HarperCollins to Re-publish Tolkien Illustrated Editions
HarperCollins looks set to re-publish the Tolkien illustrated editions. These have been in print ever since 1997, 2002 and 2004 from Houghton Mifflin (the US Tolkien publisher), though HarperCollins has discontinued these for a bit. Note these are the "UK editions" and as such, should be bought off of a UK-based bookseller: (Amazon UK, Blackwell's Waterstones, etc) to garuntee stock actually arriving to those retailers.
There is no official cover art yet, but it looks to be very close to the 1997, 2002 and 2004 publications of the illustrated titles. The price seems to be indicative that that's the case. In that sense, they should all 'match.' I know that's important to some of you - myself included - so I'll be following this until it's published to see what the size dimensions are, and relay the info here. Images used are from the illustrated editions of the '00s. All titles are to be released May 14, 2020. Here are the ISBN #s - a direct link to these forth-coming editions.
The Hobbit:
ISBN: 9780008376116
"Smaug certainly looked fast asleep, almost dead and dark, with scarcely a snore more than a whiff of unseen steam, when Bilbo peeped once more from the entrance. He was just about to step out on to the floor when he caught a sudden thin and piercing ray of red from under the drooping lid of Smaug’s left eye. He was only pretending to sleep! He was watching the tunnel entrance!
Whisked away from his comfortable, unambitious life in his hobbit-hole in Bag End by Gandalf the wizard and a band of dwarves, Bilbo Baggins finds himself caught up in a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Although quite reluctant to take part in this quest, Bilbo surprises even himself by his resourcefulness and his skill as a burglar!
The text of this edition has been fully corrected and revised in collaboration with Christopher Tolkien and is accompanied by a wealth of beautiful watercolour paintings and delicate pencil drawings from Alan Lee."
The Fellowship of the Ring:
ISBN: 9780008376123
"The Fellowship of the Ring is the first part of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic adventure, The Lord of the Rings.
The Two Towers:
ISBN: 9780008376130
"The Two Towers is the second part of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic adventure, The Lord of the Rings.
The Return of the King:
ISBN: 9780008376147
"The Return of the King is the third part of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic adventure, The Lord of the Rings.
Boxed set:
ISBN: 9780008376109
"Boxed gift set of Tolkien’s classic masterpieces, fully illustrated throughout in watercolour by the acclaimed and award-winning artist, Alan Lee, Conceptual Designer on Peter Jackson’s THE HOBBIT films.
The Silmarillion (republished as of late 2018/2019. Included here for uniformity purposes):
ISBN: 9780007173020
"This sumptuous, oversized hardback beautifully presents a revised and reset edition of The Silmarillion, illustrated by way of almost 50 full-colour paintings by celebrated Tolkien artist Ted Nasmith – designed to match and complement the illustrated Hobbit and Lord of The Rings.
There is no official cover art yet, but it looks to be very close to the 1997, 2002 and 2004 publications of the illustrated titles. The price seems to be indicative that that's the case. In that sense, they should all 'match.' I know that's important to some of you - myself included - so I'll be following this until it's published to see what the size dimensions are, and relay the info here. Images used are from the illustrated editions of the '00s. All titles are to be released May 14, 2020. Here are the ISBN #s - a direct link to these forth-coming editions.
The Hobbit:
ISBN: 9780008376116
"Smaug certainly looked fast asleep, almost dead and dark, with scarcely a snore more than a whiff of unseen steam, when Bilbo peeped once more from the entrance. He was just about to step out on to the floor when he caught a sudden thin and piercing ray of red from under the drooping lid of Smaug’s left eye. He was only pretending to sleep! He was watching the tunnel entrance!
Whisked away from his comfortable, unambitious life in his hobbit-hole in Bag End by Gandalf the wizard and a band of dwarves, Bilbo Baggins finds himself caught up in a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Although quite reluctant to take part in this quest, Bilbo surprises even himself by his resourcefulness and his skill as a burglar!
The text of this edition has been fully corrected and revised in collaboration with Christopher Tolkien and is accompanied by a wealth of beautiful watercolour paintings and delicate pencil drawings from Alan Lee."
The Fellowship of the Ring:
ISBN: 9780008376123
"The Fellowship of the Ring is the first part of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic adventure, The Lord of the Rings.
Sauron,
the Dark Lord, has gathered to him all the Rings of Power – the means
by which he intends to rule Middle-earth. All he lacks in his plans for
dominion is the One Ring – the ring that rules them all – which has
fallen into the hands of the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins.
In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.
The text of this edition has been fully corrected and revised in collaboration with Christopher Tolkien and is accompanied by nineteen watercolour paintings from Alan Lee."
In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose.
The text of this edition has been fully corrected and revised in collaboration with Christopher Tolkien and is accompanied by nineteen watercolour paintings from Alan Lee."
The Two Towers:
ISBN: 9780008376130
"The Two Towers is the second part of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic adventure, The Lord of the Rings.
Frodo
and the Companions of the Ring have been beset by danger during their
quest to prevent the Ruling Ring from falling into the hands of the Dark
Lord by destroying it in the Cracks of Doom. They have lost the wizard,
Gandalf, in the battle with an evil spirit in the Mines of Moria; and
at the Falls of Rauros, Boromir, seduced by the power of the Ring, tried
to seize it by force. While Frodo and Sam made their escape the rest of
the company were attacked by Orcs.
Now they continue their journey alone down the great River Anduin – alone, that is, save for the mysterious creeping figure that follows wherever they go.
The text of this edition has been fully corrected and revised in collaboration with Christopher Tolkien and is accompanied by sixteen watercolour paintings from Alan Lee."
Now they continue their journey alone down the great River Anduin – alone, that is, save for the mysterious creeping figure that follows wherever they go.
The text of this edition has been fully corrected and revised in collaboration with Christopher Tolkien and is accompanied by sixteen watercolour paintings from Alan Lee."
The Return of the King:
ISBN: 9780008376147
"The Return of the King is the third part of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic adventure, The Lord of the Rings.
The
Companions of the Ring have become involved in separate adventures as
the quest continues. Aragorn, revealed as the hidden heir of the ancient
Kings of the West, joined with the Riders of Rohan against the forces
of Isengard, and took part in the desperate victory of the Hornburg.
Merry and Pippin, captured by orcs, escaped into Fangorn Forest and
there encountered the Ents.
Gandalf returned, miraculously, and defeated the evil wizard, Saruman. Meanwhile, Sam and Frodo progressed towards Mordor to destroy the Ring, accompanied by Sméagol–Gollum, still obsessed by his ‘preciouss’. After a battle with the giant spider, Shelob, Sam left his master for dead; but Frodo is still alive – in the hands of the orcs. And all the time the armies of the Dark Lord are massing.
The text of this edition has been fully corrected and revised in collaboration with Christopher Tolkien and is accompanied by fifteen watercolour paintings from Alan Lee.
Gandalf returned, miraculously, and defeated the evil wizard, Saruman. Meanwhile, Sam and Frodo progressed towards Mordor to destroy the Ring, accompanied by Sméagol–Gollum, still obsessed by his ‘preciouss’. After a battle with the giant spider, Shelob, Sam left his master for dead; but Frodo is still alive – in the hands of the orcs. And all the time the armies of the Dark Lord are massing.
The text of this edition has been fully corrected and revised in collaboration with Christopher Tolkien and is accompanied by fifteen watercolour paintings from Alan Lee.
Boxed set:
ISBN: 9780008376109
"Boxed gift set of Tolkien’s classic masterpieces, fully illustrated throughout in watercolour by the acclaimed and award-winning artist, Alan Lee, Conceptual Designer on Peter Jackson’s THE HOBBIT films.
Since they were first published,
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings have been two books people have
treasured. Steeped in unrivalled magic and otherworldliness, these works
of sweeping fantasy have touched the hearts of young and old alike.
Between them, nearly 150 million copies have been sold around the world.
And no editions have proved more popular than the two that were
illustrated by award-winning artist, Alan Lee – the Centenary edition of
The Lord of the Rings and the 60th Anniversary edition of The Hobbit.
Now, the new hardback editions of these beautifully illustrated works have been collected together into one boxed set of four books. Readers will be able to follow the complete story of the Hobbits and their part in the quest for the Ring – beginning with Bilbo’s fateful visit from Gandalf and culminating in the dramatic climax between Frodo and Gollum atop Mount Doom – while also enjoying over seventy full-page colour paintings and numerous illustrations which accompany this epic tale."
Now, the new hardback editions of these beautifully illustrated works have been collected together into one boxed set of four books. Readers will be able to follow the complete story of the Hobbits and their part in the quest for the Ring – beginning with Bilbo’s fateful visit from Gandalf and culminating in the dramatic climax between Frodo and Gollum atop Mount Doom – while also enjoying over seventy full-page colour paintings and numerous illustrations which accompany this epic tale."
The Silmarillion (republished as of late 2018/2019. Included here for uniformity purposes):
ISBN: 9780007173020
"This sumptuous, oversized hardback beautifully presents a revised and reset edition of The Silmarillion, illustrated by way of almost 50 full-colour paintings by celebrated Tolkien artist Ted Nasmith – designed to match and complement the illustrated Hobbit and Lord of The Rings.
J R R Tolkien’s
SILMARILLION is the core work of the Middle-earth canon. It is in this
dense and often neglected masterpiece that the entire cosmology for the
background for THE HOBBIT and, particularly, THE LORD OF THE RINGS is
documented.
This revised and reset volume contains fabulous tales of heroes and monsters, and the history of the Elves and of the Silmarils – the magical jewels produced by the Children of Iluvatar, or Elves (humans being the Younger Children of Iluvatar); it tells of the creation of Middle-earth, and the coming of Men into the world; it chronicles the early battles between good and evil, forces of light and dark, which foreshadow the great conflict with Sauron, the Dark Lord, in LORD OF THE RINGS.
These tales of Middle-earth were published posthumously in 1977. Tolkien worked on THE SILMARILLION all his life – long before THE HOBBIT or LORD OF THE RINGS – and his son and literary executor Christopher Tolkien edited the material he left behind into its current form.
With the close collaboration of Christopher Tolkien, THE SILMARILLION has now been completely reset, using the Second Edition text, and redesigned and repackaged to complement the stunningly illustrated hardbacks of THE LORD OF THE RINGS and COMPLETE GUIDE TO MIDDLE-EARTH, providing the reader with a definitive text.
Furthermore, acclaimed Tolkien artist Ted Nasmith has been commissioned to provide 28 breathtaking new paintings, making this new illustrated edition of THE SILMARILLION the most sumptuous and desirable ever published."
This revised and reset volume contains fabulous tales of heroes and monsters, and the history of the Elves and of the Silmarils – the magical jewels produced by the Children of Iluvatar, or Elves (humans being the Younger Children of Iluvatar); it tells of the creation of Middle-earth, and the coming of Men into the world; it chronicles the early battles between good and evil, forces of light and dark, which foreshadow the great conflict with Sauron, the Dark Lord, in LORD OF THE RINGS.
These tales of Middle-earth were published posthumously in 1977. Tolkien worked on THE SILMARILLION all his life – long before THE HOBBIT or LORD OF THE RINGS – and his son and literary executor Christopher Tolkien edited the material he left behind into its current form.
With the close collaboration of Christopher Tolkien, THE SILMARILLION has now been completely reset, using the Second Edition text, and redesigned and repackaged to complement the stunningly illustrated hardbacks of THE LORD OF THE RINGS and COMPLETE GUIDE TO MIDDLE-EARTH, providing the reader with a definitive text.
Furthermore, acclaimed Tolkien artist Ted Nasmith has been commissioned to provide 28 breathtaking new paintings, making this new illustrated edition of THE SILMARILLION the most sumptuous and desirable ever published."
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