The Return of the Shadow

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The Return of the Shadow (1ST HOUGHT) Pub. Date: 9/28/2000 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
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The Return of the Shadow: The History of the Lord of the Rings, Part One Pub. Date: 1/28/1989 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

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Overview

In this sixth volume of The History of Middle-earth the story reaches The Lord of the Rings. In The Return of the Shadow (an abandoned title for the first volume) Christopher Tolkien describes, with full citation of the earliest notes, outline plans, and narrative drafts, the intricate evolution of The Fellowship of the Ring and the gradual emergence of the conceptions that transformed what J.R.R. Tolkien for long believed would be a far shorter book, 'a sequel to The Hobbit'. The enlargement of Bilbo's 'magic ring' into the supremely potent and dangerous Ruling Ring of the Dark Lord is traced and the precise moment is seen when, in an astonishing and unforeseen leap in the earliest narrative, a Black Rider first rode into the Shire, his significance still unknown. The character of the hobbit called Trotter (afterwards Strider or Aragorn) is developed while his indentity remains an absolute puzzle, and the suspicion only very slowly becomes certainty that he must after all be a Man. The hobbits, Frodo's companions, undergo intricate permutations of name and personality, and other major figures appear in strange modes: a sinister Treebeard, in league with the Enemy, a ferocious and malevolent Farmer Maggot.

The story in this book ends at the point where J.R.R. Tolkien halted in the story for a long time, as the Company of the Ring, still lacking Legolas and Gimli, stood before the tomb of Balin in the Mines of Moria. The Return of the Shadow is illustrated with reproductions of the first maps and notable pages from the earliest manuscripts.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780618083572
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date: 9/28/2000
Edition description: 1ST HOUGHT
Pages: 512
Sales rank: 220,812
Series: History of Middle-Earth Series , #6
Product dimensions: 5.50 (w) x 8.25 (h) x 1.19 (d)

Meet the Author

J.R.R. Tolkien

CHRISTOPHER TOLKIEN is the third son of J.R.R. Tolkien. Appointed by Tolkien to be his literary executor, he has devoted himself to the editing and publication of unpublished writings, notably The Silmarillion , Unfinished Tales , and The History of Middle-earth .

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) is the creator of Middle-earth and author of such classic and extraordinary works of fiction as The Hobbit , The Lord of the Rings , and The Silmarillion . His books have been translated into more than fifty languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.

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).

1. Also Known As:
  
  John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (full name)
1. Date of Birth:
  
  January 3, 1892
2. Place of Birth:
  
  Bloemfontein, Orange Free State (South Africa)
1. Date of Death:
  
  September 2, 1973
2. Place of Death:
  
  Oxford, England

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5

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Anonymous

Posted May 30, 2008

An amazing piece of insight into the mind of John Ronald Reul Tolkien.

This book is outstanding. As a man who is no stranger to fantasy or in-depth literature, I can say this is one of the best compilations of an author's thoughts I've ever read. From the departing of Master Bilbo Baggins from the comfort of the Shire, to the development of Gollum's murderous lust and need of the One Ring, this book gives you insight and an amazing read. Don't miss out on ANY of the History of the Lord of the Rings stories. Like Frodo said about his dear Uncle,'He often used to say there was only one Road that it was like a great river: it's springs were at every doorstep and every path was it's tributary. 'It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door,' he used to say. 'You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no telling where you might be swept off to.'

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Anonymous

Posted April 20, 2009

Return Reading

Not a typical book, it really is a guide to interpret Tolkien's books. Therefore, it is difficult to rank characters or plot. It really is good for what it is supposed to do, which is to explain how J.R.R. Tolkien wrote the trilogy.
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Anonymous

Posted October 2, 2004

5 star

vary good book but if u havent read the lord of the rings yet you can get vary confused because it is 'in the making of' fellowship of the ring
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Anonymous

Posted July 15, 2003

Amazing

This is a great book, you can see what JRR Tolkien was thinking the whole time he was writing the Fellowship of the Ring. His idea of it totally changes throughout the book! So if you are a fan of The Fellowship of the Ring and want to learn more about the development of the story you should read this book!
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Anonymous

Posted February 22, 2010

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Posted March 3, 2009

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An amazing piece of insight into the mind of John Ronald Reul Tolkien.

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