Christopher Tolkien

The Silmarillion is J.R.R. Tolkien's tragic, operatic history of the First Age of Middle-Earth, essential background material for serious readers of the classic Lord of the Rings saga. The Silmarillion tells a tale of the Elder Days, when Elves and Men became estranged by the Dark Lord Morgoth's lust for the Silmarils, pure and powerful magic jewels. Even the love between a human warrior and the daughter of the Elven king cannot defeat Morgoth, but...

Beren was a mortal man, but Lúthien was an immortal elf. Her father, a great elvish lord, in deep opposition to Beren, imposed on him an impossible task that he must perform before he might wed Lúthien. To show something of the process whereby this legend of Middle-earth evolved over the years, [Christopher Tolkien] has told the story in his father's own words by giving, first, its original form, and then passages in prose and verse from later texts...

Coming from the darker side of J.R.R. Tolkien's imagination, this is an important non Middle-earth work to set alongside his other retellings of existing myth and legend, "The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún," "The Fall of Arthur," and "The Story of Kullervo." "Set 'in Britain's land beyond the seas' during the age of chivalry, The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun tells of a childless Breton lord and lady (the 'Aotrou' and 'Itroun' of the title) and the tragedy...

Tolkien's version of the great legend of Northern antiquity. In the first part, we follow the adventures of Sigurd, the slayer of Fafnir, and his betrothal to the Valkyrie Brynhild. In the second, the tragedy mounts to its end in the murder of Sigurd at the hands of his blood-brothers, the suicide of Brynhild, and the despair of Gudrún.

The Return of the Shadow chronicles the outlines, revisions, character developments, and early drafts of The Fellowship of the Ring.

Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth concentrates on the lands of Middle-earth and comprises Gandalf's lively account of how he came to send the Dwarves to the celebrated party at Bag-End, the story of the emergence of the sea god Ulmo before the eyes of Tuor on the coast of Beleriand, and an exact description of the military organization of the Riders of Rohan and the journey of the Black Riders during the hunt for the Ring. It also contains...

A collection of early stories and original ideas by J.R.R. Tolkien, presented and analyzed by his son Christopher Tolkien. Each tale is accompanied by notes and commentary.

"This work provides a study of Tolkien's life and influences through an analysis of The History of Middle Earth. The work begins with a brief biography and an analysis of the major influences in Tolkien's early life. Following chapters deal with elements common to Tolkien's popular works, including the cosmogony, theogony, cosmology, metaphysics, and eschatology of Middle Earth"--Provided by publisher.

The Book of Lost Tales was the first major work of imagination by J.R.R. Tolkien, begun in 1916-17 when he was twenty-five years old and left incomplete several years later. It stands at the beginning of the entire conception of Middle-earth and Valinor, for these tales were the first form of the myths and legends that came to be called The Silmarillion.