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Beren And Lúthien Hardcover – Illustrated, June 1, 2017
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Essential to the story, and never changed, is the fate that shadowed the love of Beren and Lúthien: for Beren was a mortal man, but Lúthien was an immortal elf. Her father, a great elvish lord, in deep opposition to Beren, imposed on him an impossible task that he must perform before he might wed Lúthien. This is the kernel of the legend; and it leads to the supremely heroic attempt of Beren and Lúthien together to rob the greatest of all evil beings, Melkor, called Morgoth, the Black Enemy, of a Silmaril.
In this book Christopher Tolkien has attempted to extract the story of Beren and Lúthien from the comprehensive work in which it was embedded; but that story was itself changing as it developed new associations within the larger history. To show something of the process whereby this legend of Middle-earth evolved over the years, he has told 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 on the tenth anniversary of the last Middle-earth book, the international bestseller The Children of Húrin, this new volume similarly includes drawings and color plates by Alan Lee, who also illustrated The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and went on to win Academy Awards for his work on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.
- Print length288 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherWilliam Morrow
- Publication dateJune 1, 2017
- Dimensions5.75 x 1 x 8.5 inches
- ISBN-101328791823
- ISBN-13978-1328791825
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The Great Tales of Middle-earth | The History of Middle-earth Boxed Set | The History of Middle-earth, Part One | The History of Middle-earth, Part Two | The History of Middle-earth, Part Three | The Silmarillion | |
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“Every version of the story in the book is incomplete, but under Christopher Tolkien’s steady editorial hand, the fragments assemble themselves to give us an impression of the whole. What makes this possible is the grace with which he handles his long-accustomed dual role of guide to both story and history. His preface and annotations are openhearted and engaging. He leads the reader pleasantly through the greater landscape of Middle-earth in the First Age, and strikes as clear a path as possible through the wilderness of Tolkien’s lifelong attempts to get the story finished and published. With eloquence and diligence and care, the son reconstructs and retraces the father’s journey, pursuing the tale through draft after draft as Tolkien pursued his vision of Middle-earth; as Beren, lost and hunted, followed the sound of Lùthien’s voice as she sang in the shadowed forest of Doriath.” — NPR.org “A good introduction to LOTR fans nervous about taking on The Silmarillion, and also gives longtime fans a fascinating look at the Tolkiens’ myth-making process.”— EntertainmentWeekly.com “A beautiful book.”— San Antonio Express-News —
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 sixty languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.
Product details
- Publisher : William Morrow; Illustrated edition (June 1, 2017)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 288 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1328791823
- ISBN-13 : 978-1328791825
- Item Weight : 14.7 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.75 x 1 x 8.5 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #25,596 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #962 in Classic Literature & Fiction
- #2,307 in Epic Fantasy (Books)
- #2,592 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
J.R.R. Tolkien was born on 3rd January 1892. After serving in the First World War, he became best known for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, selling 150 million copies in more than 40 languages worldwide. Awarded the CBE and an honorary Doctorate of Letters from Oxford University, he died in 1973 at the age of 81.
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“The Lay of Leithian” is my favorite of Tolkien’s poems, and the fact that it remained unfinished is, to me, a great tragedy. It is actually my favorite of Tolkien’s posthumously published works. This includes “The Children Of Hurin”, which I thought was very well crafted from the various sources. That is not to say I didn’t enjoy “The Children Of Hurin”, I did. But I just liked “The Lay of Leithian” better, both as writing and as a story.
But the fact that Christopher Tolkien did such a good job assembling “The Children Of Hurin”, raised my hopes that this new volume would be just like that: a prose story assembled from various sources, including the unfinished “Lay of Leithian”, with minimal editorial commentary.
It was not.
That is not to say that it wasn’t well done. Because of the story and the material it is certainly going to be a well written and a well plotted story. And that it was. The highlight is the section culled from the “Lay of Leithian” (the 1930s version). These verses are magical to me. Of course I can read this at any time in the previously published “The Lays Of Beleriand”, and I do periodically read through it.
The original story, where Beren is an elf, is nice to read, since I was not as familiar with it. And it was interesting to see how many changes the story went through over the various versions. Tolkien seemed to have it in for cats, at least based on this early version of the story. But Tevildo was not quite as menacing as Thu (Sauron). Nonetheless, it was very entertaining.
The main characters, Beren and Luthien, are fairly well fleshed out in the poem, at least with respect to their personalities. There’s very little in the way of physical description of Beren, but Luthien is described a little more fully, usually referred to as “the most beautiful” elf-maid ever. But her determination comes through much more than Beren’s. She is the one with the magic and ability to mesmerize even Morgoth. Luthien Tuniviel is just as much a hero in this story as Beren.
The characters of the hound Huan and his evil counterpart the wolf Carcharoth, were well developed in the limited space. The description of Carcharoth’s whelping and growth were sufficiently grim and greatly added to the atmosphere around the Gate of Angband. It is a much fuller description than the one in the Silmarillion. And the fact that we occasionally seem to get in to Carcharoth’s head is a nice touch.
The ending, as we know it from various notes or short narratives, is possibly the most happy of any of the major First Age stories. Certainly there is tragedy, but nothing on the scale of Turin’s tragic story or the fall of Gondolin. And Beren and Luthien, after their tragedy, explicitly get to live out their days in relative happiness. In spite of the curse of the Oath of Feanor. In Middle-Earth terms this is a very happy ending indeed!
As I mentioned above, the story is one of Tolkien’s major stories of the First Age of Middle-Earth. It is foundational to much of what we glimpse in “The Lord Of The Rings”, especially the Aragorn/Arwen love story, which it somewhat parallels. This makes the new volume a very good addition to any Tolkien library. So now the whole story (as it exists) is available in one book, rather than searching through various other volumes.
And then there are the Alan Lee illustrations. Starting with the cover, which is a great depiction of Luthien riding Huan with Beren at their side, they are very evocative of the First Age of Middle-Earth. Everything is grim and grey – which is to be expected throughout most of the journey. Though I would have hoped for a little more color in Doriath. But these compare favorably to the illustrations in “The Children Of Hurin”.
I would say that this is a worthwhile purchase, if you are looking for a single source for all versions of the story. It is not, however, a stand-alone narrative like “The Children Of Hurin”, which is what I was expecting and hoping for. But that’s on me and doesn’t prevent this from earning five stars.
One thing I would point out as a shortcoming (to me) is the lack of a map. It's not like there doesn't exist a map of Beleriand that could easily have been inserted in the back of the book. It would have made the journey of Beren and Luthien that much more real to me.
This is apparently going to be the last of his father’s work that Christopher Tolkien publishes, so unless there is a new literary executor, this may be the last we get from JRRT Tolkien. Perhaps what I was expecting, a completed prose narrative, is impossible to do with the writings that are left.
Beren was a mortal Man who after many adventures and hardships wandered through a mysterious wood in Beleriand, a large realm in the West of Middle-earth defended by Elves and Men against the tyranny of the Dark Lord Morgoth and his minions. Beren came across a beautiful woman dancing in a glade filled with white flowers. She was Luthien, daughter of King Thingol of the Elves. They fell in love, but King Thingol refused to allow them to marry unless they brought him a Silmaril, one of three magical gems crafted in Valinor across the Sea but stolen by Morgoth centuries earlier. Their Quest, its fulfillment, and Beren and Luthien's ultimate fate make up the Tale, which became a center piece of Tolkien's mythology. He referred to Beren and Luthien several times in The Lord of the Rings (whose characters Aragorn and Arwen are descendants of and counterparts to Beren and Luthien), and eventually a version of the Tale was included in The Silmarillion, which was completed by Tolkien's son Christopher and published in 1977. Later Christopher Tolkien was to edit and publish the twelve volume History of Middle-earth, which includes several more versions of the Tale in both prose and poetic forms.
In this beautiful book we have the Tale itself in several of its versions beginning with the Tale of Tinuviel, which was written in the early years of Tolkien's development of his mythology and which contains some elements which were later discarded or drastically altered. For example,a major villain in The Tale of Tinuviel is Tevildo Prince of Cats, who was later to become Sauron, the chief servant of Morgoth. There are extracts from an early poetic version, The Lay of Leithian as well as from other versions written by Tolkien at various times during his life. Most if not all of this material has already been published in The Silmarillion and The History of Middle-earth, but having it all available in one volume is very valuable. In addition, Christopher Tolkien has provided an extensive Preface, some Notes on The Elder Days, and more introductory material on the Tale itself. These will be invaluable to experienced Tolkien scholars as well as those who might not be as familiar with the wider range of Middle-earth material. An additional pleasure are the nine illustrations in full color plates provided by Alan Lee, one of the most well-known and talented artists at work depicting Tolkien's worlds today. His paintings have an ethereal quality that absolutely befit their subject.
Since there is very little previously unpublished material in Beren and Luthien some might wonder whether a separate volume is worthwhile. I can assure them that the careful production and attention to detail in extracting one narrative from a very rich fabric makes this book highly desirable. Additionally, Christopher Tolkien notes in his Preface that as he is now in his ninety-third year this is "presumptively" his last edition of his father's writings after over forty years of labor. He also writes that "the tale is chosen in memoriam" because it played such a strong part in his father's life and marriage, therefore it can be considered one of Tolkien's most personal stories. Tolkien himself made reference to his attachment to this Tale shortly after Edith's death in 1971. He wrote to his son Christopher about that spring day in Roos, saying that she was the "chief source" of what was to become a major part of his legendarium. Today J.R.R. Tolkien and Edith Bratt Tolkien are buried beneath a single headstone carved with their names and dates and "Beren" and "Luthien."