New Tolkien Books:updates

[davem]

My assumption on what it is likely to contain is, apart from the new map CT has created for it & the Alan Lee cover & illustrations, the whole Narn as we have it in The Sil & UT, a Prologue setting out the context of the story & hopefully the Wanderings of Hurin, either incorporated into the main text or as an Appendix.

I expect it to find its way to the top of the best seller lists - & it will be nice to see one of Tolkien's 'darker' works easily available to the general reader.

First of all, there is a certain incredulity. I mean, this almost feels as if it goes against the grain of everything Christopher Tolkien has done or said in the entire HoME. But, on the other hand, it seems to harken back to the earlier days of publishing the Silmarillion, when he took a bit more artistic license, and filled out some scrappy texts.

Well, CT has carte blanche as regards his father's work. Lalwende has given us the relevant part of Tolkien's will:

’Upon Trust to allow my son Christopher full access to the same* in order that he may act as my Literary Executor with full power to publish edit alter rewrite or complete any work of mine which may be unpublished at my death or to destroy the whole or any part or parts of any such unpublished works as he in his absolute discretion may think fit and subject thereto’

*unpublished works

The amount of work CT has put in over the years, culminating in this volume, is something we should all be grateful for. Hopefully it won't be too expensive - we've got Rateliff's 'Mr Baggins' out the following month...