The Lord of the Rings: A Reader’s Companion, by Wayne G.
Hammond and Christina Scull. (2005)
“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 in close detail important
literary and historical influences on the development of The Lord of the Rings,
connections between that work and other writings by Tolkien, errors and
inconsistencies, significant changes to the text during its fifty years of
publication, archaic and unusual words used by Tolkien, and words and passages
in his invented languages of Middle-earth. 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. In addition to their own expertise and that of other scholars and
critics, Hammond and Scull frequently draw upon comments by Tolkien himself,
made in letters to family, friends, and enthusiasts, in draft texts of The Lord
of the Rings, and in works written in later years which amplify or illuminate
characters and events in the story. 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.” – Amazon. The closest I
think we are ever going to come to an annotated LOTR.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Annotations. Literary Criticism. Hardback.
The J. R. R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: Chronology; and The
J. R. R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: Reader’s Guide, by Christina Scull and
Wayne G. Hammond. (2006)
A boxed set of two volumes. “For a complete, in-depth,
up-to-date look at Tolkien, Middle-Earth, and Tolkien Studies, nothing comes
close to the double volume set of Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond's The
J. R. R. Tolkien Companion and Guide. 2200 pages, $100 value
(which I got for considerably less), published less than three years ago, in a
fine slipcase set. The Chronology is as close as you can get
to a day-to-day look at what was going on in Tolkien's long life.
The Reader's Guide covers characters, themes, and works, giving
summations of plot, publishing history, and critical responses to individual
works.” – Power of Babel.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Literary History. Biography. Hardbacks.
The History of The Hobbit Part One: Mr. Baggins; and The
History of The Hobbit Part Two: Return to Bag-End. By J. R. R. Tolkien. Edited
by John D. Rateliff. (2007)
“The History of The Hobbit is a two-volume study
of J. R.
R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. It was published by HarperCollins in May and June 2007 in the
United Kingdom, with both volumes released in the United States by Houghton Mifflin on 21 September 2007; a boxed
set combining The Hobbit with The History of The
Hobbit was released on 26 October 2007. A single volume edition was released on
27 October 2011. The two-volume work contains Tolkien's unpublished drafts of
the novel, with commentary by John D. Rateliff. It also details Tolkien's
various revisions to The Hobbit, including abandoned revisions for
the unpublished third edition of the work, intended for 1960, as well as
previously unpublished original maps and illustrations drawn by Tolkien
himself. When Christopher
Tolkien began
publishing The History of Middle-earth, a twelve-volume series documenting
J. R. R. Tolkien's creative writing process in the creation of Middle-earth, with texts dating from the 1910s to
the 1990s, he made a conscious decision not to issue a volume detailing the
creation of The Hobbit. According to him, The Hobbit was
not originally a part of the Middle-earth universe and was attached to his
father's earlier, far darker legendarium only superficially, although
the existence of The Hobbit forever altered the legendarium.
As Christopher Tolkien was not going to embark on a published study of The
Hobbit, the task was given to Taum Santoski in the 1980s. Santoski had
connections to the Marquette collection of Tolkien material,
which is where the original manuscripts reside. He died in 1991, and ultimately
the task passed to John Rateliff. Although Christopher Tolkien did not work
directly on The History of The Hobbit, the work is in a very
similar vein to the "literary archaeology" of his History of
Middle-earth. Rateliff submitted a finished draft of the book to
Christopher Tolkien, who, approving of the work, gave The History of
The Hobbit his personal blessing to be published in association with
his father's other works.” – Wikipedia.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Fantasy. Literary Analysis. Hardbacks.
A special compilation of classic
essays by the likes of Auden, Asimov, Lewis, Edmund Wilson, and Ursula K.
LeGuin, it is also notable for me because the cover is the sketch (by David
Levine) that accompanied John Gardner’s 1977 assessment of ‘The Silmarillion’
in the Times Literary Review.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Essays. Criticism.
Softcover.
The J. R. R. Tolkien Handbook, by Colin Duriez. Foreword by
Brian Sibley. (1992, 2002)
“A Concise Guide to His Life, Writings, and World of
Middle-Earth.” “J. R. R. Tolkien created an entire fantasy world-complete with
its own history, languages, geography, and literature. Readers are quickly
caught up in orcs and hobbits, ents, elven lords, and hundreds of other
fascinating and often complex characters who inhabit this magical place. But
what are readers to do when they can't remember who Amras was, where in
Middle-earth Caras Galadon can be found, or what one might expect to see in the
Halls of Mandos? They can open their copy of the J. R. R. Tolkien Handbook.
This helpful guide presents all the key characters, places, and things of
importance in Tolkien's writings in dictionary format. It also contains details
about Tolkien's friends and colleagues, the writers and thinkers who influenced
his work, summaries of his beliefs and how they are revealed in his writing,
and a handy list of Tolkien's works. Asterisks within articles show other
references, allowing readers and students to follow themes that capture their
interest and discover more on how Tolkien's life and writing interweave.” –
Amazon.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Reference. Literary. Softcover.
The Tolkien Companion, by J. E. A Tyler. (1976, 1977)
An early buy, but I can’t quite remember from where. Cover
art of Gandalf and some Dwarves by the same guy who did concept art for the
Shire parts of Bakshi’s movie and illustrated a huge fantasy novel about
dragons in the 80’s that I can’t remember the title of and just pissed away 20
minutes trying to find. [Okay, it’s Joseph Zucker and the book was
“Dragonworld”] Oy. Treats Middle-Earth as if it were real history. Later
revised and re-issued as The New Tolkien Companion, but why bother? Has cover
damage that is for once my own fault. My name and phone number on the title
page.
Ranking: Keeper.
File Code: Reference. Middle-Earth. Softcover.
The Complete Guide to Middle-Earth, by Robert Foster. (1978)
An update of “The Guide to Middle-Earth” in the wake of the publication of ‘The
Silmarillion’. I bought this copy at Half-Price years later; it’s a George
Allen and Unwin, so printed in Great Britain.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Reference. Fantasy. Hardback.
The QPB Companion to ‘The Lord of the Rings’, by The Quality
Paperback Book Club. (2001)
Another edition of a book I had forgotten or didn’t realize I
already had. This version has a part of a picture of Rivendell by Tolkien on
it. Famous essays, yadda, yadda, yadda. See the other entry elsewhere.
Ranking: Still Essential.
File Code: Essays. Literary Criticism. Softcover.
For years TheOneRing.Net was where I
would go for breaking Tolkien news; since the release of the last ‘Hobbit’
movie they have slowed down. But I would always read with interest the posts by
Quickbeam, Tehanu, Anwyn and Turgon, four superfans, and here are gathered and
printed some of their best pieces on the world of Tolkien in all its forms.
Ranking: Essential.
File Code: Essays. Articles. Softcover.
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