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There was definitely loads of fantasy writing before Tolkien. I agree with one previous post: T's strong point is his narrative style, not his ideas. (I've always had a sneaking suspicion that LOTR was far more shaped by the Second World War than anyone ever admits. And - while we're on the subject - why do the Orcs speak a variant of lower-class English?)
In terms of originality, Lewis Carroll gets my vote. Those texts really are complex philosophical-linguistic games, and a superb recreation of the child's bewilderment in the face of the crazy adult world. They can be read as simple stories for kiddies as well, but there's a lot more going on. I can remember - at the age of 6 - being quite terrified by 'Through the Looking-Glass': so terrified that I didn't get back to reading it again until years later.
Did Tolkien ever inspire John Lennon to write a surrealistic pop classic?
Last interesting fact: at one point it seemed likely that the Beatles would buy up the rights to LOTR. Lennon was to play Gollum, Harrison Gandalf, McCartney Frodo and Ringo Sam. But it was never to be... Lennon would have been a brilliant Gollum!!
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