Roverandom - Softcover

Tolkien, J. R. R.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0261103547 ISBN 13: 9780261103542

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1998

Synopsis

A ‘new’ full-length story written and illustrated by J.R.R. Tolkien

While on holiday in 1925, four-year-old Michael Tolkien lost his beloved toy dog on the beach at Filey in Yorkshire. To console him, his father, J.R.R.Tolkien, improvised a story about Rover, a real dog who is magically transformed into a toy and is forced to seek out the wizard who wronged him in order to be returned to normal.

This charming tale, peopled by a sand-sorcerer and a terrible dragon, by the king of the sea and the Man-in-the-Moon, went through several drafts over the years. Now, more than 70 years on, the adventures of Rover – or, for reasons that become clear in the story, ‘Roverandom’ – are published for the first time. Rich in wit and wordplay, Roverandom is edited and introduced by Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond and includes Tolkien’s own delightful illustrations.

About this title

About the Author

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 80 languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.

From the Back Cover

While on holiday in 1925 young Michael Tolkien lost his beloved toy dog on the beach. To console him, his father, J.R.R. Tolkien, invented a story about a real dog who is turned into a toy by a wizard and sent by a ‘sand sorcerer’ to the moon and under the sea.

More than 70 years later, the adventures of the dog Rover, also known as ‘Roverandom’, are now published for the first time. They have been edited from the original typescript by Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond, who relate the story to sources ranging from the Norse sagas to E. Nesbit, and link it also to Tolkien’s other fiction, including 'The Hobbit ', the ‘Father Christmas’ letters, and ‘The Silmarillion’. The book also includes five illustrations by Tolkien himself.

Entertaining and rich in wordplay, 'Roverandom' will delight all readers who love a clever tale, and will be welcomed by Tolkien’s many admirers of all ages.

J.R.R. Tolkien was born on 3 January 1892 in Bloemfontein. After serving in the First World War, he embarked upon a distinguished academic career, though he is best known for his extraordinary works of fiction 'The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, 'and 'The Silmarillion'. His books have been translated into over 30 languages and have sold many millions of copies world-wide. In 1972 he was made a CBE and received an honorary Doctorate of Letters from Oxford University. He died on 2 September 1973 at the age of 81.

Christina Scull is the former librarian of Sir John Soane’s Museum, London and the editor of the magazine 'The Tolkien Collector'. Her husband, Wayne G. Hammond, is Assistant Librarian in the Chapin Library of Rare Books, Williams College, author of the standard bibliography of Tolkien’s works, and a regular contributor of Tolkien notes to the journal 'Mythlore'. The couple live in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Their acclaimed study of Tolkien’s paintings and drawings, 'J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator', is also published by HarperCollins.

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0261103547
• ISBN 13: 9780261103542
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 128