The Chronicles of Narnia". Both "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" are set against the background of "The Silmarillion", but in a time long after it.
Pembroke College, Oxford
J. R. R. Tolkien was a Fellow of Pembroke from 1925 to 1945, and wrote "The Hobbit" and the first two volumes of "The Lord of the Rings" during his time there. Since 2013 the college has held an annual lecture on fantasy literature in his honour. Robin G. Collingwood, historian, philosopher, and author of "The Idea of History", was a fellow of the college between the Great War and the Second World War.