The Lord Of The Rings: 50th Anniversary Edition

The Fellowship of the Ring, part one of J.R.R. Tolkien s epic masterpiece, ?rst reached these shores on October 21, 1954, arriving, as C. S. Lewis proclaimed, "like lightning from a clear sky." Fifty years and nearly one hundred million American readers later comes a beautiful new one-volume collector s edition be?tting the stature of this crown jewel of our list. With a text fully corrected under the supervision of Christopher Tolkien to meet the author s exacting wishes and two large-format fold-out maps, a ribbon placemarker, and exceptionally elegant packaging, this edition is one of the finest we ve ever produced.

Editorial Reviews

On the golden anniversary of The Lord of the Rings, Houghton Mifflin is releasing the finest one-volume edition of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic trilogy. The Lord of the Rings: 50th Anniversary Edition is truly unique: It contains for the first time "The Book of Mazarbul," from which Gandalf reads in Balin's Tomb in the Mines of Moria. The author himself painstakingly drew, stained, burned, and scarred the pages of this book to enhance their effect, and he repeatedly expressed his disappointment that their inclusion was deemed impractical. In addition to the facsimile book, this edition includes an appendix that enables readers to decipher the dwarfish script. This edition includes two-color foil stamping; a protective box with inset panels; a fully corrected text; two large-format two-color fold-out maps; and a ribbon place-marker.

About The Author:

About The Author:

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on the 3rd January, 1892 at Bloemfontein in the Orange Free State, but at the age of four he and his brother were taken back to England by their mother. After his father's death the family moved to Sarehole, on the south-eastern edge of Birmingham. Tolkien spent a happy childhood in the countryside and his sensibility to the rural landscape can clearly be seen in his writing and his pictures.

His mother died when he was only twelve and both he and his brother were made wards of the local priest and sent to King Edward's School, Birmingham, where Tolkien shine in his classical work. After completing a First in English Language and Literature at Oxford, Tolkien married Edith Bratt. He was also commissioned in the Lancashire Fusiliers and fought in the battle of the Somme. After the war, he obtained a post on the New English Dictionary and began to write the mythological and legendary cycle which he originally called "The Book of Lost Tales" but which...

Name:J.R.R. Tolkien

Also Known As:John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (full name)

Date of Birth:January 3, 1892

Place of Birth:Bloemfontein, South Africa

Date of Death:September 2, 1973

Education:B.A., Exeter College, Oxford University, 1915; M.A., 1919

Biography

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on the 3rd January, 1892 at Bloemfontein in the Orange Free State, but at the age of four he and his brother were taken back to England by their mother. After his father's death the family moved to Sarehole, on the south-eastern edge of Birmingham. Tolkien spent a happy childhood in the countryside and his sensibility to the rural landscape can clearly be seen in his writing and his pictures.

His mother died when he was only twelve and both he and his brother were made wards of the local priest and sent to King Edward's School, Birmingham, where Tolkien shine in his classical work. After completing a First in English Language and Literature at Oxford, Tolkien married Edith Bratt. He was also commissioned in the Lancashire Fusiliers and fought in the battle of the Somme. After the war, he obtained a post on the New English Dictionary and began to write the mythological and legendary cycle which he originally called "The Book of Lost Tales" but which eventually became known as The Silmarillion.

In 1920 Tolkien was appointed Reader in English Language at the University of Leeds which was the beginning of a distinguished academic career culminating with his election as Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford. Meanwhile Tolkien wrote for his children and told them the story of The Hobbit. It was his publisher, Stanley Unwin, who asked for a sequel to The Hobbit and gradually Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings, a huge story that took twelve years to complete and which was not published until Tolkien was approaching retirement. After retirement Tolkien and his wife lived near Oxford, but then moved to Bournemouth. Tolkien returned to Oxford after his wife's death in 1971. He died on 2 September 1973 leaving The Silmarillion to be edited for publication by his son, Christopher.

Author biography courtesy of HarperCollins (UK).