The Silmarillion [Hardcover]

Although The Silmarillion takes place in the same imaginary world as J.J.R Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, and was originally published four years after the author's death and over two decades after the former book, it is set much earlier, in the First Age of the World. The tales and the book which reads as a fusion between a story collection and historical chronicle, are a matter of legend even to the characters of The Lord of the Rings:

In the beginning Eru, the One, who in the Elvish tongue is named Ilúvatar, made the Ainur of his thought; and they made a great Music before him

Tolkien wrote the heart of this material very early in his career, and continued to work on it throughout his life. It fell to his son, Christopher Tolkien, to edit it into book form, and such proved the unquenchable public appetite that he subsequently oversaw 12 volumes of The History of Middle-Earth. This edition features 20 highly evocative colour plates by Ted Nasmith, themselves worth the price of admission, while reinforcing the sense of a historical work are genealogical tables, an extensive index, appendix and colour map. Far removed from the genial style of The Hobbit, this is Tolkien at his most formal, his prose austere, poetically beautiful, his storytelling capturing the epic scale, high drama and melancholy wonder of myth. These stories of elves and heroes and old gods are quite literally the foundation of the entire modern fantasy-publishing revival, and are therefore essential reading. --Gary S. Dalkin --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

JRR Tolkien is best known for The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings but those who thought these two wonderful adventures marked the height of his imagination have many more delights to come. The Silmarillion represents the source of Tolkien's later work and follows the events of the First Age of Middle Earth. For information, The Lord Of The Rings concerns the end of the Third Age.

The Silmarillion is a gloriously realised story of rebellion, exile, war and the heroism of elves and men. But to gain an insight into the staggering complexity of Tolkien's world, however, the shorter works also included are must-reads. Dealing with the myth of creation, the nature of the Gods, the fall of Númenor and the Rings of Power, they paint a vivid picture not only of Middle Earth but also of the author's soaring imagination.

Tolkien was born of English parents in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 1892 and died in England in 1973. He worked on The Silmarillion from as early as 1917 but the work was not published until after his death. This edition, richly illustrated by Ted Nasmith, is both collector's item and source of reference and fascination for every follower of Tolkien. --James Barclay --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

‘How, given little over half a century of work, did one man become the creative equivalent of a people?’
The Guardian

‘Demanding to be compared with English mythologies… at times rises to the greatness of true myth’
Financial Times

‘A creation of singular beauty… magnificent in its best moments’
Washington Post

‘A grim, tragic, brooding and beautiful book, shot through with heroism and hope… its power is almost that of mysticism’
Toronto Globe & Mail

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of first publication, a new de luxe edition of The Silmarillion, featuring the revised, reset text, a colour frontispiece illustration, bound in special materials and presented in a matching slipcase.

The Silmarillion is an account of the Elder Days, of the First Age of Tolkien’s world. It is the ancient drama to which the characters in The Lord of the Rings look back, and in whose events some of them such as Elrond and Galadriel took part. The tales of The Silmarillion are set in an age when Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in Middle-Earth, and the High Elves made war upon him for the recovery of the Silmarils, the jewels containing the pure light of Valinor.

Included in the book are several shorter works. The Ainulindale is a myth of the Creation and in the Valaquenta the nature and powers of each of the gods is described. The Akallabeth 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 narrated in The Lord of the Rings.

For the first time, we are publishing a deluxe edition of this pivotal work, featuring the revised, corrected text and including, by way of an introduction, a fascinating letter written by Tolkien in 1951 in which he gives a full explanation of how he conceived the early Ages of Middle-earth. Quarter-bound, and set in a matching slipcase, this attractive edition will prove a fine addition to any Tolkien collection.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Tolkien's epic legendary precursor to 'The Lord of the Rings'

The Silmarilli were three perfect jewels, fashioned by Fëanor, most gifted of the Elves, and within them was imprisoned the Last of the Two Trees of Valinor. When the first Dark Lord, Morgoth, stole the jewels and set them within an iron crown in the impenetrable fortress of Angband, Fëanor and his kindred took up arms against the great Enemy and waged a long and terrible war to recover them.

'The Silmarillion' tells the story of the rebellion by Feanor's allies against the gods, their exile from Valinor and return to Middle-earth. It is the history of the heroic First Age in Tolkien's world, the ancient drama long before the time of 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the Rings.'

The new edition of 'The Silmarillion' includes by way of introduction a letter written by J.R.R. Tolkien in 1951 which provides a brilliant exposition of his conception of the earlier Ages.

The cover of this edition of 'The Silmarillion' Shows J.R.R. Tolkien's own painting from July 1928, 'halls of Manwë on the Mountains of the World above Faerie. 'The painting shows the mountain Taniquetil, highest of the mountains that guarded Valinor against Melkor, in the time after the destruction of the Two Trees: for the slopes on one side of the Taniquetil are bathed in sunlight, while those on the other side shine more coldly in the light of the crescent moon. On the height of the mountain, Manwë and his spouse Varda dwelt in a house of white and blue marble upon a field of snow, and their halls are depicted in a glow of light at the summit. At the foot of the mountain is one of the towns of the seafaring Elves, the Teleri, and two of their ships are visible, each with a carved prow like the upheld neck of a swan.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

J.R.R.Tolkien (1892-1973) was a distinguished academic, though he is best known for writing The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, plus other stories and essays. His books have been translated into over 30 languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.