Wonderful essay and definitely got me thinking about something that, admittedly, had never occurred to me before. I suppose I just assumed that Middle Earth had a link to what I now see as the Primary World because of the race of men. But maybe not. I'm building a similar world called Aduaine (which means "unfamiliar" in ancient Gaelic) in my novel To Coin a War, but it differs from both Middle Earth and Narnia in that it's more of a fictional overlay to medieval Ireland. I suppose if I think about it, I probably prefer Narnia because the land seems more immediate? But I need to think on this more!