"Children of Húrin" has been published...

[TheTennisBallKid]

Link

Unfinished J.R.R. Tolkien Tale to be Published
Source: The Associated Press
September 18, 2006


The Associated Press reports that "The Children of Húrin," an unfinished tale by J.R.R. Tolkien, has been edited by his son into a completed work and will be released next spring.

Christopher Tolkien has spent the past 30 years working on the book, an epic tale his father began in 1918 and later abandoned. Excerpts of "The Children of Húrin," which includes the elves and dwarves of Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" and other works, have been published before.

"It has seemed to me for a long time that there was a good case for presenting my father's long version of the legend of the 'Children of Húrin' as an independent work, between its own covers," Christopher Tolkien said.

The new book will be published by Houghton Mifflin in the United States and HarperCollins in England.

ttbk

[Voronwë the Faithful]

[Athrabeth]

Now I can fall into despair over yet another version of the most tragic tale of the Sil.



Goodie.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I can't help wondering how this will differ from the version of the Narn that he published in Unfinished Tales. Will it be a collection of various different versions of the story, or one continuous tale? Will it include the Wanderings of Húrin? Will it include stuff made up by Christopher?

I have to admit, this sounds suspiciously like an attempt to milk the material for all it's worth, but perhaps I will be pleasantly surprised. I wonder whether it will contain any material that I will need to consult for my project?

[Jnyusa]

I wonder whether it will contain any material that I will need to consult for my project?

Of course it will! You are required to read everything every published about the works of Tolkien!


It does sound exciting. How many years has it been since the last HoME volume was published?

Jn

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I believe that the last volume, The Peoples of Middle-earth, was published in late 1996. So it's been ten years.

I will reserve judgment about this until I see it, or at least until I know more about it. I having a hard time picturing it being anything other then a reprocessing of what has already been published. But we will see.

[Primula Baggins]

<Prim silently falls one book farther behind>

[Impenitent]

Unlikely Prim; how new can the material be, unless he wrote it himself? I foresee a smoother seguing between the various threads and versions of the story in to a cohesive whole. I wonder whether that will be more satisfying than what we already have?

[Rowanberry]

My guess is that, it will basically be the "Narn" from Unfinished Tales completed with the parts that are only in the Silmarillion (the Nargothrond part, IIRC), and "The Wanderings of Húrin" from HoME.

[MithLuin]

Yes, with some "editorial" help . But it did suggest that at least some of it was previously unpublished, so....I wonder.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

He may have decided to significantly rewrite the middle portion of the Narn. In the introduction to UT he said that he "contrived a narrative, in scale commensurate with other parts of the Narn out of the existing materials." He also says "The Narn is here at its least finished, and in places diminishes to outlines of possible turns in the story." So maybe he's decided to follow some different turns in the story then he did before. Or maybe he intends to include alternate versions showing what those various different turns were.

[axordil]

This kind of explains why there wasn't more of the material presented in HOME, though, doesn't it? It appears it was an ongoing concern, or perhaps a nagging in the back of his mind, even then.

It would be very interesting indeed to see the Narn written on the same scale as something like LOTR...even in its present incarnations it's more remote than that, while being more accessible than most of the Sil.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

This kind of explains why there wasn't more of the material presented in HOME, though, doesn't it? It appears it was an ongoing concern, or perhaps a nagging in the back of his mind, even then.

Yes, he does say in the the introduction to The War of the Jewels that with that book his presentation of his father's work on the Eldar Days is virtually complete, except for the muddle of material on the "Túrin Saga". But I think it is a bunch of different plot sketches and alternate versions, not additional material that could expand on what we already have.

It would be very interesting indeed to see the Narn written on the same scale as something like LOTR...even in its present incarnations it's more remote than that, while being more accessible than most of the Sil.

That would require, if I understand correctly, CT expanding the material to a far greater extent that he has done before. I really question whether he has the ability to do that. I think that Rowanberry is probably right, maybe with some extensive additional material consisting of alternate versions and such. I must say I hope that CT does not significantly rewrite the material.

[halplm]

I've often thought someone should be given the opportunity to write much of what's in the Silmarillion in a more fleshed out narrative... who that someone should be could never be decided, of course

[Alatar]

Synopsis from Amazon.co.uk

Painstakingly restored from Tolkien's manuscripts and presented for the first time as a fully continuous and standalone story, the epic tale of The Children of Húrin will reunite fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Men, dragons and Dwarves, eagles and Orcs, and the rich landscape and characters unique to Tolkien. Túrin is born into a Middle-earth crushed by the recent victory of the Dark Lord, Morgoth, and his monstrous army. The greatest warriors among Elves and Men have perished and Túrin's father, Húrin, has been captured. For his defiance, Húrin's entire family is cursed by Morgoth to be brought down into darkness and despair. But, like his father, Túrin refuses to be cowed by Morgoth and as he grows so does the legend of the deadly hero. In a land overrun with marauding Orcs, Túrin gathers to him a band of outlaws and gradually they begin to turn the tide in the war for supremacy of Middle-earth. Then Morgoth unleashes his greatest weapon: Glaurung, Mightiest of Dragons, and he proves an unstoppable foe. As the Dragon carves a fiery swathe through Middle-earth there remains only one man who can slay him, but to do that he will first have to confront his destiny. The Children of Húrin was one of three Great Tales begun by J.R.R. Tolkien as he recovered from the horrors of the First World War, and he worked on refining and improving it for the rest of his life. This tragic tale of adventure, heroism, suffering and love stands as one of the finest expressions of his skills as a storyteller and the narrative is as powerful as anything contained within The Lord of the Rings. Painstakingly reconstructed by Christopher Tolkien from his father's manuscripts, it can finally be enjoyed as the author originally intended.

[Primula Baggins]

If I didn't know CT's attitude toward the films, I would at once assume that he was trying to publish another filmable property, one for which he actually owned the rights.

[Alatar]

Ooooh.... wouldn't that be nice.

[Inanna]

wow.... am going to get depressed when I read it all over again.

[vison]

*yawns*

He's not storing up stars in his heavenly crown.

But he's storing up something.

Sorry if that offends, but that's how I see it: milking the milch cow of his father's imagination.

*toddles off to get an attitude adjustment before it's suggested*

[Voronwë the Faithful]

vison, unless proven otherwise, that's pretty much how I see it as well. There certainly hasn't been anything that has suggested that there will be anything really new that comes out of this.

*Goes to see if he can pre-order it*