New Edition of THE SILMARILLION Coming

 

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 the history of the rebellion of Feanor and his kindred against the gods, their exile from Valinor and return to Middle-earth, and their war, hopeless despite all the heroism, against the great Enemy. It is the ancient drama to which the characters in The Lord of the Rings look back, and in whose events some of them such as Elrond and Galadriel took part.


The book also includes several shorter works: the Ainulindale, a myth of the Creation, and the Valaquenta, in which the nature and powers of each of the gods is described. The Akallabeth recounts the downfall of the great island kingdom of Numenor at the end of the Second Age, and Of the Rings of Power tells of the great events at the end of the Third Age, as narrated in The Lord of the Rings.


Tolkien could not publish The Silmarillion in his lifetime, as it grew with him, so he would leave it to his son, Christopher Tolkien, to edit the work from many manuscripts and bring his father's great vision to publishable form, so completing the literary achievement of a lifetime. This special edition presents anew this seminal first step towards mapping out the posthumous publishing of Middle-earth, and the beginning of an illustrious forty years and more than twenty books celebrating his father's legacy.


This definitive new edition includes, by way of an introduction, a letter written by Tolkien in 1951 which provides a brilliant exposition of the earlier Ages, and for the first time in its history is presented with J.R.R. Tolkien's own paintings and drawings, which reveal the breathtaking grandeur and beauty of his vision of the First Age of Middle-earth.

So, a little bit of thought on it, in quick, point-form before I end the post:

~ there isn't a slipcased edition announced (yet). It's possible that there may not be one, as The Silmarillion is generally viewed as less popular (to the general public, that is) than The Lord of the Rings. Please note, that I am not saying that there won't be one, just that I won't be surprised if there isn't.

~ following how The Lord of the Rings was presented, we can expect:
- blue to be used where red was for The Lord of the Rings
- the page edges will likely be sprayed blue
- it'll likely feature a ribbon marker (also blue)
- it's possible that it may come in its own publisher-supplied shipping box (The Lord of the Rings came in a box featuring The Doors of Durin on it)

~ The Map of Beleriand and the Lands to the North will likely be included as a detached, folded poster (in two colours? Possibly blue ink instead of red....?)

I admit to being curious how the final product will look, and exactly how closely it'll match the special edition of The Lord of the Rings. I am also curious to see if any further Tolkien books will be published in this style. Can we expect The Hobbit? Unfinished Tales? We'll have to see what lies on the horizon!