At age 16, Tolkien fell in love with Edith Bratt, three years his senior. His guardian, a Catholic priest, was horrified that his ward was seeing a Protestant & ordered the boy to have no contact with Edith until he turned 21. Tolkien obeyed, pining after Edith for years until his 21st b-day, when he met with her under a railroad viaduct. She broke off her engagement to another man, converted to Catholicism, & they were married for the rest of their lives. Click for the rest of the love story. ♥
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