J.R.R. Tolkien, the legendary author of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, lived a love story that felt straight out of Middle-earth. At sixteen, he met Edith Bratt, a talented pianist and fellow orphan, but his guardian forbade them from seeing each other until he turned twenty-one. Tolkien waited in silence for years before writing to her—only to find she was engaged. Moved by his devotion, Edith ended her engagement and reunited with him. They married in 1916 and shared 55 years of love. W