Henry Orchard

Barliman is the pseudonym of Henry Orchard, a part-time postgraduate student with the Open University and a lifelong lover of Tolkien’s works. Balancing work with academic studies, they created Barliman’s Book Nook as a place to share their passion for storytelling and their curiosity about the letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. While Tolkien is best known for creating Middle-earth, it’s his personal letters that fascinate Henry the most —revealing the man behind the myth, his thoughts, struggles, humour, and wisdom.

Through this blog, Henry hopes to engage fellow Tolkien enthusiasts in thoughtful exploration and reflection, offering new perspectives on the author’s life and work through his correspondence.

The newsletter will be sporadic, less routine like the letters, and will be anything from updates about the website, how things are going, to any personal news he wishes to share with the readers.

Outside of their studies and blog, Henry works as a Tour Guide, and in his free time enjoys watching movies, playing video games, and writing his own stories that he hopes to one day get published.