WHAT? Tolkien founded the fantasy genre and single-handedly popularized it, and only then did others contribute to its promotion. If it weren't for him, we would still consider dwarves to be small people, elves to be fairies, and we wouldn't even know about orcs.

The history of fantasy literature dates back to the myths of Ancient Greece and medieval epics ("Beowulf"). Medieval novels had a significant influence on the future genre. The Arthurian legend, with its magic, swords, and romance, according to[2] Andrzej Sapkowski, forms the basis of most fantasy works. In the fantasy of the Far East, this role is played by medieval Chinese, Japanese, and Korean novels and stories, many of which contain a large fantasy element.

The first works of modern fantasy began to appear at the beginning of the 20th century. These include "The Daughter of the King of the Elves" by Lord Edward Dunsany, "Conan" by Robert E. Howard, "The Chronicles of Narnia" by C.S. Lewis, and "The Tales of Manuel" by James Cabell. The publication of "The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien brought the genre widespread popularity and had a huge impact on it.