The range of J. R. R. Tolkien’s talents is remarkable. Not only was he an accomplished linguist and philologist, as well as a scholar of Anglo-Saxon and medieval literature and Norse folklore, but also a skillful illustrator and storyteller. Drawing on these talents, he created a universe which is for many readers as real as the physical world they inhabit daily. Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth explores the huge creative endeavor behind Tolkien’s enduring popularity. Lavishly illustrated with three hundred images of his manuscripts, drawings, maps, and letters, the book traces the creative process behind his most famous literary works—The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion—and reproduces personal photographs and private papers, many of which have never been seen before in print. Six essays introduce the reader to the person of J. R. R. Tolkien and to main themes in his life and work, including the influence of northern languages and legends on the creation of his own legendarium; his concept of “Faërie” as an enchanted literary realm; the central importance of his invented languages in his fantasy writing; his visual imagination and its emergence in his artwork; and the encouragement he derived from his close friend C. S. Lewis and their literary group the Inklings. The book brings together the largest collection of original Tolkien material ever assembled in a single volume. Drawing on the extensive archives of the Tolkien collections at the Bodleian Libraries, Oxford, which stretch to more than five hundred boxes, and Marquette University, Milwaukee, as well as private collections, this hugely ambitious and exquisitely produced book draws together the worlds of J. R. R. Tolkien – scholarly, literary, creative, and domestic—offering a rich and detailed understanding and appreciation of this extraordinary author. This landmark publication, produced on the occasion of a major exhibition at the Bodleian Libraries in Oxford in 2018 and at the Morgan Library in New York in 2019, is set to become a standard work in the literature on J. R. R. Tolkien.

The Collector’s Edition of Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth is a unique keepsake of the landmark exhibition on the life and work of JRR Tolkien at the Bodleian Library in 2018 and the Morgan Library & Museum in 2019. Bound in Cialux and published in a custom-made presentation box, the book is printed with special endpapers reproducing Tolkien’s drawing of the Elvenking’s Gate. The Collector’s Edition contains seven unique facsimiles items of JRR Tolkien’s work printed on fine Italian paper. These include Tolkien’s painting of the dust jacket for The Hobbit, reproduced for the first time on both sides, revealing Tolkien’s plea to his first publisher, Stanley Unwin, to print the sun in red and culminating in the underlined instructions to his printer on the reverse of the painting ‘IGNORE RED’. Also included is a drawing of the Tower of Orthanc, drawn on the back of an Oxford undergraduate student’s exam paper on Chaucer which Tolkien has cancelled with diagonal lines, as well as a manuscript page from The Lord of the Rings describing and illustrating Shelob’s Lair. Both of these have never before been reproduced on both sides. For over 23 years, Tolkien wrote and illustrated Christmas cards and letters for his children, complete with beautifully addressed envelopes and exquisitely painted postage stamps. Included here is the Father Christmas letter and envelope for 1936, addressed to Tolkien’s youngest children, Christopher and Priscilla, and bearing a jewel-like stamp from the North Pole, together with the accompanying Christmas card depicting Polar Bear’s bath (which overruns and risks wetting the children’s gift on the floor below). In the bottom section of the image, Polar Bear instructs the elves on the unique number set aside for every child, ensuring that Christmas gifts are matched and delivered to the correct recipient. Finally, a facsimile of the newly discovered map drawn by Christopher Tolkien, with annotations in JRR Tolkien’s hand (including notes such as ‘Hobbiton is assumed to be approx. at the latitude of Oxford’, ‘Minas Tirith is about the latitude of Ravenna’), from which Pauline Baynes painted her poster map of Middle-earth. Each facsimile item is reproduced from newly commissioned photography, faithfully reproducing the originals kept in an underground safe in the Bodleian Library. Presented in a custom-made envelope bearing Tolkien’s cipher, they are accompanied by a six-page illustrated guide describing and interpreting each facsimile item. Every copy of the Collector’s Edition includes a limitation page signed by Priscilla Tolkien and hand-numbered, guaranteeing authenticity and making this an exceptional, truly unique edition for collectors. The edition is limited to just 675 copies and is expected to be in high demand.

In the Tale of The Fall of Gondolin are two of the greatest powers in the world. There is Morgoth of the uttermost evil, unseen in this story but ruling over a vast military power from his fortress of Angband. Deeply opposed to Morgoth is Ulmo, second in might only to Manwë, chief of the Valar. Central to this enmity of the gods is the city of Gondolin, beautiful but undiscoverable. It was built and peopled by Noldorin Elves who, when they dwelt in Valinor, the land of the gods, rebelled against their rule and fled to Middle-earth. Turgon King of Gondolin is hated and feared above all his enemies by Morgoth, who seeks in vain to discover the marvellously hidden city, while the gods in Valinor in heated debate largely refuse to intervene in support of Ulmo's desires and designs. Into this world comes Tuor, cousin of Túrin, the instrument of Ulmo's designs. Guided unseen by him Tuor sets out from the land of his birth on the fearful journey to Gondolin, and in one of the most arresting moments in the history of Middle-earth the sea-god himself appears to him, rising out of the ocean in the midst of a storm. In Gondolin he becomes great; he is wedded to Idril, Turgon's daughter, and their son is Eärendel, whose birth and profound importance in days to come is foreseen by Ulmo. At last comes the terrible ending. 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. After a minutely observed account of the fall of Gondolin, the tale ends with the escape of Túrin and Idril, with the child Eärendel, looking back from a cleft in the mountains as they flee southward, at the blazing wreckage of their city. They were journeying into a new story, the Tale of Eärendel, which Tolkien never wrote, but which is sketched out in this book from other sources. Following his presentation of Beren and Lúthien Christopher Tolkien has used the same 'history in sequence' mode in the writing of this edition of The Fall of Gondolin. In the words of J.R.R. Tolkien, it was ‘the first real story of this imaginary world’ and, together with Beren and Lúthien and The Children of Húrin, he regarded it as one of the three 'Great Tales' of the Elder Days.

在地底的洞府中住着一个霍比特人。 比尔博，一个热爱安逸生活的霍比特人，自得其乐地待在袋底洞他的霍比特洞府里。清晨和煦，睿智巫师甘道夫的到来打破了宁静。“越过冰冷而又雾蒙蒙的大山，在那深深地下洞穴已有千年……”吟着古老的歌谣，十三个矮人将比尔博拽进冒险远行的队伍。在这趟“意外之旅”之中，与世无争的霍比特人比尔博，却孤身一人在暗如永夜的山底洞穴中发现了足以改变整个世界的小小戒指。 《霍比特人》自1937年首次出版，已被翻译成64种语言，销售超过1亿册，成为伟大的现代经典。17年后，续作《魔戒》出版。《霍比特人》完美地融合了史诗气派与童心稚趣。故事发生在精灵强盛的时代之后、人类统治的时代之前。那时著名的黑森林依然耸立，群山间仍充满艰险。如果此前你对这些浑然不知，那么随着这位平凡探险家的不凡旅程，你会和他一道顺便认识食人妖、半兽人、矮人和精灵，也会了解到那个遭到忽视的伟大时代。 英国新生代插画家杰迈玛·卡特林为毕业设计《罗弗兰登》去信托尔金的出版商HarperCollins，请求允许自己在作品中使用托尔金的文字，结果不但出版社应允，还得到克里斯托弗·托尔金的褒赏，有兴趣看看她画笔下的《霍比特人》会是什么样。卡特林从此踏上绘制《霍比特人》的意外之旅。 于是，自1997年艾伦·李以他标志性的插画为这个广受欢迎的儿童故事焕活新生以来，第一本全新的萌趣插图版《霍比特人》诞生了。

HarperCollins再版。

凡人贝伦与出身不朽的精灵一族的露西恩相爱，然而他们的爱情起初无法得到露西恩的父亲——精灵王辛葛的首肯。为使贝伦知难而退，辛葛提出了求娶露西恩的条件：贝伦必须完成一个看似没有希望完成的任务。这个任务就是传奇的核心，它促使贝伦与露西恩一同立下了无上的英雄功绩：从初代黑暗魔君，比后世的索隆还要强大恐怖的魔苟斯那里，夺回一颗精灵宝钻。 贝伦与露西恩的传奇，是J.R.R. 托尔金教授创造的瑰丽世界——中洲里最重要的故事之一。它位列中洲远古时代的三大传说当中，既是《魔戒》那宏大背景的组成部分，更是《精灵宝钻》必不可少的基石，同时在作者自己的人生中也具有非同寻常的意义。在去世的前一年，J.R.R. 托尔金曾在一封信中述及他对亡妻的怀念。他写道：“她就是后来成为《精灵宝钻》首要部分的那个故事的源头……但故事脱离了正轨，我被抛下了，而我无法去铁面无情的曼督斯面前恳求。” 在本书中，克里斯托弗·托尔金作出了全新的尝试：将故事从大背景中抽取出来，利用作者本人在不同创作阶段写出的一系列文稿，对人物与情节的发展脉络进行梳理和对比，从而向读者展示贝伦与露西恩的故事在数十年的光阴中所经历的演变全貌。