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JRR Tolkien book Beren and Lúthien published after 100 years

B

Beren the Empty-Handed

Member
Did a search - didn't find anything.

45efe8cb-01da-4769-90bf-57c96b535be4.jpg


From BBC, title is theirs:

Beren and Lúthien has been described as a "very personal story" that the Oxford professor thought up after returning from the Battle of the Somme.

It was edited by his son Christopher Tolkien and contains versions of a tale that became part of The Silmarillion.

The book features illustrations by Alan Lee, who won an Academy Award for his work on Peter Jackson's film trilogy.

It is being published on Thursday by HarperCollins on the 10th anniversary of the last Middle Earth book, The Children of Húrin.

Beren and Lúthien is a love story that was partly inspired by Tolkien's wife, Edith.

Tolkien specialist John Garth, who wrote Tolkien And The Great War, said the Hobbit author used his writing like an "exorcism" of the horrors he witnessed in World War One.
He said: "When he came back from the trenches, with trench fever, he spent the winter [of 1916-1917] convalescing.

"He'd lost two of his dearest friends on the Somme and you can imagine he must have been inside as much of a wreck as he was physically."

Mr Garth said on a walk in an East Yorkshire wood Tolkien's wife Edith danced in a glade filled with white flowers, which became the key scene in Beren and Lúthien.

He said: "Mr Tolkien felt the kind of joy he must have felt at times he would never feel again."

The names Beren and Lúthien are carved on the gravestone Tolkien and his wife share in Wolvercote cemetery in Oxford.
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Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-40109396

It is published in the UK by HarperCollins, in the US by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and in multiple languages by different publishers across the world.

HarperCollins' description:

The tale of Beren and Lúthien was, or became, an essential element in the evolution of The Silmarillion, the myths and legends of the First Age of the World conceived by J.R.R. Tolkien. Returning from France and the battle of the Somme at the end of 1916, he wrote the tale in the following year.

Essential to the story, and never changed, is the fate that shadowed the love of Beren and Lúthien: for Beren was a mortal man, but Lúthien was an immortal Elf. Her father, a great Elvish lord, in deep opposition to Beren, imposed on him an impossible task that he must perform before he might wed Lúthien. This is the kernel of the legend; and it leads to the supremely heroic attempt of Beren and Lúthien together to rob the greatest of all evil beings, Melkor, called Morgoth, the Black Enemy, of a Silmaril.

In this book Christopher Tolkien has attempted to extract the story of Beren and Lúthien from the comprehensive work in which it was embedded; but that story was itself changing as it developed new associations within the larger history. To show something of the process whereby this legend of Middle-earth evolved over the years, he has told the story in his father’s own words by giving, first, its original form, and then passages in prose and verse from later texts that illustrate the narrative as it changed. Presented together for the first time, they reveal aspects of the story, both in event and in narrative immediacy, that were afterwards lost.
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Available directly from them (looks like free shipping if you're in the UK)

Also on Amazon

I'm sure this won't be shocking, but mine's in the mail. I'm really excited for this for the extra content but also for the excuse to read the story again. If anyone hasn't read it, and is too intimidated by The Silmarillion, this is an excellent way to get into some of the "older" material. Similarly (hahaha), I would suggest The Children of Húrin, a different story from the same age.

And no, they won't be making a film until most everyone on this board is dead, unless the Tolkien Estate changes its mind.

Have Sauron throw me into a pit and feed me to wolves if old.
 
T

tryagainlater

Member
It's pretty impressive that he continues to publish books even though he's been dead for 40 years. The story is good enough that it deserves its own release. I recently read The Children of Hurin and loved it. Looking forward to this.
 
L

Loxley

Member
Mine's in the mail, can't wait to dive into it. Although as an Alan Lee fanboy I'm almost more interested in the new artwork he created for it than the story itself XD
 
S

Saucycarpdog

Member
This is the kernel of the legend; and it leads to the supremely heroic attempt of Beren and Lúthien together to rob the greatest of all evil beings, Melkor, called Morgoth, the Black Enemy, of a Silmaril.
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Wait, THAT Morgoth? The guy who is basically an allegory for the Devil?

I might have to get this book.
 
P

PudieRSC

Member
As someone who's only familiar with LotR/The Hobbit this seems to basically be the basis for the Aragorn/Arwen relationship. Is that correct?
 
B

Beren the Empty-Handed

Member
PudieRSC said:
As someone who's only familiar with LotR/The Hobbit this seems to basically be the basis for the Aragorn/Arwen relationship. Is that correct?
Click to expand...

Some of the basics are similar (mortal and immortal, unhappy dad), but the individual stories of how the relationships go are completely different. Beren and Aragorn and Luthien and Arwen are all completely different characters on fundamental levels. For instance, Luthien is badass of a caliber rarely seen among women in fiction (particularly fantasy), and she doesn't even wield a weapon.

Apart from that, this tale is a love story mixed into a fairy tale (don't worry, there's plenty of dire circumstances and gruesomeness), while Aragorn and Arwen are closer to the girl-sits-at-home-while-bf-saves-the-world-on-an-epic-quest tale. Beren and Luthien subvert the typical tropes in the genre, even though it was written before the fantasy genre was even really codified (by Tolkien's own Lord of the Rings, no less). At the same time it borrows from ancient myth and story, which is of course Tolkien's interest.

The real source of the story is Tolkien's own life. As a youth he was in love with his future wife, but his guardian forbade the relationship. He told Tolkien to wait until he was 21, hoping they'd drift apart. Tolkien respected his wish and waited, and when he turned 21 he immediately wrote her asking for her hand in marriage. He told her why he'd ghosted her, but that he'd never stopped loving her. She accepted.
 
G

GhaleonEB

Member
Badenergytroll said:
But will it get a Peter Jackson produced film?
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OP said:
And no, they won't be making a film until most everyone on this board is dead, unless the Tolkien Estate changes its mind.
Click to expand...

Just tossed it into the Amazon cart. I might give the Silmarillion another crack, I never made it through the first quarter or so, but I heard it got easier going beyond that point.
 
T

TheBowen

Sat alone in a boggy marsh
As someone who loves the films and lore, will i understand this book without the context of the simarrilion ?

At 288 pabes it seems like a more easily digestible read then the LOTR books which ive been meaning to get into
 
T

toddhunter

Member
GhaleonEB said:
Just tossed it into the Amazon cart. I might give the Silmarillion another crack, I never made it through the first quarter or so, but I heard it got easier going beyond that point.
Click to expand...

The only good bit of the Silmarillion is this story.

So ... I would just get this instead.
 
B

Beren the Empty-Handed

Member
Badenergytroll said:
But will it get a Peter Jackson produced film?
Click to expand...

Only if they resurrect him or turn him into a cyborg or something down the line.

TheBowen said:
As someone who loves the films and lore, will i understand this book without the context of the simarrilion ?

At 288 pabes it seems like a more easily digestible read then the LOTR books which ive been meaning to get into
Click to expand...

I haven't read it yet so I cannot say, but the tale itself works fairly well as a standalone, with the rest of the legendarium in the background. If the multiple references to other things didn't bother you in The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings, it shouldn't bother you here. The only real info you need is Morgoth is basically Lucifer, and the Silmarils are the most priceless of priceless jewels (they're more than that, but they're jewels as well).

EDIT: Aw shit, didn't register that you probably didn't read the LOTR books. Are you okay with some references to outside events going over your head? If so, you'll be fine. If not, this might egg you on into pursuing those references. ;)
 
T

TehOh

Member
I'm a little unclear - is this a more detailed version of the story? I've read the Silmarillion, and love that story, but this is clearly much longer. Just not clear on what had been added.

Will have to order this. The cover is beautiful.
 
TheContact

TheContact

Member
For anyone who doesn't know, the battle of the Somme (like most ww1 battles) was fucking vicious and over a million casualties were reported. Tolken went through fucking hell
 
T

toddhunter

Member
TehOh said:
I'm a little unclear - is this a more detailed version of the story? I've read the Silmarillion, and love that story, but this is clearly much longer. Just not clear on what had been added.

Will have to order this. The cover is beautiful.
Click to expand...

Same story but adds sixteen chapters of Legolas fighting giant rhinos.

Also adds giant rhinos.
 
M

moustascheman

Member
I really need to order this, especially when it has such a beautiful cover. Beren and Luthien was always one of my favorite Tolkien stories so I really can't miss out on this.
 
O

Ogodei

Member
TheBowen said:
As someone who loves the films and lore, will i understand this book without the context of the simarrilion ?

At 288 pabes it seems like a more easily digestible read then the LOTR books which ive been meaning to get into
Click to expand...

There's a little bit you need to understand, because the First Age has a lot of geography that's completely different than Middle Earth proper, because the final battle against Morgoth caused a whole chunk of Northwest Middle Earth to collapse into the sea, the Grey Havens and the Blue Mountains, the far Northwest of Middle Earth in Ages 2 and 3, formed the *eastern* bound of Beleriand, where almost all of the important stuff in the Silmarillion takes place.

The key setup is that the Elves returning to Middle Earth at first have an advantage against Morgoth and kept him beseiged up in his fortress in the far north. Beren and Luthien takes place after Morgoth's first breakout move, where he covers a large chunk of the north in magma, destroying the kingdom of Beren's father and forcing Beren to flee south after some misadventures.
 
A

aadiboy

Member
How much of this was written by him and not his son, though? Also, how does this work in relation to The Silmarillion? I feel like it would be weird to read a condensed version of The Hobbit and LOTR and then read the books themselves afterwards.
 
B

Blizzard

Banned
Thank you for the heads up. I don't know how to read much anymore, but this would make a perfect gift for my brother.
 
W

wildfire

Banned
Been awhile since I read the abridged version in Simallarum or however it is spelled.

I'm dreading reading this book since it will be a major time investment that will suck me in.
 
B

BorkBork

The Legend of BorkBork: BorkBorkity Borking
I know people love to hate on Tolkien songs, but the Beren and Luthien chapter in the Silmarillion had probably my favourite one. Spoilers for a 100 year old book:

The Contest of Felagund and Sauron

He chanted a song of wizardry,
Of piercing, opening, of treachery,
Revealing, uncovering, betraying.
Then sudden Felagund there swaying
Sang in answer a song of staying,
Resisting, battling against power,
Of secrets kept, strength like a tower,
And trust unbroken, freedom, escape;
Of changing and of shifting shape,
Of snares eluded, broken traps,
The prison opening, the chain that snaps.
Backwards and forwards swayed their song.
Reeling and foundering, as ever more strong
The chanting swelled, Felagund fought,
And all the magic and miht he brought
Of Elvenesse into his words.
Softly in the gloom they heard the birds
Singing afar in Nargothrond,
The sighing of the sea beyond,
Beyond the western world, on sand,
On sand of pearls in Elvenland.
Then the gloom gathered; darkness growing
In Valinor, the red blood flowing
Beside the Sea, where the Noldor slew
The Foamriders, and stealing drew
Their white ships with their white sails
From lamplit havens. The wind wails,
The wolf howls. The ravens flee.
The ice mutters in the mouths of the Sea.
The captives sad in Angband mourn.
Thunder rumbles, the fires burn –
And Finrod fell before the throne.
 
S

SomethingInTheSea

Member
Just got this book as a gift, I love reading the differences between this and The Silmarillion. Just like The Children of Huron, it's really interesting to see the changes that were made to the story over time.

Also, the art is just amazing, especially the cover.
 
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