Now while I realize that other books in the series tend to give different numbers for time in real world - thus confusing most mathematical attempts, I really think that Illearth War might have the strongest case for use as the proper formula for:
Days in Real World = Years in the land
Spoilers follow:
After he returns home, he goes to sleep that night, and
Spoiler
Page 4 : Paragraph 3
for two weeks he shambled...
for two weeks he shambled...
Then he finally remembers what he interprets as the dream, shaves, and a major event happens that night..
Spoiler
Joan's Stable catches on fire, and on Page 11 : First paragraph
Thus in one way or another he survived the days for nearly three weeks after the fire.
Thus in one way or another he survived the days for nearly three weeks after the fire.
Add 1 day for when he came home
Add 14 for how long he was "asleep on his feet"
Add 1 when he finally woke up/rejoined the living
Add 21 for time from " The event "
Add 2 days from page 12 : paragraph 2
Add 1 day for his "trip to town"
Totals : 40 days = 40 years
This is failry precise, and I think holds well for most of the series. Ok, call it an approximation, but maybe we could get an answer from Lord Stephen himself on this subject?
Does it really matter ?
I believe it warrants more discussion, simply because the people whom read these books all seem to have one thing in common, we all have been transported to this Land and have become fascinated by the depth of history and its inhabitants and are naturally interested in the subtleties of the land, and the charms that it offers.
We have been touched in a way that few writers posses, and IMHO only Tolkien's own work can rival the Land for ability to draw you in.
Cheers,
