Second in a series of hardback boxed sets celebrating the literary achievement of Christopher Tolkien, featuring double-sided dustjackets. This collection includes THE LAYS OF BELERIAND, THE SHAPING OF MIDDLE-EARTH and THE LOST ROAD, which contain the early myths and legends that led to the writings of THE SILMARILLION.

The Lays of Beleriand provides insight into the creation of the mythology of Middle-earth through alliterative verse tales of key stories in Tolkien’s world – those of Túrin and of Beren and Lúthien. Accompanying the poems are commentaries on the evolution of the history of the Elder Days, alongside notable criticism of The Lay of Leithian by C.S. Lewis, who read the poem in 1929.

The Shaping of Middle-earth presents the chronological and geographical structure of the legends of Middle-earth and Valinor. New concepts are introduced, such as Ambarkanta or ‘Shape of the World’, the only account of the imagined Universe, with maps and diagrams illustrating the world before and after the events of the War of the Gods and the Downfall of Númenor. This volume also includes the original ‘Silmarillion’ of 1926, and the Quenta Noldorinwa of 1930, the only completed version of the myths and legends of the First Age by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The Lost Road finalizes the examination of Tolkien’s writing prior to The Lord of the Rings, presenting later forms of the annals of Valinor and Beleriand, the legend of the downfall of Númenor, and the abandoned ‘time-travel’ story The Lost Road, linking Númenor and Middle-earth with various legends across times and peoples.

Published together for the first time, these three books comprise a fascinating period of Christopher Tolkien’s career devoted to presenting his father J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings on Middle-earth, celebrating one of the greatest invented worlds in fantasy literature.

Σελίδες: 1200, Διαστάσεις: 14.9x14.9cm