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J.R.R.Tolkien (1892-1973) was a distinguished academic, though he is best known for writing The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, plus other stories and essays. His books have been translated into over 50 languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on the 3rd January, 1892 at Bloemfontein in the Orange Free State, but at the age of four he and his brother were taken back to England by their mother. After his father's death the family moved to Sarehole, on the south-eastern edge of Birmingham. In 1920 Tolkien was appointed Reader in English Language at the University of Leeds which was the beginning of a distinguished academic career culminating with his election as Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford. Meanwhile Tolkien wrote for his children and told them the story of The Hobbit.
"The Lord of the Rings was my favourite book of all as a child - my mum and dad read it to me when I was about nine, and after that I read it to myself several times. I still love it for its landscapes and the music of its words. At the time, not many people seemed to have heard of it - at least, not at my school - so it was as if Middle Earth was my own private world. It prompted me to start inventing worlds of my own, and I’ve never really stopped." Philip Reeve, Guest Editor Charlie Higson, April 2012 Guest Editor: "This really doesn’t need a recommendation from me. I think some of you might have already read it. But it was a huge influence on me. It’s interesting that although the hobbits aren’t kids (they’re all about seventy years old!) we react to them as children. I read the books when I was fourteen and loved the feeling of being utterly immersed in another world. I’ve always loved fantasy – books that took me out of my own humdrum existence and transported me to another place, another time, another reality. I love it where Tolkien says in his introduction that ‘The tale grew in the telling’. The story starts small scale, with its social satire of the very English shire, and then just keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger, so that by the end you can look back and think – my God, I’ve come all this way, what an adventure it’s been. That’s the feeling I want to get into my new adventure/horror/epic series The Enemy. It’s building into a huge multi-character saga, with touches of LOTR, Greek mythology, historical fiction and Tintin. In fact I’ve probably stolen something from every book I’ve ever read." Sally Nicholls, March 2012's Guest Editor: "I read The Lord of the Rings for the first time when I was ten, which was far too young, but I loved it even though I didn't understand all of it. I read it over and over and over again, until I knew whole sections off by heart. I loved the size of the story, and the fact that its narrators – the hobbits – were so easy for a child to relate to." Books in The Lord of the Rings Series: 1. The Hobbit 2. The Fellowship of the Ring 3. The Two Towers 4. The Return of the King
The second part of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic adventure THE LORD OF THE RINGS The company of the Ring is torn asunder. Frodo and Sam continue their journey alone down the great River Anduin - alone, that is, save for the mysterious creeping figure that follows wherever they go. This continues the classic tale begun in The Fellowship of the Ring, which reaches its awesome climax in The Return of the King.
The third part of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic adventure THE LORD OF THE RINGS The armies of the Dark Lord are massing as his evil shadow spreads even wider. Men, Dwarves, Elves and Ents unite forces to battle against the Dark. Meanwhile, Frodo and Sam struggle further into Mordor in their heroic quest to destroy the One Ring. The devastating conclusion of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic tale of adventure, begun in The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers.
An absolute classic of children’s literature, the great adventure of Bilbo Baggins and the Dwarfs. It’s important to remember how long ago this book was written, the style is not that of a modern children’s book, but the magic of the tale shines through the old-fashioned language. It is, and always has been, a little treasure of a book ~ Sarah Broadhurst The classic bestseller behind this year's biggest movie, this film tie-in edition features the complete story of Bilbo Baggins' adventures in Middle-earth as shown in the film trilogy, with a striking cover image from Peter Jackson's film adaptation and drawings and maps by J.R.R. Tolkien.
The classic bestseller behind this year's epic second instalment The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, now in a perfectly-sized pocket hardback. This new film tie-in edition features the complete story of Bilbo Baggins' adventures in Middle-earth, with a striking cover image from Peter Jackson's film trilogy and drawings and maps by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Immerse yourself in Middle-earth with Tolkien's classic masterpieces behind the films, telling the complete story of Bilbo Baggins and the Hobbits' epic encounters with Gandalf, Gollum, dragons and monsters, in the quest to destroy the One Ring.
Delve into Tolkien's Middle-earth with this special collector's hardback boxed set. Presented in sumptuous new cover designs discover the complete story of Bilbo Baggins and the Hobbits' epic encounters with Gandalf, Gollum, dragons and monsters, in the quest to destroy the One Ring.
An absolute classic of children’s literature, the great adventure of Bilbo Baggins and the Dwarfs. It’s important to remember how long ago this book was written, the style is not that of a modern children’s book, but the magic of the tale shines through the old-fashioned language. It is, and always has been, a little treasure of a book ~ Sarah BroadhurstThe first new illustrated edition of The Hobbit for more than 15 years contains 150 brand new colour illustrations. Artist Jemima Catlin's charming and lively interpretation brings Tolkien's beloved characters to life in a way that will entice and entertain a new generation of readers.
An absolute classic of children’s literature, the great adventure of Bilbo Baggins and the Dwarfs. It’s important to remember how long ago this book was written, the style is not that of a modern children’s book, but the magic of the tale shines through the old-fashioned language. It is, and always has been, a little treasure of a book ~ Sarah BroadhurstThis special slipcased edition is bound in red cloth with an exclusive wraparound dragon design in gold foil, and is the ideal Christmas gift for Tolkien fans and book collectors.
An absolute classic of children’s literature, the great adventure of Bilbo Baggins and the Dwarfs. It’s important to remember how long ago this book was written, the style is not that of a modern children’s book, but the magic of the tale shines through the old-fashioned language. It is, and always has been, a little treasure of a book ~ Sarah BroadhurstSpecial collector's film tie-in hardback of the best-selling classic, featuring the complete story with a sumptuous cover design inspired by The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and brand new reproductions of all the drawings and maps by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Lord of the Rings fans of all ages will love this witty and charming collection of letters from Father Christmas to the children of J.R.R. Tolkien. In them Father Christmas describes aspects of the ups and downs of his wintry life with the reindeer, polar bears and much more. Each hand written letter is beautifully illustrated by Tolkien himself making it a perfect gift for all ages.
An absolute classic of children’s literature, the great adventure of Bilbo Baggins and the Dwarfs. It’s important to remember how long ago this book was written, the style is not that of a modern children’s book, but the magic of the tale shines through the old-fashioned language. It is, and always has been, a little treasure of a book ~ Sarah Broadhurst
An absolute classic of children’s literature, the great adventure of Bilbo Baggins and the Dwarfs. It’s important to remember how long ago this book was written, the style is not that of a modern children’s book, but the magic of the tale shines through the old-fashioned language. It is, and always has been, a little treasure of a book ~ Sarah Broadhurst
Philip Reeve, June 2012 Guest Editor: "The Lord of the Rings was my favourite book of all as a child - my mum and dad read it to me when I was about nine, and after that I read it to myself several times. I still love it for its landscapes and the music of its words. At the time, not many people seemed to have heard of it - at least, not at my school - so it was as if Middle Earth was my own private world. It prompted me to start inventing worlds of my own, and I’ve never really stopped." Charlie Higson, April 2012 Guest Editor: "This really doesn’t need a recommendation from me. I think some of you might have already read it. But it was a huge influence on me. It’s interesting that although the hobbits aren’t kids (they’re all about seventy years old!) we react to them as children. I read the books when I was fourteen and loved the feeling of being utterly immersed in another world. I’ve always loved fantasy – books that took me out of my own humdrum existence and transported me to another place, another time, another reality. I love it where Tolkien says in his introduction that ‘The tale grew in the telling’. The story starts small scale, with its social satire of the very English shire, and then just keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger, so that by the end you can look back and think – my God, I’ve come all this way, what an adventure it’s been. That’s the feeling I want to get into my new adventure/horror/epic series The Enemy. It’s building into a huge multi-character saga, with touches of LOTR, Greek mythology, historical fiction and Tintin. In fact I’ve probably stolen something from every book I’ve ever read." Sally Nicholls, March 2012's Guest Editor: "I read The Lord of the Rings for the first time when I was ten, which was far too young, but I loved it even though I didn't understand all of it. I read it over and over and over again, until I knew whole sections off by heart. I loved the size of the story, and the fact that its narrators – the hobbits – were so easy for a child to relate to." Books in The Lord of the Rings Series: 1. The Hobbit 2. The Fellowship of the Ring 3. The Two Towers 4. The Return of the King
Presented for the first time as a standalone work, the epic tale of The Fall of Gondolin reunites fans of The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings with Elves, Balrogs, Dragons & Orcs and the rich landscape unique to Tolkien's Middle-earth. This brand new unabridged audio book is read by Timothy West & Samuel West. Gondolin, beautiful but undiscoverable, is central to the enmity of two of the greatest powers in the world. Morgoth of the uttermost evil seeks in vain to discover the marvellously hidden city of his Elven enemies, while the gods in Valinor refuse to support Ulmo Lord of Waters' designs to protect it. Into this world comes Tuor, cousin of Turin, and guided unseen by Ulmo he sets out on the fearful journey to Gondolin to warn them of their coming doom. Then Morgoth learns through an act of supreme treachery all that he needs to mount a devastating attack on the city, with Balrogs and dragons and numberless Orcs.
Presented for the first time on audio, the epic tale of Beren and Luthien will reunite fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves, Men and Orcs and the rich landscape unique to Tolkien's Middle-earth in this unabridged recording read by critically acclaimed father and son, Timothy and Samuel West. Beren was a mortal man, but Luthien was an immortal Elf. Her father, a great Elvish lord, was deeply opposed to Beren, and imposed on him an impossible task that he must perform before he might wed Luthien. Undaunted by Lord Thingol's challenge, Beren and Luthien embark on the supremely heroic attempt to rob Morgoth, the greatest of all evil beings, of a Silmaril, one of the hallowed jewels that adorn the Black Enemy's crown. The tale of Beren and Luthien, which was written shortly after J.R.R. Tolkien returned from the Battle of the Somme in 1916, was an essential element in the evolution of The Silmarillion. In this book Christopher Tolkien has extracted the various versions of Beren and Luthien from the comprehensive work in which they are embedded. To show something of the process whereby this Great Tale of Middle-earth evolved over the years, he tells the story in his father's own words by giving, first, its original form, and then passages in prose and verse from later texts that illustrate the narrative as it changed. Presented together for the first time, they reveal aspects of the story, both in event and in narrative immediacy, that were afterwards lost.
Published to celebrate the first ever 'letter from Father Christmas' in 1920, this beautiful oversized edition of Tolkien's famous illustrated letters from 'Father Christmas', includes a wealth of charming letters, pictures and decorated envelopes, and promises to be a festive feast for Tolkien fans of all ages. Every December an envelope bearing a stamp from the North Pole would arrive for J.R.R. Tolkien's children. Inside would be a letter in strange spidery handwriting and a beautiful coloured drawing or some sketches. The letters were from Father Christmas. They told wonderful tales of life at the North Pole: how all the reindeer got loose and scattered presents all over the place; how the accident-prone Polar Bear climbed the North Pole and fell through the roof of Father Christmas's house into the dining-room; how he broke the Moon into four pieces and made the Man in it fall into the back garden; how there were wars with the troublesome horde of goblins who lived in the caves beneath the house! Sometimes the Polar Bear would scrawl a note, and sometimes Ilbereth the Elf would write in his elegant flowing script, adding yet more life and humour to the stories. No reader, young or old, can fail to be charmed by the inventiveness and 'authenticity' of Tolkien's Letters from Father Christmas. This classic festive book of Tolkien's enchanting Father Christmas letters, written to his children between the 1920s and the 1940s, has been reworked into a sumptuous, new standard hardback edition. It contains high-quality digital reproductions of his wonderful letters and pictures, including a number of them appearing in this format for the first time, and a revised introduction by Baillie Tolkien.
To celebrate its 40th anniversary, the first ever illustrated edition of this collection of tales which takes readers further into the stories told in The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, featuring 18 full-colour paintings depicting scenes from the First, Second and Third Ages of Middle-earth. Unfinished Tales is a collection of narratives ranging in time from the Elder Days of Middle-earth 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. The book concentrates on the realm of Middle-earth and comprises such elements as The Quest of Erebor, Gandalf's lively account of how it was that he came to send the Dwarves to the celebrated party at Bag-End; the emergence of the sea-god Ulmo before the eyes of Tuor on the coast of Beleriand; and an exact description of the military organization of the Riders of Rohan. Unfinished Tales also contains the only story about the long ages of Numenor before its downfall, and all that is known about such matters as the Five Wizards, the Palantiri and the legend of Amroth. The tales were edited by Christopher Tolkien, who provides a short commentary on each story, helping the reader to fill in the gaps and put each story into the context of the rest of his father's writings. In celebration of its 40th anniversary, this new edition features 18 stunning paintings from critically acclaimed Tolkien artists, Alan Lee, John Howe & Ted Nasmith, which reveal the three Ages of Middle-earth like never before.
Sumptuous, 40th anniversary collector's edition of this collection of tales which takes readers further into the stories told in The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, featuring 18 full-colour paintings depicting scenes from the First, Second and Third Ages of Middle-earth, and housed in a matching illustrated slipcase. Unfinished Tales is a collection of narratives ranging in time from the Elder Days of Middle-earth 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. The book concentrates on the realm of Middle-earth and comprises such elements as The Quest of Erebor, Gandalf's lively account of how it was that he came to send the Dwarves to the celebrated party at Bag-End; the emergence of the sea-god Ulmo before the eyes of Tuor on the coast of Beleriand; and an exact description of the military organization of the Riders of Rohan. Unfinished Tales also contains the only story about the long ages of Numenor before its downfall, and all that is known about such matters as the Five Wizards, the Palantiri and the legend of Amroth. The tales were edited by Christopher Tolkien, who provides a short commentary on each story, helping the reader to fill in the gaps and put each story into the context of the rest of his father's writings. In celebration of its 40th anniversary, this new edition features 18 stunning paintings from critically acclaimed Tolkien artists, Alan Lee, John Howe & Ted Nasmith, which reveal the three Ages of Middle-earth like never before. This special collector's edition is printed on superior quality paper, features a unique special binding and ribbon marker and is housed in a custom-made, fully illustrated slipcase.
This brand-new unabridged audio book of J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved The Hobbit is read by the BAFTA award-winning actor, director and author, Andy Serkis Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely travelling further than the pantry of his hobbit-hole in Bag End. But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard, Gandalf, and a company of thirteen dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day, to whisk him away on a journey 'there and back again'. They have a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon... The prelude to THE LORD OF THE RINGS, THE HOBBIT has sold many millions of copies since its publication in 1937, establishing itself as one of the most influential books of the twentieth century.
The official Tolkien calendar, this year containing twelve stunning paintings inspired by the stories collected in UNFINISHED TALES by J.R.R. Tolkien. Three of the world's finest Tolkien artists present the Three Ages of Middle-earth in breathtaking glory. The official Tolkien calendar has become an established publishing event, eagerly anticipated by Tolkien fans the world over. Previous Tolkien calendars have become much sought after collector's items, and this year's will doubtless be an essential purchase for Middle-earth fans everywhere, as it celebrates the 40th anniversary of UNFINISHED TALES. To commemorate this special occasion three of the world's finest Tolkien artists - Ted Nasmith, John Howe, and Alan Lee - have each contributed four full-colour artworks to the Calendar. To accompany each painting, every month features complementary pencil drawings or sketches selected by the artists which are exclusive to this calendar. In this unique artistic combination, Alan, John and Ted present scenes from the First Age of THE SILMARILLION, the Second Age of Numenor and the fall of Sauron, and the Third Age of THE HOBBIT and THE LORD OF THE RINGS, which take the reader deeper into the world of Middle-earth than ever before.
First ever critical study of Tolkien's little-known essay, which reveals how language invention shaped the creation of Middle-earth and beyond, to George R R Martin's Game of Thrones. J.R.R. Tolkien's linguistic invention was a fundamental part of his artistic output, to the extent that later on in life he attributed the existence of his mythology to the desire to give his languages a home and peoples to speak them. As Tolkien puts it in 'A Secret Vice', 'the making of language and mythology are related functions''. In the 1930s, Tolkien composed and delivered two lectures, in which he explored these two key elements of his sub-creative methodology. The second of these, the seminal Andrew Lang Lecture for 1938-9, 'On Fairy-Stories', which he delivered at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, is well known. But many years before, in 1931, Tolkien gave a talk to a literary society entitled 'A Hobby for the Home', where he unveiled for the first time to a listening public the art that he had both himself encountered and been involved with since his earliest childhood: 'the construction of imaginary languages in full or outline for amusement'. This talk would be edited by Christopher Tolkien for inclusion as 'A Secret Vice' in The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays and serves as the principal exposition of Tolkien's art of inventing languages. This new critical edition, which includes previously unpublished notes and drafts by Tolkien connected with the essay, including his 'Essay on Phonetic Symbolism', goes some way towards re-opening the debate on the importance of linguistic invention in Tolkien's mythology and the role of imaginary languages in fantasy literature.
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