The History of Middle-earth (Boxed Set 2): The Lays of Beleriand, The Shaping of Middle-earth & The Lost Road (The History of Middle-earth)

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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 Tolkiens world those of Trin and of Beren and Lthien. 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 Nmenor. 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 Tolkiens 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 Nmenor, and the abandoned time-travel story The Lost Road, linking the world of Nmenor 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 Tolkiens forty-year career devoted to presenting his father J.R.R. Tolkiens writings on Middle-earth, itself a unique accomplishment that celebrates the greatest invented world in all of fantasy literature.

Reviews

A worthy addition to The History of Middle-earth Mallorn

Anyone loving the original books will want to study this one Daily Mail

Illustrates the development, depth and richness of J R R Tolkiens personal mythology Vector

Christopher Tolkien shows himself to be his fathers son Tolkien devotees will rejoice The New York Times Book Review

Author Bio

J.R.R.Tolkien (1892-1973) was a distinguished academic, though he is best known for writing The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, plus other stories and essays. His books have been translated into over 60 languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide. Christopher Tolkien, born on 21 November 1924, is the third son of J.R.R. Tolkien. During the Second World War he served in the Royal Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm as a pilot. At the end of the war he returned to Oxford University and became a Fellow and Tutor in English of New College in 1964, lecturing in the University on early English and northern literature. Appointed by J.R.R. Tolkien to be his literary executor, he has devoted himself since his father's death in 1973 to the editing and publication of unpublished writings, notably The Silmarillion and Beowulf, and the collections entitled Unfinished Tales and The History of Middle-earth. Since 1975 he has lived in France with his wife Baillie.