Tolkien Tuesday: "Beren and Luthien"


Well, this is it - what could very well be the final Tolkien, and Middle-earth book (not counting anniversary or illustrated editions of existing material).

The announcement of the title surprised myself, as well as quite a few others. It seems that everyone involved with the book was keeping it under tight wraps. The very existence of it, I mean.

So, let's delve into the newest...and possibly final book.

The dustjacket features illustrations on the front and back, much like for The Children of Hurin. The texture is a matte / paper-y feel to it. Removing the dustjacket, the book itself is black with the writing embossed. Opening the book yields no frontispieces, anything on the reverse side of the boards, and no maps. Nothing folds out. Aside from the text itself on 'normal' paper, the colour plates are printed on glossy or plastisized photo-type paper. And that's it! I was honestly expecting the same fold-out map at the back of Beleriand and the Lands to the North, much like how The Children of Hurin had a slightly different variation of it. Ah well.

And that's pretty much all I can say about the book itself, in regards to how it's presented and any feature it may have. Just like The Children of Hurin, this one is somewhat of a judgement call, in regards to the material already existing elsewhere.

[my copy is nestled between The Children of Hurin and Tales From the Perilous Realm. I consider Perilous Realm to be a 'gateway' in, and out, of Middle-earth, because only story it contains is set there.] 

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