Books in series
#1
The Book of Lost Tales, Part One
1983
The Book of Lost Tales 1 stands at the beginning of the entire conception of Middle-earth and Valinor. Embedded in English legend and English association, they were set in the narratve frame of a great westward voyage over the Ocean by a mariner named Eriol (or Ælfwine) to Tol Eressëa, the Lonely Isle, where Elves dwelt; from them he learned their true story, the Lost Tales of Elfinesse. In the Tales are found the earliest accounts and original ideas of Gods and Elves; Dwarves and Orcs; the Silmarils and the Two Trees of Valinor; Nargothrond and Gondolin; and the geography and cosmology of the invented world.
#2
The Book of Lost Tales, Part Two
1984
The Book of Lost Tales 2 (The History of Middle-Earth, Vol. 2)
viii, 391 pp. "The Book of Lost Tales was the first major work of imagination by J.R.R. Tolkien, begun in 1916, 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 the Lost Tales were the first form of the myths and legends that came to be called The Silmarillion. Embedded in English legend and association, they are set in the narrative frame of the great westward voyage of a mariner named Eriel (or AElfwine). His destination is Tol Eressea, the Lonely Isle where Elves dwell; from them he learns their true history, the Lost Tales of Elfinesse. The Tales include the earliest accounts 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 their invented world. The Book of Lost Tales is published in two volumes. The first contains the Tales of Valinor; and this second past 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, together with associated poems, and each volume contains extensive information on names and vocabulary of the earliest Elvish languages. Additional books in this series will extend the history of Middle-earth as it was refined and enlarged in later years and will include the long Lays of Beleriand, the Ambarkanta or Shape of the World, the Lhammas or Account of Tongues, annals, maps, and many other previously unpublished writings of J.R.R. Tolkien."Keywords: FANTASY SCIENCE FICTION HISTORY MIDDLE EARTH JRR TOLKIEN BOOK OF LOST TALES
#3
The Lays of Beleriand
1985
The third volume that contains the early myths and legends which led to the writing of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic tale of war, The Silmarillion.
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 Turien 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, which was much developed during the years of the composition of the two Lays. Also included is the notable criticism in detail of the Lay of Lethian by C.S. Lewis, Tolkien's friend and colleague, who read the poem in 1929. By assuming that this poem is actually a fragment from a past lost in history, Lewis underlined the remarkable power of its author's imaginative talents and academic competence.
#4
The Shaping of Middle-Earth
1986
The fourth volume that contains the early myths and legends which led to the writing of Tolkien's epic tale of war, The Silmarillion.
#5
The Lost Road and Other Writings
1987
This story can be found in 'The Lost Road', along with the other two versions of it. Christopher Tolkien has edited and added footnotes to that version.
#6
The Return of the Shadow
The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part One
1988
In this sixth volume of The History of Middle-earth the story reaches The Lord of the Rings. In The Return of the Shadow (an abandoned title for the first volume) Christopher Tolkien describes, with full citation of the earliest notes, outline plans, and narrative drafts, the intricate evolution of The Fellowship of the Ring and the gradual emergence of the conceptions that transformed what J.R.R. Tolkien for long believed would be a far shorter book, 'a sequel to The Hobbit'. The enlargement of Bilbo's 'magic ring' into the supremely potent and dangerous Ruling Ring of the Dark Lord is traced and the precise moment is seen when, in an astonishing and unforeseen leap in the earliest narrative, a Black Rider first rode into the Shire, his significance still unknown. The character of the hobbit called Trotter (afterwards Strider or Aragorn) is developed while his indentity remains an absolute puzzle, and the suspicion only very slowly becomes certainty that he must after all be a Man. The hobbits, Frodo's companions, undergo intricate permutations of name and personality, and other major figures appear in strange modes: a sinister Treebeard, in league with the Enemy, a ferocious and malevolent Farmer Maggot.
The story in this book ends at the point where J.R.R. Tolkien halted in the story for a long time, as the Company of the Ring, still lacking Legolas and Gimli, stood before the tomb of Balin in the Mines of Moria. The Return of the Shadow is illustrated with reproductions of the first maps and notable pages from the earliest manuscripts.
#7
The Treason of Isengard
The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part Two
1989
The Treason of Isengard is the seventh volume in Christopher Tolkien's History of Middle-earth and the second in his account of the evolution of The Lord of the Rings. This book follows the long halt in the darkness of the Mines of Moria (which ended The Return of the Shadow) and traces the tale into new lands south and east of the Misty Mountains. Tolkien introduces us to Lothlorien, land of the elves, where we meet the Ents, the Riders of Rohan, and Saruman the White in the fortress of Isengard. In brief outlines and penciled drafts dashed down on scraps of paper are the first entry of Galadriel; the earliest ides of the history of Gondor; and the original meeting of Aragorn with Eowyn, its significance destined to be wholly transformed. Conceptions of what lay ahead dissolve as the story takes its own paths, as in the account of the capture of Frodo and his rescue by Sam Gamgee from Minas Morgul, written long before J.R.R. Tolkien actually reached that point in the writing of The Lord of the Rings. A chief feature of the book is a full account of the original Map, with drawings of successive phases, which was long the basis and accompaniment of the emerging geography of Middle-earth. An appendix describes the Runic alphabets of the time, with illustrations of the forms and an analysis of the Runes used in the Book of Mazarbul found beside Balin's tomb in Moria.
#8
The War of the Ring
The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part Three
1990
In The War of the Ring Christopher Tolkien takes up the story of the writing of The Lord of the Rings with the Battle of Helm's Deep and the drowning of Isengard by the Ents. This is followed by an account of how Frodo, Sam and Gollum were finally brought to the Pass of Kirith Ungol, at which point J.R.R. Tolkien wrote at the time: 'I have got the hero into such a fix that not even an author will be able to extricate him without labour and difficulty'. Then comes the war in Gondor, and the book ends with the parley between Gandalf and the ambassador of the Dark Lord before the Black Gate of Mordor. In describing his intentions for The Return of the King J.R.R. Tolkien said that 'It will probably work out very differently from this plan when it really gets written, as the thing seems to write itself once it gets going'; and in The War of the Ring totally unforeseen developmenst that would become central to the narrative are seen at the moment of their emergence: the palantir bursting into fragments on the stairs of Orthanc, its nature as unknown to the author as to those who saw it fall, or the entry of Faramir into the story ('I am sure I did not invent him, though I like him, but there he came walking into the woods of Ithilien').
The book is illustrated with plans and drawings of the changing conceptions of Orthanc, Dunharrow, Minas Tirith and the tunnels of Shelob's Lair.
#8
The War of the Ring
1990
The War of the Ring takes up the story of The Lord of the Rings with the Battle of Helm's Deep and the drowning of Isengard by the Ents, continues with the journey of Frodo, Sam and Gollum to the Pass of Cirith Ungol, describes the war in Gondor, and ends with the parley between Gandalf and the ambassador of the Dark Lord before the Black Gate of Mordor. Unforeseen developments that would become central to the narrative are seen at the moment of their emergence: the palantír bursting into fragments on the stairs of Orthanc, its nature as unknown to the author as to those who saw it fall, or the entry of Faramir into the story ('I am sure I did not invent him, I did not even want him, though I like him, but there he came walking through the woods of Ithilien').
The book is illustrated with the plans and drawings of the changing conceptions of Orthanc, Dunharrow, Minas Tirith and the tunnels of Shelob's Lair.
#9
Sauron Defeated
The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part Four
1992
The final part of The History of The Lord of the Rings, Sauron The End Of The Third Age is J.R.R. Tolkien's enthralling account of the writing of the Book of the Century which contains many additional scenes and includes the unpublished Epilogue in its entirety. In the first section of Sauron Defeated Christopher Tolkien completes his fascinating study of The Lord of the Rings . Beginning with Sam’s rescue of Frodo from the Tower of Cirith Ungol, and giving a very different account of the Scouring of the Shire, this section ends with versions of the hitherto unpublished Epilogue, in which, years after the departure of Bilbo and Frodo from the Grey Havens, Sam attempts to answer his children’s questions. The second section is an edition of The Notion Club Papers. These mysterious papers, discovered in the early years of the twenty-first century, report the discussions of an Oxford club in the years 1986-7, in which after a number of topics, the centre of interest turns to the legend of Atlantis, the strange communications received by other members of the club from the past, and the violent irruption of the legend into the North-west of Europe.
#10
Morgoth's Ring
1993
In Morgoth's Ring, the tenth volume of The History of Middle-earth and the first of two companion volumes, Christopher Tolkien describes and documents the legends of the Elder Days, as they were evolved and transformed by his father in the years before he completed The Lord of the Rings. The text of the Annals of Aman, the "Blessed Land" in the far West, is given in full. And in writings never before published, we can see the nature of the problems that J.R.R. Tolkien explored in his later years as new and radical ideas, portending upheaval in the heart of the mythology. At this time Tokien sought to redefine the old legends, and wrote of the nature and destiny of Elves, the idea of Elvish rebirth, the origins of the Orcs, and the Fall of Men. His meditation of mortality and immortality as represented in the lives of Men and Elves led to another major writing at this time, the "Debate of Finrod and Andreth," which is reproduced here in full. "Above all," Christopher Tolkien writes in his foreward, "the power and significance of Melkor-Morgoth...was enlarged to become the ground and source of the corruption of Arda." This book indeed is all about Morgoth. Incomparably greater than the power of Sauron, concentrated in the One Ring, Morgoth's power (Tolkien wrote) was dispersed into the very matter of Arda: "The whole of Middle-earth was Morgoth's Ring."
#11
The War of the Jewels
1994
A analysis of J. R. R. Tolkien's classic story of Middle Earth returns readers to the ruinous wars of Elves and Men against Morgoth, provides the full record of the "Grey Annals," and offers a detailed study of Beleriand geography with revised maps.
#12
The Peoples of Middle-earth
1996
When J.R.R. Tolkien laid aside The Silmarillion in 1937 the extension of the originall 'mythology' into later Ages of the world had scarcely begun. It was in the Appendices to The Lord of the Rings that there emerged a comprehensive historical structure and chronology of the Second and Third Ages, embracing all the diverse strands that came together in the War of the Ring. The difficulty that he found in providing these Appendices, leading to the delay in the publication of The Return of the King, is well known, but in The Peoples of Middle-earth Christopher Tolkien shows that early forms of these works already existed years before, in essays and records differing greatly from the published forms. He traces the evolution of the Calendars, the Hobbit genealogies, the Westron language or Common Speach (from which many words and names are recorded that were afterwards lost), and the chronological structure of the later Ages.
Other writings by J.R.R. Tolkien are included in this final volume of The History of MIddle-earth, chiefly deriving from his last years, when new insights and new constructions still freely arose as he pondered the history that he had created. This book concludes with two soon-abandoned stories, both unique in the setting of time and place: The New Shadow in Gondor of the Fourth Age, and the tale of Tal-elmar, in which the coming of the dreaded Númenórean ships is seen through the eyes of men of Middle-earth in the Dark Years.
#13
The History of Middle Earth Index
2002
Complete integrated indices of History of Middle-earth volumes to complement new series. For the first time every index from each of the twelve volumes of The History Of Middle-earth has been published together in a single volume - to create a supreme index charting the writing of Tolkien's masterpieces The Lord of The Rings and The Silmarillion. This stunning work of reference complements the fascinating History of Middle-earth series, now repackaged to complement the distinctive and classic style of the `black cover' A-format paperbacks of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales.
#1-2
The History of Middle-earth Box Set #1
The Silmarillion / Unfinished Tales / Book of Lost Tales, Part One / Book of Lost Tales, Part Two
2023
First in a series of hardcover box sets celebrating the literary achievement of Christopher Tolkien, featuring double-sided dustjackets. Set 1 contains special editions of THE SILMARILLION and UNFINISHED TALES reproducing the first edition text, together with the two volumes of THE BOOK OF LOST TALES. The Silmarillion is an account of the Elder Days, of the First Age of Tolkien’s World. It is 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. The tales of The Silmarillion are set in an age when Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in Middle-Earth, and the High Elves made war upon him for the recovery of the Silmarils, the jewels containing the pure light of Valinor. Unfinished Tales is a collection of narratives ranging in time from the Elder Days of Middle-earth and the rise of Númenor in the Second Age to the end of the War of the Ring, and provides those who have read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with a whole collection of background and new stories from the twentieth century’s most acclaimed popular author. 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 to the lonely Isle where the Elves dwelt; from them he learned their true history, the Lost Tales of Elfinesse. In the two volumes of the Tales are found the earliest accounts of Gods and Elves, Dwarves, Balrogs and Orcs; of the Silmarils and the Two Trees of Valinor; of the geography and cosmology of Tolkien’s invented world. Published together for the first time, these four books collect the beginning of Christopher Tolkien’s forty-year career devoted to presenting his father J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings on Middle-earth, a unique accomplishment that celebrates the greatest invented world in all of fantasy literature.
#1-5
The History Of Middle-Earth, Part One
1991
This new hardcover edition brings together the first five volumes of The History of Middle-earth—The Book of Lost Tales, Parts 1 and 2, The Lays of Beleriand,The Shaping of Middle-earth, and The Lost Road—into one volume.
J.R.R. Tolkien is famous the world over for his unique literary creation, exemplified in The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. What is less well known, however, is that he also produced a vast amount of further material that greatly expands upon the mythology and numerous stories of Middle-earth, and which gives added life to the thousand-year war between the Elves and the evil spirit Morgoth, and his terrifying lieutenant, Sauron.
It was to this enormous task of literary construction that Tolkien’s youngest son and literary heir, Christopher, applied himself to produce the monumental and endlessly fascinating series of twelve volumes, The History of Middle-earth.
#3-5
The History of Middle-earth (Boxed Set 2)
The Lays of Beleriand, The Shaping of Middle-earth & The Lost Road
2024
Second in a series of hardback boxed sets celebrating the literary achievement of Christopher Tolkien, featuring double-sided dustjackets. Includes THE LAYS OF BELERIAND, THE SHAPING OF MIDDLE-EARTH and THE LOST ROAD, which contain the early myths and legends that led to the writings of THE SILMARILLION.
The Lays of Beleriand 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 Túrin and of Beren and Lúthien. Accompanying the poems are commentaries on the evolution of the history of the Elder Days, together with the notable criticism of The Lay of Leithian by C.S. Lewis, who read the poem in 1929.
In The Shaping of Middle-earth the chronological and geographical structure of the legends of Middle-earth and Valinor is spread before us. We are introduced to the hitherto unknown Ambarkanta or ‘Shape of the World’, the only account ever given of the nature of the imagined Universe, accompanied by maps and diagrams of the world before and after the cataclysms of the War of the Gods and the Downfall of Númenor. Also included are the original ‘Silmarillion’ of 1926, and the Quenta Noldorinwa of 1930 – the only version of the myths and legends of the First Age that J.R.R. Tolkien completed to their end.
The Lost Road completes the examination of Tolkien’s writing completes the examination of Tolkien's writing before he began The Lord of the Rings, presenting later forms of the annals of Valinor and Beleriand, the legend of the downfall of Númenor, and the abandoned ‘time-travel’ story The Lost Road, linking the world of Númenor and Middle-earth with the legends of many other times and peoples.
Published together for the first time, these three books comprise a fascinating period of Christopher Tolkien’s forty-year career devoted to presenting his father J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings on Middle-earth, itself a unique accomplishment that celebrates the greatest invented world in all of fantasy literature.
#6-9
The History of Middle-earth (Boxed Set 3)
The Return of the Shadow, The Treason of Isengard, The War of the Ring & Sauron Defeated
2024
Third in a series of hardcover box sets celebrating the literary achievement of Christopher Tolkien, featuring double-sided dust jackets—one side featuring artwork by John Howe, and the original graphic treatment on the other. Set 3 contains The Return of the Shadow, The Treason of Isengard, The War of the Ring, and Sauron Defeated (Books 6–9 of The History of Middle-earth).
The Return of the Shadow is the story of the first part of the history of the creation of The Lord of the Rings, a fascinating study of Tolkien’s great masterpiece, from its inception to the end of the first volume, The Fellowship of the Ring.
The Treason of Isengard continues the account of the creation of The Lord of the Rings started in the earlier volume, tracing the great expansion of the tale into new lands and peoples south and east of the Misty Mountains: the emergence of Lothlorien, of Ents, of the Riders of Rohan, and of Saruman the White in the fortress of Isengard.
The War of the Ring takes up the story with the Battle of Helm’s Deep and the drowning of Isengard by the Ents; continues with the journey of Frodo, Sam, and Gollum to the Pass of Cirith Ungol; describes the war in Gondor; and ends with the parley between Gandalf and the ambassador of the Dark Lord before the Black Gate of Mordor.
Sauron Defeated completes Christopher Tolkien’s fascinating study of The Lord of the Rings, beginning with Sam’s rescue of Frodo from the Tower of Cirith Ungol, and giving a very different account of the Scouring of the Shire, with many additional scenes and the unpublished Epilogue in its entirety.
Published together for the first time, these four books collect a fascinating period of Christopher Tolkien’s forty-year career devoted to presenting his father J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings on Middle-earth, a unique accomplishment that celebrates the greatest invented world in all of fantasy literature.
#10-12
The History of Middle-earth
Part Three
2003
A new one-volume edition of the final three books in The History of Middle-earth – designed to perfectly complement Parts I & II.
J.R.R. Tolkien is famous the world over for his unique literary creation, exemplified in The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. What is less well known, however, is that he also produced a vast amount of further material that greatly expands upon the mythology and numerous stories of Middle-earth, and which gives added life to the thousand-year war between the Elves and the evil spirit Morgoth, and his terrifying lieutenant, Sauron.
It was to this enormous task of literary construction that his Tolkien’s youngest son and literary heir, Christopher, applied himself to produce the monumental and endlessly fascinating series of 12 books, The History of Middle-earth.
This hardback edition brings together the final three volumes of The History of Middle-earth – Morgoth’s Ring, The War of the Jewels and The Peoples of Middle-earth.
Epic in scope and extent, and featuring rare maps and illustrations drawn by J.R.R. Tolkien, this final volume of the trilogy presents the reader with a unique opportunity to collect the complete set of The Complete History of Middle-earth in an attractive and lasting edition.
#10-13
The History of Middle-earth (Boxed Set 4)
Morgoth’s Ring, The War of the Jewels, The Peoples of Middle-earth & Index
2024
Fourth in a series of hardcover box sets celebrating the literary achievement of Christopher Tolkien, featuring double-sided dust jackets—one side featuring artwork by John Howe, and the original graphic treatment on the other. Set 4 contains Morgoth’s Ring, The War of the Jewels, The Peoples of Middle-earth (Books 10–12 of The History of Middle-earth) and The History of Middle-earth Index.
Morgoth’s Ring is the first of two companion volumes documenting the later writing of The Silmarillion. The text of the Annals of Aman, the “Blessed Land” in the far West, is given in full; while further writings reveal the nature of the problems that Tolkien explored in his later years, as new and radical ideas, portending upheaval in the old narratives, emerged at the heart of the mythology.
The War of the Jewels continues the account of the later history of The Silmarillion, as the story returns to Middle-earth, and the ruinous conflict of the High Elves and the Men who were their allies with the power of the Dark Lord.
The Peoples of Middle-earth is this capstone to Tolkien’s history of Middle-earth, presenting a chronology of the later Ages, the Hobbit genealogies, and the Western language or Common Speech. Here too are valuable writings from Tolkien’s last years: “The New Shadow,” in Gondor of the Fourth Age, and “Tal-elmar,” the tale of the coming of the Numenorean ships.
The History of Middle-earth Index presents the comprehensive indices of all twelve History of Middle-earth volumes in a single, easily referenced edition, serving as an essential complement to this extraordinary work.
Published together for the first time, these four books collect a fascinating period of Christopher Tolkien’s forty-year career devoted to presenting his father J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings on Middle-earth, a unique accomplishment that celebrates the greatest invented world in all of fantasy literature.
Authors
J.R.R. Tolkien
Author · 149 books
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien: writer, artist, scholar, linguist. Known to millions around the world as the author of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien spent most of his life teaching at the University of Oxford where he was a distinguished academic in the fields of Old and Middle English and Old Norse. His creativity, confined to his spare time, found its outlet in fantasy works, stories for children, poetry, illustration and invented languages and alphabets. Tolkien’s most popular works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set in Middle-earth, an imagined world with strangely familiar settings inhabited by ancient and extraordinary peoples. Through this secondary world Tolkien writes perceptively of universal human concerns – love and loss, courage and betrayal, humility and pride – giving his books a wide and enduring appeal. Tolkien was an accomplished amateur artist who painted for pleasure and relaxation. He excelled at landscapes and often drew inspiration from his own stories. He illustrated many scenes from The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, sometimes drawing or painting as he was writing in order to visualize the imagined scene more clearly. Tolkien was a professor at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford for almost forty years, teaching Old and Middle English, as well as Old Norse and Gothic. His illuminating lectures on works such as the Old English epic poem, Beowulf, illustrate his deep knowledge of ancient languages and at the same time provide new insights into peoples and legends from a remote past. Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 1892 to English parents. He came to England aged three and was brought up in and around Birmingham. He graduated from the University of Oxford in 1915 and saw active service in France during the First World War before being invalided home. After the war he pursued an academic career teaching Old and Middle English. Alongside his professional work, he invented his own languages and began to create what he called a mythology for England; it was this ‘legendarium’ that he would work on throughout his life. But his literary work did not start and end with Middle-earth, he also wrote poetry, children’s stories and fairy tales for adults. He died in 1973 and is buried in Oxford where he spent most of his adult life.
