The Lord of the Rings: A Readers Companion

(Hardback, 60th Anniversary edition)

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Description

A unique companion to The Lord of the Rings which relates the textual history of the Nations Favourite Read; with a previously unpublished Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings, written by Tolkien himself.
In The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion internationally acclaimed scholars Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull examine Tolkien's masterpiece chapter by chapter, offering expert insights into its evolution, structure, and meaning. They discuss important influences on its development, connections between that work and other writings by Tolkien, errors and inconsistencies, significant changes to the text, and archaic and unusual words used by Tolkien. Thousands of notes, keyed to standard editions of The Lord of the Rings but universally accessible, reveal the richness and complexity of one of the most popular works of fiction in our time.

Extensive reference is made also to writings by Tolkien not previously or widely published, including elaborate time-schemes, an unfinished manuscript index to The Lord of the Rings, and most notably, the important Nomenclature or guide to names in The Lord of the Rings prepared for the use of translators, long out of print and now newly transcribed and printed in its entirety.

With these resources at hand, even the most seasoned reader of The Lord of the Rings will come to a greater enjoyment and appreciation of Tolkien's magnificent achievement.

Published originally in 2005, the Readers Companion won the annual Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inkling Studies. It has now been revised and updated to mark the 60th anniversary of The Lord of the Rings.

Reviews

Masterpiece Oh yes, Ive no doubt about that.
Evening Standard

Among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the 20th century.
Sunday Telegraph

Author Bio

Wayne G. Hammond, is Assistant Librarian in the Chapin Library of Rare Books, Williams College, author of the standard bibliography of Tolkiens works, J.R.R. Tolkien: A Descriptive Bibliography (1993), and a regular contributor of Tolkiens notes to the journal Mythlore. He also lectures on the history of printing and illustration and is a practising book designer and graphic artist making him the ideal co-author of the acclaimed study of Tolkiens paintings and drawings, J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist & Illustrator. His wife Christina Scull is the former librarian of Sir John Soanes Museum, London, author of The Soane Hogarths (1991) and the editor of the magazine The Tolkien Collector. The couple live in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Christina Scull is the former librarian of Sir John Soanes Museum, London. She is the author of The Soane Hogarths (1991), edits the journal The Tolkien Collector, and frequently writes and speaks about Tolkien. Her husband, Wayne G. Hammond, is Assistant Librarian in the Chapin Library of Rare Books, Williams College, author of the standard bibliography of Tolkiens works, J.R.R. Tolkien: A Descriptive Bibliography (1993), and a regular contributor of Tolkiens notes to the journal Mythlore. He also lectures on the history of printing and illustration and is a practising book designer and graphic artist making him the ideal co-author of the acclaimed study of Tolkiens paintings and drawings, J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist & Illustrator. The couple live in Williamstown, Massachusetts.