Promotional Information

/ Key title Painstakingly restored from Tolkien's manuscripts and presented for the first time as a fully continuous and standalone story, the epic tale of The Children of Hurin will reunite fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Men, dragons and Dwarves, eagles and Orcs, and the rich landscape and characters unique to Tolkien. / The first complete standalone Middle-earth book by J.R.R. Tolkien since The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. / Includes an exclusive new map of the region by Christopher Tolkien (who drew the original maps for The Lord of the Rings) and jacket, colour paintings and black/white drawings by Alan Lee (illustrator of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and Oscar(R)-winning designer of the film trilogy). / This special one-off slipcased edition, quarterbound in quality materials and embossed to match the classic de luxe editions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, will prove irresistible to collectors and fans and as an attractive gift. / Also publishing the HB edition (ISBN: 0-00-724622-6) / Competition: None

About the Author

J.R.R. Tolkien CBE was born on 3rd January 1892. Best known for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, selling 150 million copies in more than 40 languages, he died in 1973 aged 81. Christopher Tolkien, born on 21st November 1924, is the third son of J.R.R. Tolkien. He lectured on early English and northern literature at New College, Oxford, becoming a Fellow and Tutor in 1964. As literary executor, he has devoted himself to the publication of his father's unpublished writings, notably The Silmarillion and The History of Middle-earth. He lives in France.

Reviews

"It has seemed to me for a long time that there was a good case for presenting my father's long version of the legend of the Children of Hurin as an independent work, between its own covers, with a minimum of editorial presence, and above all in continuous narrative without gaps or interruptions, if this could be done without distortion or invention, despite the unfinished state in which he left some parts of it." Christopher Tolkien

Having rummaged through his father's multitudinous papers for 30 years, Christopher Tolkien was finally able to pull together the various pieces (some previously published) that make up this story-important background for the creation of Middle-earth. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Adult/High School-While much of the material here was published posthumously in books like The Silmarillion (1985) and Unfinished Tales (1988, both Del Rey), Tolkien delivered it in a loosely connected way that made it difficult to read. Edited by his son, this new volume draws from both of these earlier sources to pull together a complete single narrative set in pre-Hobbit Middle Earth. Trin, son of the human lord Hrin and the elven lady Morwen, becomes a pivotal force in the ongoing battle against evil in an epic adventure full of intrigue and clever battle scenes. The early parts of the story focus on Trin's young life. As an adult, he is wrongly judged for the death of an elf and banished for the rest of his life. He manages to become the leader of a ragtag band of forest outlaws that cause no end of problems for forces of evil trying to usurp the kingdom. Trin is charismatic, brave, cocky, and as equally skilled at getting into trouble as he is at getting out of it. Lee's black-and-white drawings and full-color paintings come from the traditions of fantasy illustration and offer dramatic visuals throughout the book. The language and vocabulary, especially in the dialogue, might intimidate casual readers, but ambitious fans of fantasy will find a work that reminds them why we continue to place Tolkien at the zenith of fantasy literature after so many years.-Matthew L. Moffett, Pohick Regional Library, Burke, VA Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.