The Fireside

The Folio Society's limited-edition of The Lord of the Rings has sold out in about 36 hours after it was announced. Sadly, I didn't get the chance to write about it here, as I often enjoy doing about new Tolkien books/editions. In their catalogue, they've been publishing editions of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings , and The Silmarillion . With the release of the limited-edition of The Lord of the Rings by Alan Lee, there's obviously been requests for matching editions of The Hobbit and The Silmarillion . THE HOBBIT For The Hobbit , they have four artists they could go with to produce a similar edition which would match the recent Lord of the Rings . First up, is John Howe, whose Smaug (above) is among my favourite Tolkien pieces. John Howe has sort-of-but-not-really illustrated The Hobbit before: he did the infamous pop-up book. This would be a wonderful occasion to include some of his newer pieces related to The Hobbit that haven't been published yet (aside ...

 At long last, Robert Foster's incredible The Complete Guide to Middle-earth is being re-issued. Not only that, it'll match the new illustrated hardbacks published by HarperCollins in 2020 and 2021 of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales . There are other books in that style, such as The Great Tales ( The Children of Hurin, Beren and Luthien and The Fall of Gondolin ), Tales From the Perilous Realm , and The Nature of Middle-earth . Note that Nature is not illustrated, though the style and layout of the dustjacket still matches the others. Anyways, on with the information. It will be getting (re)published in both standard hardback and slipcased formats. STANDARD EDITION ISBN: 9780008537814 A peerless A–Z guide to the names, places and events in the world of J.R.R. Tolkien, fully illustrated in colour throughout by acclaimed Tolkien artist, Ted Nasmith. J.R.R. Tolkien’s works of epic adventure and fantasy, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Ri...

  Hot on the heels (and matching) last year's special edition of The Lord of the Rings comes a new edition of The Silmarillion illustrated by Tolkien himself. It will be arriving in the fall. The ISBN is 9780008537890, and the official description follows: For the first time ever, a very special edition of the forerunner to The Lord of the Rings, illustrated throughout in colour by J.R.R. Tolkien himself and with the complete text printed in two colours. The Silmarilli were three perfect jewels, fashioned by Feanor, most gifted of the Elves, and within them was imprisoned the last Light of the Two Trees of Valinor. But the first Dark Lord, Morgoth, stole the jewels and set them within his iron crown, guarded in the impenetrable fortress of Angband in the north of Middle-earth. The Silmarillion is...