The Fireside

There are some exciting things happening next year with regards to Tolkien.  The main event, is that throughout the year and ending in November, is that the 12-book (13, counting the index book) History of Middle-earth series will be published in hardback format.... as  12 individual hardbacks. This is in celebration of Christopher Tolkien's centenary. There will be other releases throughout the year too, that remain to be seen.  For the sake of this post, I wish to examine two areas or aspects:  - will certain styles of books continue past The Silmarillion? - will there be a 70th Anniversary Edition of The Lord of the Rings ?  Will Unfinished Tales arrive in the special edition format? (Unjacketed hardback collector’s edition) And, illustrated by the author?   That's what I'm curious about. In 2021, the 'illustrated by the author' format began with The Lord of the Rings. Then, next year, The Silmarillion  came out. Lastly, this year, The Hobbit ...

  The History of Middle-earth: Boxed Set II will be published on March 28. It's ISBN is  9780008669232 .  The contents, as you may be able to see from the photo, will be:  ~ The Lays of Beleriand ~ The Shaping of Middle-earth ~ The Lost Road With regards to these sets, I'll post again once the info for Boxed Set III is revealed. That post will follow with the fourth and final set. Possibly, in the same post as Boxed Set IV, I may recap the previous 3, or dedicate a post to all 4.  While not History of Middle-earth related, I'll be sure to post about anything else that comes along or is announced in 2024.