I didn't see any mention of the fact that both Lewis + Tolkien lived through World Wars. Nor the fact that those books were also written in an "era". I can't

I didn't see any mention of the fact that both Lewis + Tolkien lived through World Wars. Nor the fact that those books were also written in an "era". I can't say that I'm surprised at the tone, or 'verbose' writing style of either book (think HG Wells, or Dickens for example). Compared to, say, Pratchett, post-war, humorous, short punchy sentences. Or Douglas Adams. They're literally (pun intended) of their era.