As we all know, J R R Tolkien was, from an early age, fascinated by myth and heroic legend, reading all he could of the romances and epics of many nations. In a letter to Milton Waldman, which appears in the Preface to the second edition of The Silmarillion, he wrote that he was ‘grieved by the poverty of my own beloved country: it had no stories of its own … Of course there was and is all the Arthurian world, but powerful as it is, it is imperfectly naturalized, associated with the soil of Britain but not with the English; and does not replace what I felt to be missing…’
The Professor, then, had little time for the legends of King Arthur; but he did make one foray into those tales, and we are about to be able to read for ourselves the results of those labours! Tomorrow, publishers Houghton Mifflin Harcourt release Tolkien’s narrative poem The Fall of Arthur, edited as ever by his son Christopher. HMH’s press release tells us:
‘The Fall of Arthur, the only venture by J.R.R. Tolkien into the legends of Arthur, king of Britain, may well be regarded as his finest and most skillful achievement in the use of Old English alliterative meter, in which he brought to his transforming perceptions of the old narratives a pervasive sense of the grave and fateful nature of all that is told: of Arthur’s expedition overseas into distant heathen lands, of Guinevere’s flight from Camelot, of the great sea battle on Arthur’s return to Britain, in the portrait of the traitor Mordred, in the tormented doubts of Lancelot in his French castle.’
Alas, Tolkien never finished his poem; but amongst his manuscripts were sketches and drafts, which included ‘significant tantalizing notes. In these notes can be discerned clear if mysterious associations of the Arthurian conclusion with The Silmarillion, and the bitter ending of the love of Lancelot and Guinevere, which was never written.’
It’s a day of celebration for Tolkien fans whenever we have a chance to read more of the Professor’s work, and gain further insight into the explorations which lead to his great myth of Middle-earth. You can read Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s full information about the book here; and you can order your copy from Amazon by clicking here. The Fall of Arthur will also be available as an e-book. Happy reading!
On the heels of one of the best art books for a film that I’ve had the chance to add to my personal collection Weta Workshop has announced a second book to their art book range for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The second art book for The Hobbit covers the many creatures and characters that help populate Sir Peter Jackson’s adaptation of the first of three movies based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. Within the Chronicles: Creatures and Characters are quotes from the actors who played the many roles on-screen and this book comes with a size chart, a great way to compare the various sizes of these characters in relation to each other. The book is on sale now for $39 and if you buy now from Weta, you can get a signed copy for your collection. This second book does not ship until April so in the mean time you can still buy the previous Chronicles: Art and Design book for the same $39.
First off just let me say that, as an Aussie, I was a bit dubious at being asked to review a self help book based on the Shire. We tend to be a bit wary of these sorts of books and part of me jumped to the conclusion that such a book could only be an attempt to cash-in on the new Hobbit films. I am very pleased to say that my initial prejudices were completely unfounded. The Wisdom of the Shire is an excellent, well written book, by a true fan of Tolkien.
As we’ve come to expect, Weta and Harper Collins have produced another sumptuous, richly-bound volume detailing the process of turning words and imagination into the films we see. It’s written by Daniel Falconer, who’s had a hands-on overview of the road to executing Jackson’s vision since the beginning of LOTR. Thus you see many sketches exploring the different concepts that inform the finished designs we see on screen, and a wealth of objects you only dream of studying at leisure and in detail. It’s full of insights into how the film’s creators saw the character and history of The Hobbit’s people, creatures and places. The actors get to speak about their characters too, so we learn for instance that Sylvester McCoy loves animals in real life – he whistles to birds and they whistle back! Definitely a book to treasure. It’s full of spoilers too promising scenes that we can hope to see in the extended edition DVDs if nowhere else – scenes with the Old Took and Belladonna Took, Gandalf’s first meeting with Bilbo when he was a young boy, and a closer look at more Shirefolk such as Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, Old Gammidge and Old Hob. Check out some scans below. [Purchase Today!] Continue reading “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Chronicles”
In the United States, Tolkien publishers Houghton Mifflin Harcourt are releasing five books to tie-in with the first of Peter Jackson’s Hobbit movies – and they go on sale next Tuesday, 6th November. Here are the details:
As we all know, J R R Tolkien was, from an early age, fascinated by myth and heroic legend, reading all he could of the romances and epics of many nations. In a letter to Milton Waldman, which appears in the Preface to the second edition of The Silmarillion, he wrote that he was ‘grieved by the poverty of my own beloved country: it had no stories of its own … Of course there was and is all the Arthurian world, but powerful as it is, it is imperfectly naturalized, associated with the soil of Britain but not with the English; and does not replace what I felt to be missing…’
being asked to review a self help book based on the Shire. We tend to be a bit wary of these sorts of books and part of me jumped to the conclusion that such a book could only be an attempt to cash-in on the new Hobbit films. I am very pleased to say that my initial prejudices were completely unfounded. The Wisdom of the Shire is an excellent, well written book, by a true fan of Tolkien.
