Christopher Tolkien to finish lost Middle Earth novel

[davem]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

Just for the sake of discussion, care to elaborate on why you think this is one of the best?

Well, for one thing, most of the reviews I've seen so far have had little original to say. There are probably no more than a dozen really good ones I've come across - ones with something significant to say. I think this reviewer has real insight into what Tolkien was doing, & demolishes a couple of the sillier reviews. What's interesting is that this guy is a Catholic, & one would think that as such he'd play up the 'bigger picture' argument - seeing CoH in the context of the Legendarium, & drawing in the 'eucatastrophic' fall of Morgoth - as certain of my 'opponents' in the Turin the Hopeless thread did:

Originally Posted by Tom Simon

Who, then, is morally simplistic, or childish, or escapist? Is it the great authors of the last century — Tolkien, Orwell, Vonnegut, Burgess, to name only a few — who dressed up human wickedness in fairy-tale costumes so that we could bear to look upon it and call it by its name? Or the academics and critics, the Modernists and Postmodernists, who refused to look and pretended it did not exist? It takes a peculiar and wilful blindness to accuse Tolkien of moral puerility, or to read him without seeing the deadly seriousness of the issues his fantasies raise. The Children of Húrin is Tolkien at his darkest, Tolkien looking into the abyss; and I find it deeply disturbing that none of his enemies and few of his friends seem capable of grasping the fact.

This is another very good piece on Tolkien by Simon http://superversive.livejournal.com/47255.html#cutid1

[Bêthberry]

Yes, I think you are right; Simon's review does Tolkien the honour of treating him as an artist and discussing the work as a creation. I was initially put off by his opening gambit of that old canard of the academic critics who naysay Tolkien, but pleasantly impressed with his bookend about gushing fans.

For my reading, I find Hurin more interesting and compelling than The Silm. Perhaps because the characterizations are more closely developed with the theme of fate, perhaps because the malice of Morgoth is dramatised more, perhaps because Tolkien has for me captured that entire world view which I find so fascinating in Beowulf, fatalism, dustsceawung. Rarely has a story explored so relentlessly the nature and foibles of human pride.

Interesting too, what Simon says--ha ha--that only in fantasy could we look upon the face of evil.

[davem]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

... perhaps because Tolkien has for me captured that entire world view which I find so fascinating in Beowulf, fatalism, dustsceawung. Rarely has a story explored so relentlessly the nature and foibles of human pride.
.

What Simon said about Tolkien looking into the Abyss struck me. He does, & I think its significant that there is virtually no detailed description of the Elvish glories of either Menegroth or Nargothrond. the bleak landscape of Amon Rudh & environs is given more focus, as is Brethil & Turin's childhood home in Dor Lomin. The wild, uninhabited regions are painted in more detail than the islands of civilisation, & its as if they are far more 'real', while the Elven realms are transitory, almost like dreams. The absence of any kind of 'glorious' victory is also of great significance Turin may defeat his foes but there is no sense of a more than transitory victory. Its as if right from the start we are being told not to hope for any good outcome.

On a side note, the more I consider it, the more I feel that Lee's paintings are a mistake. A couple of them show the Elven realms, & I'm not sure they don't make them seem too 'real' & solid. Also, I'm not sure that a work like this should have colour paintings at all. Perhaps they should have stuck to the pencil illustrations that top & tail the chapters. Another option would have been the 'woodcut' effect illustrations used in the Folio Society Hobbit, LotR & Sil

[Mithalwen]

Just a note to say that The Children of Hurin is still top of the Hard back fiction lists outselling Wilbur Smith, Joanne Harris, Ian McEwan.....

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by davem

Another option would have been the 'woodcut' effect illustrations used in the Folio Society Hobbit, LotR & Sil

davem, who did those illustrations and what are the dates of the publications?

For comparison, here's a link to British Museum's website, with pictures and descriptions of the King's Helm, Sutton Hoo. Apparently it was decorated with a dragon, among other items. Make sure you check out the replica, too, as well as the reconstructed helm.

The original helm was found crushed into hundreds of pieces; several reconstructions have been made. I recall being quite surprised at the small size when I saw it.

[davem]

Originally Posted by Bêthberry

davem, who did those illustrations and what are the dates of the publications?

More from the Folio Society site
http://www.foliosoc.co.uk/folio/tolkien.php

Couple of points. Ingahild Grathmer, who did the original illustrations which Eric Fraser re-drew for LotR & TH, is actually Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. Fraser also painted the cover for the Radio Times back in 1981, to promote the Radio Adaptation of LotR http://www.briansibley.com/Broadcast...GoesEverOn.htm. For some reason the British Folio Society no longer publish The Sil.

[davem]

Some interesting thoughts on the curse in this blog

http://bethsperaindomino.blogspot.co...ok-review.html

[davem]

http://drvector.blogspot.com/2007/05...-of-hurin.html

http://www.hergenraders.com/wordpress/?p=752

[davem]

I like Tom Simon's idea http://superversive.livejournal.com/47255.html#cutid1

At one time, indeed, rumour said that it would be released in four volumes, and that might have been the better approach. A very successful version might have been constructed with one volume dedicated to each of the four great tales, and the earlier history of the Eldar and the Silmarils brought in gradually as backstory. The history of Fëanor would have been a logical annexe to the tale of Beren and Lúthien. The Valaquenta and the early wars of the Valar against Morgoth would have fitted well with the tale of Túrin, since ‘in it are revealed most evil works of Morgoth Bauglir’. The story of the Nauglamír (or Nauglafring) was explicitly intended as the opening section of the Tale of Eärendil; and so on. Then each book would have had a sympathetic protagonist, and a hook upon which to hang a more or less novelistic structure; and they would also have retained some of the enchantment of remote vistas that Tolkien recognized to be so powerful an attraction in The Lord of the Rings:

Though I'm not sure a fourth volume about the Voyage of Earendel & the Fall of Morgoth would have been necessary - those events could have formed an Epilogue to the Gondolin book - not every significant event in M-e history needs to be told in full length (cf the Last Alliance/Fall of Sauron). The Nauglafring/Fall of Doriath could have been included in the Beren & Luthien volume.

But therein lies another problem in starting to put out new works based on Tolkien's writings - the whole franchise thing. Look at the number of Star Wars/Star Trek nevels out there. Authorise another writer or writers to pick up the baton & where do you stop?

Sadly, there isn't, & cannot be, a Beren & Luthien or Tale of Gondolin novel by JRR Tolkien - & who'd really be happy if any other writer took over? Look at the arguments over the director of a Hobbit movie?

Nope - I'd love to have Beren & Luthien & The Fall of Gondolin from the hand of Tolkien. I'd also like a copy of the First Ed. of The Hobbit with a personalised dedication to me from JRRT, & a signed statement from him confirming Balrogs do not have wings - but the former are as impossible to get as the latter. I think we just have to regretfully accept that the First Age Trilogy will never see the light of day - not from Tolkien's hand anyway. And as I asked earlier - who would you trust to write new versions?

[ianintheuk]

Well I think there is a possibility of a FIRST AGE TRILOGY, I have for some time been working on such a text (for my own amusement I must add) and since the announcement of the publication of The Children of Hurin have worked more to compile the “missing” tales.

I have at present completed a version of the FALL OF GONDOLIN which incorporates the whole tale of Gondolin from its founding thru’ to the War of Wrath. This was done to include the story of Maeglin so that the whole narrative could be found (to us CJRT’s words) between the covers of one volume. I have included all texts a from HOME, The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales that are relevant and edited it into one (approx) style, but have not introduced any new elements on non JRRT text.


Since the publication of The Children of Hurin I have set this text to mimic the published book (i.e. using the same font size, page size and layout) this has resulted in a book of 322 pages chaptered as follows

Contents

Preface

THE FALL OF GONDOLIN

THE EXILE FROM AMAN AND THE FOUNDING OF GONDOLIN 17

AREDHEL, EOL AND MAEGLIN 24

HURIN AND HUOR 41

NIRNAETH ARNOEDIAD 47

THE YOUTH OF TUOR 62

THE WORDS OF ULMO 78

THE STEADFAST MARINER 91

THE JOURNEY TO THE HIDDEN CITY 103

THE GATES OF GONDOLIN 121

TUOR AND TURGON 134

IDRIL AND TUOR 143

THE CAPTURE OF MAEGLIN 151

THE FALL OF GONDOLIN 162

THE EXILES OF GONDOLIN 207

OF EARENDIL AND THE WAR OF WRATH 220

APPENDIX 245

NOTES 247
THE PROBLEM OF ROS 259
INDEX OF NAMES 278
GEANEALOGIES 317


As you can see I have included a preface and Appendix more or less in line with the published COH.

I am still working on my version of BEREN AND LUTHIEN and trying to decide if it should end with the plea of Luthien or should also include the ruin of Doriath.
My idea is to use the Lat of Lethien and transliterate this into prose.

If anyone is interested I will post this once its finished.

[davem]

http://drvector.blogspot.com/2007/05...by-morons.html