Ten of the best beards in literature

At the Guardian, John Mullan named a list of ten of the best beards in literature.

One entry on the list:

Gandalf

Wizards have beards, so of course the virtuous magus of Tolkien's tales of Middle Earth has a striking growth of facial hair. According to The Hobbit, it hangs down beneath his waist. In The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf returns from the dead all dressed in white and with a "sweeping silver beard" to fight the bad – and equally beardy – wizard Saruman.

Read about another beard on Mullan's list.

The Lord of the Rings also made Charlie Jane Anders and Michael Ann Dobbs' list of ten classic SF books that were originally considered failures, Lev Grossman's list of the six greatest fantasy books of all time, and appears on John Mullan's lists of ten of the best towers in literature, ten of the best volcanoes in literature, ten of the best chases in literature, and ten of the best monsters in literature. It is one of Salman Rushdie's five best fantasy novels for all ages. It is a book that made a difference to Pat Conroy.

--Marshal Zeringue