It’s official: my thesis defence is happening next week.
Do I wish to postpone this event I’ve been fearing for 8 years now? Undoubtedly. Am I ready to be done with the PhD? Also yes. That being said, the defence is not the end since I do not doubt there will be revisions to apply after the jury has pointed out what needed a little more work. I already know what some of those areas are, and reading the Thing for the first time in printed format, of course I’ve spotted plenty of typos and repetitions (I apparently am very eager to underline that saying the Lord of the Rings and Silmarillion editions recently published by HarperCollins are “illustrated by the author” is a bit of an overstatement, as J.R.R. Tolkien did not create those images for publication but rather as working documents).
For the stats lovers, here are a few facts about my thesis:
- it is 499 pages long (it gained 50 pages when I applied the right margins).
- there are 194 001 words or 1193K signs including spaces ;
- 944 footnotes ;
- 346 figures in the first appendix.
- each copy is over 1kg.
Details of the defence (along with the official summary in French & English) are available here on the Fabula website.
OpenEdition vous propose de citer ce billet de la manière suivante :
Marie Bretagnolle (2 février 2026). Announcing my thesis defence. Tolkien & illustration. Consulté le 16 mars 2026 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/15luc
