Beren And Lúthien

Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 132878486X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 301

Book Description
Painstakingly restored from J.R.R. Tolkien’s manuscripts and presented for the first time as a continuous and standalone story, the epic tale of Beren and Lúthien will reunite fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Men, Dwarves and Orcs and the rich landscape and creatures unique to Tolkien’s Middle-earth. The tale of Beren and Lúthien was, or became, an essential element in the evolution of The Silmarillion, the myths and legends of the First Age of the World conceived by J.R.R. Tolkien. Returning from France and the battle of the Somme at the end of 1916, he wrote the tale in the following year. Essential to the story, and never changed, is the fate that shadowed the love of Beren and Lúthien: for 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. This is the kernel of the legend; and it leads to the supremely heroic attempt of Beren and Lúthien together to rob the greatest of all evil beings, Melkor, called Morgoth, the Black Enemy, of a Silmaril. In this book Christopher Tolkien has attempted to extract the story of Beren and Lúthien from the comprehensive work in which it was embedded; but that story was itself changing as it developed new associations within the larger history. To show something of the process whereby this legend of Middle-earth evolved over the years, he 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 that illustrate the narrative as it changed. Presented together for the first time, they reveal aspects of the story, both in event and in narrative immediacy, that were afterwards lost.

The Digested Read

Author: John Crace
Publisher: RDR Books
ISBN: 9781571431592
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 296

Book Description
Literary ombudsman John Crace never met an important book he didn't like to deconstruct. From Salman Rushdie to John Grisham, Crace retells the big books in just 500 bitingly satirical words, pointing his pen at the clunky plots, stylistic tics and pretensions of Big Ideas, as he turns publishers' golden dream books into dross.

Tales from the Perilous Realm

Author: John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780547154114
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 444

Book Description
Never before published in a single volume, Tolkien's four novellas ("Farmer Giles of Ham, Leaf by Niggle, Smith of Wootton Major," and "Roverandom") and one book of poems ("The Adventures of Tom Bombadil") are gathered together in a fully illustrated set.

The Nature of Middle-Earth

Author: J. R. R. Tolkien
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 0358454603
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 467

Book Description
It is well known that J.R.R. Tolkien published The Hobbit in 1937 and The Lord of the Rings in 1954-5. What may be less known is that he continued to write about Middle-earth in the decades that followed, right up until the years before his death in 1973. For him, Middle-earth was part of an entire world to be explored, and the writings in The Nature of Middle-earth reveal the journeys that he took as he sought to better understand his unique creation. He discusses sweeping themes as profound as Elvish immortality and reincarnation, and the Powers of the Valar, to the more earth-bound subjects of the lands and beasts of Númenor and the geography of the Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor.

Tolkien's Requiem

Author: John Carswell
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780692744543
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 98

Book Description
'I will tell you the tale of Tinúviel,' said Strider, 'in brief - for it is a long tale of which the end is not known . . . though it is sad, as are all tales of Middle-earth . . . yet it may lift up your hearts.' The shared gravestone of J.R.R. Tolkien and his wife Edith bears two simple epitaphs: "Lúthien" for Edith and "Beren" for Tolkien himself. These names reference two characters from The Silmarillion, the early Middle-earth legends that Tolkien spent his entire adult life developing. Beren and Lúthien are a pair of fated lovers who set out on a perilous quest to wrest a coveted Silmaril from the grasp of the demonic Morgoth. In the process they do battle with Sauron, the cruel antagonist of The Lord of the Rings. This in-depth exploration of the story brings together various threads of The Silmarillion and seeks to treat the tale of Beren and Lúthien as something like wisdom literature. Numerous insights are extracted in order to bring the reader to a deeper appreciation of the entirety of The Silmarillion. In the process, a helpful introduction is provided to those seeking a start on The Silmarillion as well as to those seeking to understand how The Silmarillion relates to The Lord of the Rings. All readers will come away with a better understanding of the legend that Tolkien himself called "the kernel" of the Middle-earth mythology.

The Art of the Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Author: Wayne G. Hammond
Publisher: William Morrow
ISBN: 9780547928258
Category : Fantasy fiction, English
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
Analyzes and illuminates Tolkien's lesser-known achievements as an artist and collects the complete artwork created for "The Hobbit, " including over one hundred sketches, paintings, maps, and plans.

The Silmarillion

Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0547951981
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 339

Book Description
The #1 New York Times Bestseller The Silmarillion is the core of J.R.R. Tolkien's imaginative writing, a work whose origins stretch back to a time long before The Hobbit. This mythopoetic masterpiece is a must-read before you watch The Lord of the Rings on Amazon. “Majestic! ... Readers of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings will find in The Silmarillion a cosmology to call their own, medieval romances, fierce fairy tales, and fiercer wars that ring with heraldic fury... It overwhelms the reader.”—Time The story of the creation of the world and of the First Age, this 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 three Silmarils were jewels created by Fëanor, most gifted of the Elves. Within them was imprisoned the Light of the Two Trees of Valinor before the Trees themselves were destroyed by Morgoth, the first Dark Lord. Thereafter, the unsullied Light of Valinor lived on only in the Silmarils, but they were seized by Morgoth and set in his crown, which was guarded in the impenetrable fortress of Angband in the north of Middle-earth. The Silmarillion is the history of the rebellion of Fëanor and his kindred against the gods, their exile from Valinor and return to Middle-earth, and their war, hopeless despite all their heroism, against the great Enemy. “A creation of singular beauty ... magnificent in its best moments.”—The Washington Post “Heart-lifting ... a work of power, eloquence and noble vision... Superb!”—The Wall Street Journal

Tolkien’s Theology of Beauty

Author: Lisa Coutras
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137553456
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 281

Book Description
In this book, Lisa Coutras explores the structure and complexity of J.R.R. Tolkien’s narrative theology, synthesizing his Christian worldview with his creative imagination. She illustrates how, within the framework of a theological aesthetics, transcendental beauty is the unifying principle that integrates all aspects of Tolkien’s writing, from pagan despair to Christian joy. J.R.R. Tolkien’s Christianity is often held in an unsteady tension with the pagan despair of his mythic world. Some critics portray these as incompatible, while Christian analysis tends to oversimplify the presence of religious symbolism. This polarity of opinion testifies to the need for a unifying interpretive lens. The fact that Tolkien saw his own writing as “religious” and “Catholic,” yet was preoccupied with pagan mythology, nature, language, and evil, suggests that these areas were wholly integrated with his Christian worldview. Tolkien’s Theology of Beauty examines six structural elements, demonstrating that the author’s Christianity is deeply embedded in the narrative framework of his creative imagination.

The Dark Powers of Tolkien

Author: David Day
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 0753733218
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Book Description
J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and The Silmarillion are some of the greatest tales of good versus evil ever told. From the creation of Arda to the War of the Ring, Tolkien's Middle-earth has seen war and rebellion, devastation and loss, in which the powers of darkness emerged. Here in his latest book, best-selling author and Tolkien expert David Day explores Tolkien's portrayal of evil, and the sources that inspired his work: from myth, literature and history. This work is unofficial and is not authorized by the Tolkien Estate or HarperCollins Publishers.

To Middle-Earth and Back Again

Author: Kaitlyn Facista
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780692166253
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 180

Book Description
Journey through J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-Earth and back again with this new companion journal and devotional by Tea with Tolkien. Chapter by chapter, grow in Hobbit-ness and Holiness as you reflect on major themes, quotes, and characters from The Lord of the Rings.This workbook journal explores Tolkien's Catholic faith and the influence it had on his writings, inspiring you to reflection and action as we seek to carry the spirit of Middle-Earth into our own daily lives through journaling prompts, discussion topics, and tangible action items. Journey alongside Frodo, Samwise, and the other members of the Fellowship of the Ring as they each play their parts in the War of the Ring; and as they come to the final chapters of their tale, you may find yourself altogether changed as well. For each chapter of The Lord of the Rings, this workbook includes: a chapter summary; space for note-taking; a short reflection on a theme, quote, or character; and discussion and/or reflection prompts. This workbook also features several "On the Road" bonus sections concerning certain characters and events, such as Tom Bombadil and the Gifts of Galadriel, where we can take the time to dig deeper into Tolkien's legendarium.