THE HOBBIT.
J. R. R. Tolkien.
The Hobbit is a tale of high adventure, undertaken by a
company of dwarves, in search of dragon-guarded gold. A
reluctant partner in this perilous quest is Bilbo Baggins, a
comfort-loving, unambitious hobbit, who surprises even himself
by his resourcefulness and skill as a burglar.
Encounters with trolls, goblins, dwarves, elves and giant
spiders, conversations with the dragon, Smaug the Magnificent
and a rather unwilling presence at the Battle of the Five Armies
are some of the adventures that befall Bilbo. But there are
lighter moments as well: good fellowship, welcome meals,
laughter and song.
It is a complete and marvellous tale in itself, but it also
forms a prelude to The Lord of the Rings.
'The Hobbit belongs to a very small class of books which have
nothing in common save that each admits us to a world of
its own. Its place is with Alice and The Wind in the Willows.'
- Times Literary Supplement
'Has the air of inventing nothing. He has studied trolls and
dragons at first hand and describes them with fidelity.'
- The Times
'One of the best loved characters in English fiction... a
marvellous fantasy adventure.' - Daily Mail
THE LORD OF THE RINGS.
J. R. R. Tolkien.
Part 1: The Fellowship of the Ring.
Part 2: The Two Towers.
Part 3: The Return of the King.
The Lord of the Rings cannot be described in a few words.
J. R. R. Tolkien's great work of imaginative fiction has been
labelled both a heroic romance and a classic of science fiction.
It is, however, impossible to convey to the new reader all of
the book's qualities, and the range of its creation. By turns
comic, homely, epic, monstrous and diabolic, the narrative
moves through countless changes of scenes and character in
an imaginary world which is totally convincing in its detail.
Tolkien created a new mythology in an invented world which
has proved timeless in its appeal.
'An extraordinary book. It deals with a stupendous theme. It
leads us through a succession of strange and astonishing
episodes, some of them magnificent, in a region where everything
is invented, forest, moor, river, wilderness, town, and the races
which inhabit them. As the story goes on the world of the
Ring grows more vast and mysterious and crowded with curious
figures, horrible, delightful or comic. The story itself is superb.'
- The Observer
'Among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the twentieth
century.' - Sunday Telegraph
'The English-speaking world is divided into those who have
read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and those who
are going to read them.' - Sunday Times
The Lord of the Rings is available as a three book paperback
edition and also in one volume.
THE SILMARILLION.
J. R. R. Tolkien.
The Silmarillion is the central stock of J. R. R. Tolkien's
imaginative writing. Although published posthumously it is
the story of the First Age in Tolkien's world, the ancient
drama to which the characters in The Lord of the Rings,look
back, and in whose events, some of them, such as Elrond and
Galadriel, took part.
'How, given little over half a century of work, did one man
become the creative equivalent of a people?' - The Guardian
'Demanding to be compared with English mythologies...at
times rises to the greatness of true myth.' - Financial Times
'A creation myth of singular beauty... magnificent in its
best moments.' - Washingon Post
'A grim, tragic, brooding and beautiful book, shot through
with heroism and hope... its power is almost that of mysticism.'
- Toronto Globe & Mail
'Stern, sweeping myth... an imaginative work of staggering
comprehensiveness.' - Sydney Morning Herald
THE HISTORY OF MIDDLE-EARTH
THE BOOK OF LOST TALES PART I.
J. R. R. Tolkien.
Edited by Christopher Tolkien.
The Book of Lost Tales stands at the beginning of the entire
conception of Middle-earth and Valinor for the Tales were
the first form of the myths and legends that came to be called
The Silmarillion. Embedded in English legend and English
association, they are set in the narrative frame of a great
westward voyage over the Ocean by a mariner named Eriol
(or AElfwine) to Tol Eressea, the Lonely Isle, where Elves
dwelt; from them he learned their true history, the Lost Tales
of Elfinesse. In the Tales are found the earliest accounts and
original ideas of Gods and Elves, Dwarves, Balrogs, and Orcs;
of the Silmarils and the Two Trees of Valinor; of Nargothrond
and Gondolin; of the geography and cosmography of the
invented world.
'Affords us an almost over the shoulder view into the evolving
creative process and genius of J. R. R. Tolkien in a new exciting
aspect, not seen before. In addition, it gives us much information
and rich detail, often highly illuminating, that was later to be
greatly compressed or passed over in the published The
Silmarillion... the superb, sensitive, and extremely helpful
commentary and editing done by Christopher Tolkien makes
all this possible.' - Mythlore
'In these Lost Tales we have the scholar joyously gambolling
in the thickets of his imagination... a Commentary and Notes
greatly enrich the quest.' - The Daily Telegraph
'It is for those who are already addicts and wish to study the
origins of Tolkien's gigantic achievement. They will love it,
and Christopher Tolkien's incredible industry has given them
enough for a life-time of study.' - The Birmingham Post
THE HISTORY OF MIDDLE-EARTH
THE BOOK OF LOST TALKS PART 2.
J. R. R. Tolkien.
Edited by Christopher Tolkien.
Following on from the Tales of Valinor told in Part 1, this
second part includes Beren and Luthien, Turin and the Dragon,
and the only full narratives of the Necklace of the Dwarves
and the Fall of Gondolin. Each tale is followed by a commentary
in the form of a short essay, together with the texts of associated
poems, and each volume contains extensive information on
names and vocabulary in the earliest Elvish languages.
'Part 2 deals with the conflict between Elves and Men, esp-
ecially those of Tinuviel, Turambar, the Fall of Gondolin,
and Earendel... The Tales will be appreciated by those who
have read The Silmarillion and wish to examine how Tolkien
improved his story and style from their original form, and
how eventually The Lord of the Rings came to stand
independently with only a few hints from the early mythology.
- British Book News
'Readable and enjoyable.' - Amon Hen
'Great inventive genius.' - The Yorkshire Post
'A tribute to the power of Tolkien's imagination.'
- The Financial Times
'Christopher Tolkien shows himself to be his father's son,
delving into the question of Elvish genealogies...he gives the
reader histories of each character's name as it evolved in the
course of Tolkien's revisions...Tolkien devotees will rejoice.'
- The New York Times Book Review
THE HISTORY OF MIDDLE-EARTH
THE LAYS OF BELERIAND.
J. R. R. Tolkien.
Edited by Christopher Tolkien.
This, the third volume of The History of Middle-earth, gives
us a privileged insight into the creation of the mythology of
Middle-earth, through the alliterative verse tales of two of the
most crucial stories in Tolkien's world - those of Turin and
Luthien.
The first of the poems is the unpublished Lay of the Children
of Hurin, narrating on a grand scale the tragedy of Turin
Turambar.
The second is the moving Lay of Leithian, the chief source
of the tale of Beren and Luthien in The Silmarillion, telling
of the Quest of the Silmaril and the encounter with Morgoth
in his subterranean fortress.
Accompanying the poems are commentaries on the evolution
of the history of the Elder Days. Also included is the notable
criticism of The Lay of Leithian by C. S. Lewis, who read the
poem in 1929.
'Frodo, Gandalf and the rest will never ride out to new
adventures - saddening legions of us around the world...but
the History of Middle-earth is still unfolding...Edited by his
son Christopher, these epic poems enshrine much of the lineage
and legend at the roots of J. R. R. Tolkien's astonishing
achievement. Creating the Ring tales would have been a feat
in its own right; Professor Tolkien brought a whole world and
society into being, languages, religion and all. Anyone loving
the original books will want to study this one.' - Daily Mail
'The lays afford glimpses of the otherwise unstated metaphysics
underlying Tolkien's mythological invention... The editorial
complexities of the material are, as usual, ably and lucidly
navigated and charted by Christopher Tolkien...a worthy
addition to The History of Middle-earth.' - Mallorn
J. R. R. TOLKIEN: A BIOGRAPHY.
Humphrey Carpenter.
In the authorised biography of J. R. R. Tolkien, Humphrey
Carpenter draws upon Tolkien's private papers, diaries and
manuscripts as well as interviews with family and friends to
build up a fascinating portrait. He traces Tolkien's childhood,
adolescence and war service and recounts how he achieved
high repute as a scholar and university teacher.
Then sitting at his desk in Oxford one day he wrote: 'In a hole
in the ground there lived a hobbit' - and soon found himself
the author of a best-selling children's book. This book follows
the long and painful process of creation that produced The
Lord of the Rings and charts the growth of The Silmarillion and
offers a wealth of information about Tolkien's life and work.
'Rich and beautifully told.' - Sunday Times
'Absolutely fascinating.' - Daily Mail
'Intelligent and sympathetic study.' - The Listener
'Painstaking and often moving account.'
- Times Literary Supplement
'Humphrey Carpenter's plain, unvarnished tale is absolutely
gripping.' - Evening Standard
THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO MIDDLE-EARTH.
Robert Foster.
Middle-earth, the world in which the events of The Hobbit,
The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion take place, is as
real and complex as our own. Events, geography, and names
were created with care and loving attention by Tolkien, who
wanted every single detail of his books to fit into their total
pattern. A belief in perfection, the fun of sub-creation and the
desire to create something so totally convincing that the reader
could believe in it (in a sense) as actual history, involved him
in map-making, endless charts of dates and events and the
development of his many invented languages.
The Complete Guide to Middle-earth is intended to be supple-
mentary to the works of Tolkien and no more. It draws together
in logical sequence facts and information about names, languages,
places and events from Tolkien's books and will be an
indispensable aid in every reader's discovery of Tolkien's world.
'A concordance to the names of people, places and things in
the Middle-earth fantasies of J. R. R. Tolkien...page references
are supplied to all British hardback and paperback editions'
- British Book News
'Middle-earth is the country of J. R. R. Tolkien's tales - the
territory of Sauron, Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf and Sam Gamgee
- whose legends, history, geography and inhabitants combine
to make a unique fictional world. This Guide is a comprehensive
reference work to every name and event in Tolkien's books,
from The Hobbit to The Silmarillion' - Daily Telegraph