Revised and Expanded Edition of the Letters

[Morthoron]

I have always wondered about the efficiency of the postal service in the Shire. Evidently, there were quite a few slowcoach hobbits delivering the mail.

[Mithadan]

Thanks for the heads up, Bethberry!

This is actually quite intriguing. Letters is a fascinating combination of (1) correspondence to Tolkien's fans and critics regarding his writings including many fascinating nuggets of insight, and (2) correspondence to family and friends tending towards the personal, some providing glimpses of his life and personality and others revealing what could be characterized as the drudgery (as well as the benefits) of academia. The first category includes material regarding the process of drafting his works, musings on the underpinnings, philosophical as well as his inspirations, of Middle Earth. Regarding the latter, I wish I had a dollar for every time Tolkien apologized for being late about anything.

It will be interesting to see an additional 150 letters, though I worry about why they were excluded when the first edition was published. I suspect all here will forgive me if I am a bit skeptical when I hear about "new" materials by Tolkien being published considering what has been released since HoME 12.

[Formendacil]

I share Mithadan's scepticism about the real value of the expansion--this is very late going in the publication of Tolkien's original works, and I fully expect that anything "new" is going to be on the order of the nuggets in The Nature of Middle-earth.

But I was still glad to get The Nature of Middle-earth, and a fuller Letters (or a supplement, or a volume II) has been something I've wanted since about 2000, when I read the original volume for the first time and realised they hadn't published them ALL. So I'm excited, but in a very realistic way--I know I'll be spending 40 or 50 dollars on a hardcover with three-to-five minorly interesting tidbits in it.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Apparently this version with 500 letters is the original edition Carpenter and CRT prepared. But Unwins thought it was too long to have a hope of breaking even, so they insisted it be curt down in size. So, in one way, there's nothing "new." Call it the Director's Cut.

[Arvegil145]

Wait, wasn't it supposed to come out in November this year?

Also, what does the "vision for publishing his 'Tales of the Three Ages'" mean exactly?

[Mithadan]

When is the release date?

[Bêthberry]

The revised and expanded edition of The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien will be published in hardback by HarperCollins in the UK and William Morrow in the USA. It will be released on 9 November 2023 in the UK and 14 November in the USA, with translations in other countries to follow. The book will be over 700 pages in length.

from the website of the Tolkien Society, https://www.tolkiensociety.org/2023/...-be-published/

I wonder where I got the January 2024 date in the first post.

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin

Apparently this version with 500 letters is the original edition Carpenter and CRT prepared. But Unwins thought it was too long to have a hope of breaking even, so they insisted it be curt down in size. So, in one way, there's nothing "new." Call it the Director's Cut.

This makes a lot of sense. The original letters is quite a substantial paperback as it is and I am pretty sure it would have had to be physically type set at that time.. I did hope their might have been some extras made relevant by the publication of HoME in the interim but I am still looking forward to this vey much

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Just arrived; I'm pleased to say that it appears to have a much expanded and improved index (the old one was pretty marginal)

[Bêthberry]

http://https://menelrond.blogspot.com/2023/11/tolkien-and-physical-economy-of-post.html?fbclid=IwAR2lXhXvrX6o2a-L3Jt9KgnrrZMwBIpv-z0a34onU-bgLtgMUPLV7f5pMJA

Note: This review is by a Tolkienist with considerable credibility.