"The Fall of Gondolin" Due Out August 30th, 2018

[Morthoron]

Here are the particulars from the Tolkien Society:

https://www.tolkiensociety.org/2018/...-be-published/

It will be interesting to see how much of this will be just reprinted material from previous Tolkien sources. I have to hand it to Christopher Tolkien, though -- he is quite cagey, lengthening the family copyrights on much of his father's corpus long after its original inclusion in The Silmarillion, published in 1977.

But it will be 304 pages long (must be very LARGE print), and will have Alan Lee illustrations.

[Huinesoron]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Seriously, if you'd told me back when I first read the Silmarillion that I could one day have illustrated copies of the Great Tales sitting as novels on my bookshelf, I would've laughed you off the stage. This is amazing.

Sadly, I think it's unlikely there will be anything new (other than the art) in the book: it'll be like Beren and Luthien, a compilation of the various versions. I imagine it will start with Of Tuor... and then segue into the 1917 Fall of Gondolin to finish the story. Then... might we dare hope for the various fragments of the Earendil tale to round it off? I don't remember a Gondolin poem that could provide an alternative, so...

The big question in my mind is: is this the last one? The obvious answer is yes: Christopher has now managed to get all three of his father's Great Tales released as their own books, which given how much the Professor cared for them - the Children of Hurin he spent the most time on, the intensely personal Beren and Luthien, and now the Fall of Gondolin which began it all and which the entire history pivoted on - would probably have been one of the Professor's goals had he not been able to publish the Silm itself.

But there is the possibility of no, and more forthcoming... what about a Lee-illustrated Akallabeth, drawing on the 'Notion Club Papers' and the 'Lost Road' (and maybe 'Aldarion and Erendis'?) to flesh out the sparser parts of the completed work? A dream, maybe - but not one outside the realm of possibility.

hS

PS: But, er... are the publishers drunk?

Originally Posted by From the Publishers

But [Ulmo] works in secret in Middle-earth to support the Noldor, the kindred of the Elves among whom were numbered Húrin and Túrin Turambar.

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by huinesoron

the big question in my mind is: Is this the last one? The obvious answer is yes: Christopher has now managed to get all three of his father's great tales released as their own books, which given how much the professor cared for them - the children of hurin he spent the most time on, the intensely personal beren and luthien, and now the fall of gondolin which began it all and which the entire history pivoted on - would probably have been one of the professor's goals had he not been able to publish the silm itself.

But there is the possibility of no, and more forthcoming... What about a lee-illustrated akallabeth, drawing on the 'notion club papers' and the 'lost road' (and maybe 'aldarion and erendis'?) to flesh out the sparser parts of the completed work? A dream, maybe - but not one outside the realm of possibility.

Ps: But, er... Are the publishers drunk?

I don't see C. Tolkien venturing down the publishing path again; in fact, I am surprised he managed to eke this one out at his august age.

As far as the publisher's blurb, perhaps in some very early version of the FoG that the general reading public has no knowledge of, Húrin and Túrin are Gnomes or something. Either that, or they screwed up the quote, which is more likely.

[Formendacil]

Ever since we got wind of Beren and Lúthien, I wanted this, just to round out the set of the three great tales, but I didn't think it would actually happen, since the vibe from Beren and Lúthien really seemed to suggest it was CT's swansong--and his retirement as head of the Tolkien Estate appeared to confirm that.

I'm with Morth in wondering how it'll come out to 300+ pages, since Huinesoron's right that there's no epic poem this time around. Obviously, we'll probably get the full text out of The Book of Lost Tales and it does seem to be indicated that we'll get a fairly full treatment of Eärendil, so far as that's possible. This is likely to be lengthier than Beren and Lúthien's treatment of the Nauglamír and Elwing, because while even more fragmentary, the early years in particular left quite a few fragments--but those were treated fairly completely in the BoLT, and CT's approach with both The Children of Húrin and Beren and Lúthien has been to provide a commentary-lite, nearly footnote free straightforward text, presumably for the benefit of the more general reader daunted by the HoME. I'll be fascinated to see what we get.

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by Formendacil

I'm with Morth in wondering how it'll come out to 300+ pages, since Huinesoron's right that there's no epic poem this time around. Obviously, we'll probably get the full text out of The Book of Lost Tales and it does seem to be indicated that we'll get a fairly full treatment of Eärendil, so far as that's possible. This is likely to be lengthier than Beren and Lúthien's treatment of the Nauglamír and Elwing, because while even more fragmentary, the early years in particular left quite a few fragments--but those were treated fairly completely in the BoLT, and CT's approach with both The Children of Húrin and Beren and Lúthien has been to provide a commentary-lite, nearly footnote free straightforward text, presumably for the benefit of the more general reader daunted by the HoME. I'll be fascinated to see what we get.

I am guessing the 300+ pages will be filled in appendices, footnotes and postscripts, as C. Tolkien has a penchant for addenda.

[Inziladun]

Today I saw this article about it.

The author seems pretty well versed in Tolkien (he ought to be, since he states he "designed and taught a university course devoted to J.R.R. Tolkien’s singular oeuvre), and all in all, I think he makes a nice pitch for it.

He had to end with this though:

Last year, Amazon Studios purchased the rights to produce a new television series set in Middle-earth. (Amazon’s founder and chief executive, Jeffrey P. Bezos, owns The Washington Post.) It’s an exciting prospect. With the right showrunners and writers, ones who recognize the value of etymology, that project could very well invite another generation of adventurers into this wondrous realm. If Christopher Tolkien’s yeomanlike work on “The Fall of Gondolin” does indeed represent the end of an age, it might also — like the destruction of the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom — point to the start of another.

Ah, optimism.

[skip spence]

Originally Posted by Formendacil

Ever since we got wind of Beren and Lúthien, I wanted this, just to round out the set of the three great tales, but I didn't think it would actually happen, since the vibe from Beren and Lúthien really seemed to suggest it was CT's swansong--and his retirement as head of the Tolkien Estate appeared to confirm that.

I'm with Morth in wondering how it'll come out to 300+ pages, since Huinesoron's right that there's no epic poem this time around. Obviously, we'll probably get the full text out of The Book of Lost Tales and it does seem to be indicated that we'll get a fairly full treatment of Eärendil, so far as that's possible. This is likely to be lengthier than Beren and Lúthien's treatment of the Nauglamír and Elwing, because while even more fragmentary, the early years in particular left quite a few fragments--but those were treated fairly completely in the BoLT, and CT's approach with both The Children of Húrin and Beren and Lúthien has been to provide a commentary-lite, nearly footnote free straightforward text, presumably for the benefit of the more general reader daunted by the HoME. I'll be fascinated to see what we get.

Sooo... Hasn't anyone of you guys gone and bought it yet? And maybe even read it? *curious*

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by skip spence

Sooo... Hasn't anyone of you guys gone and bought it yet? And maybe even read it? *curious*

I haven't yet, though I ordered the HC from Amazon. Honestly, the day of release came and went without my noting. Stupid RL.

[Ivriniel]

Hello there Morthoron, great to see your post and the news. It's been a while since contact here, and certainly it's Summer hear, so the Balrogs are skiing over the Northern Hemisphere's mountains, and the we have the Silmaril here, which should morph to the Arkenstone on the Solstice.

Thank you for posting the news. I am very happy anticipating the release. I love the mythology of Turgon's journey. Aredhel, at times I find annoying, and wish she, not Maeglin was tossed over the cliffs, although as a Heclaraxe (spelling error deliberate) survivor, more often I stir with nostalgia about her.

I am hoping the book has a story told very like the Silmarillian, and yet with materials that might help us decode some of the fuzzier unclear areas of the works, such as a little more on the Pereldar, and the twins Elros and Elrond.