The Book of Lost Tales (History of Middle-earth, 2) - Hardcover

Tolkien, J. R. R.; Tolkien, Christopher

3.89

8,401 ratings by Goodreads

9780395366141: The Book of Lost Tales (History of Middle-earth, 2)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0395366143 ISBN 13: 9780395366141

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1984

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The Book of Lost Tales was the first major work of imagination by J.R.R. Tolkien, begun in 1916, when he was twenty-five years old, and left incomplete several years later. It stands at the beginning of the entire conception of Middle-earth and Valinor, for the Lost Tales were the first form of the myths and legends that came to be called The Silmarillion. Embedded in English legend and association, they are set in the narrative frame of the great westward voyage of a mariner named Eriel (or AElfwine). His destination is Tol Eressea, the Lonely Isle where Elves dwell; from them he learns their true history, the Lost Tales of Elfinesse. The Tales include the earliest accounts of Gods and Elves, Dwarves, Balrogs, and Orcs; of the Silmarils and the Two Trees of Valinor; of Nargothrond and Gondolin; of the geography and cosmography of their invented world.
The Book of Lost Tales is published in two volumes. The first contains the Tales of Valinor; and this second past includes Beren and Luthien, Turin and the Dragon, and the only full narratives of the Necklace of the Dwarves and the Fall of Gondolin. Each tale is followed by a commentary, together with associated poems, and each volume contains extensive information on names and vocabulary of the earliest Elvish languages. Additional books in this series will extend the history of Middle-earth as it was refined and enlarged in later years and will include the long Lays of Beleriand, the Ambarkanta or Shape of the World, the Lhammas or Account of Tongues, annals, maps, and many other previously unpublished writings of J.R.R. Tolkien.

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Review:

"One marvels anew at the depth, breadth, and persistence of J.R.R. Tolkien's labor. No one sympathetic to his aims, the invention of a secondary universe, will want to miss this chance to be present at the creation." Publishers Weekly

From the Back Cover:

This second part of 'The Book of Lost Tales' includes the tales of Beren and L�thien, T�rin and the Dragon, and the only full narratives of the Necklace of the Dwarves and the Fall of Gondolin. Each tale is followed by a commentary in the form of a short essay, together with the texts of associated poems, and contains extensive information on names and vocabulary in the earliest Elvish languages.

"Christopher Tolkien shows himself to be his father's son, delving into the question of Elvish genealogies...he gives the reader histories of each of the character's names as it evolved in the course of Tolkien's revisions...Tolkien devotees will rejoice."
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

"The 'Tales' will be appreciated by those who have read 'The Silmarillion' and wish to examine how Tolkien improved his story and style from their original form, and how eventually 'The Lord of the Rings' came to stand independently with only a few hints from the early mythology."
BRITISH BOOK NEWS

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