Best Selling Books by Christopher Tolkien

The Great Tales of Middle-earth is a beautiful boxed set of the three final novels of Middle-earth: Children of Húrin, Beren and Lúthien, and The Fall of Gondolin, packaged together for the first time. Completing Christopher Tolkien''s lifelong achievement as the editor and curator of his father J.R.R. Tolkien''s manuscripts, The Great Tales features handsome color plates and maps by famed illustrator Alan Lee. The Children of Húrin was the first complete book by J.R.R.Tolkien since the 1977 publication of The Silmarillion. Six thousand years before the One Ring is destroyed, Middle-earth lies under the shadow of the Dark Lord Morgoth. The greatest warriors among elves and men have perished, and all is in darkness and despair. But a deadly new leader rises, Túrin, son of Húrin, and with his grim band of outlaws begins to turn the tide in the war for Middle-earth--awaiting the day he confronts his destiny and the deadly curse laid upon him. 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. 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. The Fall of Gondolin completes the set and tells the story of the destruction of the legendary city of Gondolin at the hands of evil Morgoth in retaliation against Ulmo, the Lord of the Waters, who favors man. At core is the tale of Tuor, cousin of Túrin, his wife, Idril, daughter of Turgon, king of Gondolin, and their child, Eärendel, who became great in Gondolin, but had to flee the blazing wreckage of his home when Morgoth attacked. Each hardcover volume includes color plates and black and white maps by award-winning illustrator Alan Lee.

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.

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.

Second in a series of hardcover box sets celebrating the literary achievement of Christopher Tolkien, featuring double-sided dust jackets. Set 2 contains The Lays of Beleriand, The Shaping of Middle-earth, and The Lost Road (Books 3-5 of The History of Middle-earth). 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 Turin and Luthien. Accompanying the poems are commentaries on the evolution of the history of the Elder Days. Also included is 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 Numenor. The Lost Road 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 Numenor, and the abandoned "time-travel" story "The Lost Road," linking the world of Numenor and Middle-earth with the legends of many other times and peoples. Published together for the first time, these three 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.

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 dwe 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.

For generations, J R R Tolkien''s words have brought to thrilling life a world of hobbits, magic, and historic myth, woken from its foggy slumber within our minds. Here, he tells the tales in his own voice.

This very special collector''s edition brings together all twelve books into three hardcover volumes--more than 5,000 pages of fascinating Tolkien material--and places them in one matching box. The History Of Middle-Earth Boxed Set is a treasured boxed set for every Tolkien fan. 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.

"Includes comprehension questions, vocabulary, and questions for class discussion, essays, and projects." Also includes chronology of Tolkien''s life and quotations from The letters of J.R.R Tolkien, edited by Humphrey Carpenter and Christopher Tolkien.