THE HISTORY OF MIDDLE-EARTH (Boxed Set 1) comprising THE SILMARILLION, UNFINISHED TALES, and THE BOOK OF LOST TALES Part One & Part Two (The History of Middle-earth)

TOLKIEN, J.R.R. [John Ronald Reuel]

Published by HarperCollins Publishers, London, 2003

Four volumes, octavo, original boards. Pp 365; 472; 297; 385; map endpapers, illustrations. Issued in reversable dust jackets, one side with artwork by John Howe, the versos with the plain coloured / lettered jackets as were the originals. These are all the first printings of this set, issued in 2003 with codes to "1" on the copyright pages. A fine set in fine dust jackets and illustrated slipcase, as issued. The Silmarillion is an account of the Elder Days, of the First Age of Tolkien s World. It is the ancient drama to which the characters in The Lord of the Rings look back, and in whose events some of them, such as Elrond and Galadriel, took part. The tales of The Silmarillion are set in an age when Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in Middle-Earth, and the High Elves made war upon him for the recovery of the Silmarils, the jewels containing the pure light of Valinor. First in a series of hardback boxed sets celebrating the literary achievement of Christopher Tolkien, featuring double-sided dustjackets. Set 1 contains special editions of THE SILMARILLION and UNFINISHED TALES reproducing the first edition text, together with the two volumes of THE BOOK OF LOST TALES. Unfinished Tales is a collection of narratives ranging in time from the Elder Days of Middle-earth and the rise of Númenor in the Second Age 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 from the twentieth century s most acclaimed popular author. The Book of Lost Tales stands at the beginning of the entire conception of Middle-earth and Valinor for the Tales were the first form of the myths and legends that came to be called The Silmarillion. Embedded in English legend and English association, they are set in the narrative frame of a great westward voyage over the Ocean by a mariner named Eriol to the lonely Isle where the Elves dwelt; from them he learned their true history, the Lost Tales of Elfinesse. In the two volumes of the Tales are found the earliest accounts of Gods and Elves, Dwarves, Balrogs and Orcs; of the Silmarils and the Two Trees of Valinor; of the geography and cosmology of Tolkien s invented world. Published together for the first time, these four books collect the beginning of Christopher Tolkien s forty-year career devoted to presenting his father J.R.R. Tolkien s writings on Middle-earth, a unique accomplishment that celebrates the greatest invented world in all of fantasy literature. Seller Inventory # 313757

Bibliographic Details

Title: THE HISTORY OF MIDDLE-EARTH (Boxed Set 1) ...
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers, London
Publication Date: 2003
Binding: Hardcover
Edition: First Edition Thus.