Recommendations based on "The Return of the Shadow The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part One"

Including brand-new paintings, this is a fully illustrated new edition of the forerunner to The Lord of the Rings. The Silmarillion fills in the background which lies behind the more popular work, and gives the earlier history of Middle-earth, introducing some of the key characters.The Silmarillion is the core of J.R.R. Tolkien’s imaginative writing, a collection of narratives ranging in time from the Elder Days of Middle-earth, through the Second Age and the rise of Sauron, to the end of the War of the Ring.They are set in an age when Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in Middle-earth, and the Elves made war upon him in his impenetrable fortress in Angband for the recovery of the Silmarils, three jewels containing the last remaining pure light of Valinor, seized by Morgoth and set in his iron crown.Accompanying these tales are several shorter works. The Ainulindalë is a myth of the Creation and in the Valaquenta the nature and powers of the gods is described. The Akallabêth recounts the downfall of the great island kingdom of Númenor at the end of the Second Age and Of the Rings of Power tells of the great events at the end of the Third Age, as told in The Lord of the Rings.Tolkien could not publish The Silmarillion in his lifetime, as it grew with him, so he would leave it to his son, Christopher, to edit the work from many manuscripts and bring his father’s great vision to publishable form, so completing the literary achievement of a lifetime. This special edition presents anew this seminal first step towards mapping out the posthumous publishing of Middle-earth, and the beginning of an illustrious forty years and more than twenty books celebrating his father’s legacy.Also included is a letter by J.R.R. Tolkien written in 1951 which provides a brilliant exposition of the earlier Ages, and almost 50 full-colour paintings by Ted Nasmith, including some which appear here for the first time.

To celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the publication of The Hobbit, a sumptuous full-colour art book containing the complete collection of more than 100 Hobbit sketches, drawings, paintings and maps by J.R.R. Tolkien.When J.R.R. Tolkien wrote The Hobbit, he was already an accomplished amateur artist, and drew illustrations for his book while it was still in manuscript. The Hobbit as first printed had ten black and white pictures, two maps, and binding and dust-jacket designs by its author. Later, Tolkien also painted five scenes for colour plates which are some of his best work. His illustrations for The Hobbit add an extra dimension to that remarkable book, and have long influenced how readers imagine Bilbo Baggins and his world.To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the publication of The Hobbit, the complete artwork created by the author for his story has been collected in The Art of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. Including related pictures, more than one hundred sketches, drawings, paintings, maps, and plans are presented here, preliminary and alternate versions and experimental designs as well as finished art. Some of these images are now published for the first time, and others for the first time in colour. Fresh digital scans from the Bodleian Libraries in Oxford and Marquette University in Wisconsin allow Tolkien’s Hobbit pictures to be seen more vividly than ever before.The Art of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien has been written and edited by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull, two of the leading experts on Tolkien and authors of the acclaimed J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator, The Lord of the Rings: A Reader’s Companion, and The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide.

A unique companion to The Lord of the Rings which relates the textual history of the Nation's Favourite Read; with a previously unpublished Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings, written by Tolkien himself. In The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion internationally acclaimed scholars Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull examine Tolkien's masterpiece chapter by chapter, offering expert insights into its evolution, structure, and meaning. They discuss important influences on its development, connections between that work and other writings by Tolkien, errors and inconsistencies, significant changes to the text, and archaic and unusual words used by Tolkien. Thousands of notes, keyed to standard editions of The Lord of the Rings but universally accessible, reveal the richness and complexity of one of the most popular works of fiction in our time.Extensive reference is made also to writings by Tolkien not previously or widely published, including elaborate time-schemes, an unfinished manuscript index to The Lord of the Rings, and most notably, the important Nomenclature or guide to names in The Lord of the Rings prepared for the use of translators, long out of print and now newly transcribed and printed in its entirety. With these resources at hand, even the most seasoned reader of The Lord of the Rings will come to a greater enjoyment and appreciation of Tolkien's magnificent achievement. Published originally in 2005, the Reader's Companion won the annual Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inkling Studies. It has now been revised and updated to mark the 60th anniversary of The Lord of the Rings.

This richly illustrated book celebrates in words and pictures the beautiful work that award-winning artist Alan Lee produced for J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, and includes dozens of brand-new paintings and pencil drawings exploring the world of Bilbo Baggins.Since The Hobbit was first published in 1937, generations of readers have fallen under its spell. That magic was reignited sixty years later, when Alan Lee was commissioned to produce a special illustrated edition, and his delicate pencil drawings and beautiful watercolour paintings have become for many the definitive vision of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth.In this sumptuous, large-format hardback Alan Lee reveals in pictures and in words how he created these images, which would prove so powerful, matching perfectly with Tolkien’s own vision, that they would eventually define the look of Peter Jackson’s film adaptations and earn Alan a coveted Academy Award.The Hobbit Sketchbook is filled with more than 100 of his sketches and early conceptual pieces that reveal how the project progressed from idea to finished art. It also contains a wealth of brand-new full-colour paintings and sketches drawn specially for this book, which unlock the secrets of how Alan creates his own magic and provide a fascinating insight into the imagination of the man who breathed new life into Tolkien’s vision.

J R R Tolkien

De luxe boxed gift set of Tolkien’s most popular and charming tales; full of wit and humour, giants, dragons, magic and more, they are collected together for the first time and will delight readers of all ages.Farmer Giles did not look like a hero. He was fat and red-bearded and enjoyed a slow, comfortable life. Then one day a rather deaf and short-sighted giant blundered on to his land…The Adventures of Tom Bombadil collects hobbit-verses from the ‘Red Book’ and other poems relating legends and jests of the Shire at the end of the Third Age.Smith of Wootton Major tells of the preparation of the Great Cake to mark the Feast of Good Children and the magical events which follow.Roverandom is a real dog who is magically transformed into a toy and is forced to seek out the wizard who wronged him in order to be returned to normal. The story was written to console Tolkien's four-year-old son, Michael, who lost a beloved toy dog on the beach.

With Christopher Tolkien as your guide, take a tour through this colourful gallery of enchanting art produced by J.R.R. Tolkien and presented in an elegant new slipcased edition.This collection of pictures, with text by Christopher Tolkien, now reissued after almost 30 years confirms J.R.R. Tolkien’s considerable talent as an artist. It provides fascinating insight into his visual conception of many of the places and events familiar to readers of The Hobbit , The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion .Examples of his art range from delicate watercolours depicting Rivendell, the Forest of Lothlorien, Smaug, and Old Man Willow, to drawings and sketches of Moria Gate and Minas Tirith. Together they form a comprehensive collection of Tolkien’s own illustrations for his most popular books.Also included are many of his beautiful designs showing patterns of flowers and trees, friezes, tapestries and heraldic devices associated with the world of Middle-earth. In their variety and scope they provide abundant visual evidence of the richness of his imagination.This enchanting gallery was personally selected by Christopher Tolkien who, through detailed notes on the sources for each picture, provides unique insight into the artistic vision of his father, J.R.R. Tolkien.

The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of the three volumes that comprise The Lord of the Rings novel. Set in a mythical universe of Middle-earth, this book continues in the same tone as The Hobbit. The Dark Lord, Sauron, is the Lord of the Rings, who is on a mission to reclaim the One Ring and use it to enslave all of Middle-earth.The Fellowship Of The Ring commences with a birthday party in Hobbiton. Bilbo Baggins, the current possessor of the Ring, turns 111 and bequeaths the ring to his cousin, Frodo Baggins. Several years pass and the wizard Gandalf routinely visits Frodo in Bag End. One spring night, he tells Frodo the truth about the Ring and the story behind it. He informs him that Sauron has risen again and is in search of the Ring. Upon learning this, Frodo departs from the Shire alongside three Hobbit friends: Sam, Merry and Pippin.Along the way, the four of them are faced with several obstacles and distractions, including Ringwraiths, who are the servants of Sauron, a malevolent willow tree and an evil tomb ghost. The group befriends wandering Elves on the way and set upon their path across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, intending to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lords plan.The Fellowship of the Ring was published as Film tie-in edition by HarperCollins in 2012 and is available in paperback.Key Features:This book was first published in 1954 in the United Kingdom. This novel is succeeded by The Two Towers and The Return of the King.

Deluxe boxed gift set of pocket edition hardbacks featuring J.R.R. Tolkien’s most popular works, which together tell the tale of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins and of the War of the Ring.When they were first published, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings became instant classics. Treasured by readers young and old, these works of sweeping fantasy, steeped in unrivalled magic and otherworldliness have sold more than 150 million copies around the world.This new boxed set, published to mark the 80th anniversary of the publication of The Hobbit, offers readers a new opportunity to discover Tolkien’s remarkable world of Middle-earth and to follow the complete story of Bilbo Baggins and the Hobbits’ part in the epic quest for the Ring – beginning with Bilbo’s fateful visit from Gandalf and culminating in the dramatic climax between Frodo and Gollum atop Mount Doom and Bilbo’s departure to the Grey Havens.

The ultimate celebration of the spectacular battle in the final Hobbit movie reveals in stunning detail the full creative vision of Peter Jackson and the filmmakers, together with extensive commentary from the director, cast, crew, and almost 2,000 exclusive photos, illustrations and visual effects imagery. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Chronicles - The Art of War goes behind the lines to explore how thousands of artisans brought the defining film of Peter Jackson's adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit to the screen. More than 1,000 intricate illustrations, stunning photographs and never-before-seen imagery illuminate fascinating insights shared by cast and crew, including exclusive content from the extended edition of the final film. Also included is an exclusive fold-out battle map illustrated by Weta Workshop Designer, Nick Keller! From the sorcerous ruins of Dol Guldur and the fiery conflagration of Lake-town, follow the filmmakers on to the blood-soaked battlefields of the Lonely Mountain, and climb the steps of Ravenhill to witness the final, tragic duel of Thorin Oakenshield and Azog, the Pale Orc. Discover the challenges and reactions of the stars of The Battle of the Five Armies as they recount their experiences and excitement. Join the choreographers of the film's action to examine the battle strategies and formations of each of the five armies, and learn how a dozen stunt performers became thousands of digital troops. Pore over archive-quality photography of staggeringly detailed weapons and armour and browse galleries of fearsome war beasts and monsters. As the story of The Hobbit reaches its shattering climax amidst an epic landscape of war and tragedy, join Weta Workshop senior concept designer Daniel Falconer behind the scenes one last time as this sumptuous final book in The Hobbit: Chronicles series celebrates the epic conclusion of The Hobbit film trilogy.