The Children of Hurin

[TK-421]

Unfinished J.R.R. Tolkien work to be published next year


Associated Press

New York — An unfinished tale by J.R.R. Tolkien has been edited by his son into a completed work and will be released next spring, the U.S. and British publishers announced Monday.
Christopher Tolkien has spent the past 30 years working on "The Children of Hurin," an epic tale his father began in 1918 and later abandoned. Excerpts of "The Children of Hurin," which includes the elves and dwarves of Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" and other works, have been published before.
"It has seemed to me for a long time that there was a good case for presenting my father's long version of the legend of the 'Children of Hurin' as an independent work, between its own covers," Christopher Tolkien said in a statement.
The new book will be published by Houghton Mifflin in the United States and HarperCollins in England.

[Boaz]

Thanks for the heads up, TK.

[Nesacat]

I'd heard about this and j.d. had also mentioned it. Thanks for the information TK.

[Werthead]

The full publicity release from the publishers:

Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2006
J.R.R. TOLKIEN'S THE CHILDREN OF HURIN TO BE PUBLISHED IN 2007

Houghton Mifflin has acquired US rights to publish the first complete book by J.R.R. Tolkien since the posthumous Silmarillion in 1977. HarperCollins UK acquired the project from The Tolkien Estate in a world rights deal. Presented for the first time as a fully continuous and standalone story, the epic tale of The Children of Hurin will reunite fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Men, dragons and Dwarves, and the rich landscape and characters unique to Tolkien.

The Children of Hurin, begun in 1918, was one of three "Great Tales" J.R.R. Tolkien worked on throughout his life, though he never realized his ambition to see it published. Though familiar to many fans from extracts and references within other Tolkien books, it has long been assumed that the story would forever remain an "unfinished
tale". Now reconstructed by Christopher Tolkien, painstakingly editing together the complete work from his father's many drafts, this book is the culmination of a tireless thirty-year endeavor by him to bring J.R.R. Tolkien's vast body of unpublished work to a wide
audience.

Christopher Tolkien said: "It has seemed to me for a long time that there was a good case for presenting my father's long version of the legend of the Children of Hurin as an independent work, between its own covers, with a minimum of editorial presence, and above all in continuous narrative without gaps or interruptions, if this could be
done without distortion or invention, despite the unfinished state in which he left some parts of it."

Having drawn the distinctive maps for the original The Lord of the Rings more than 50 years ago, Christopher has also created a detailed new map for this book. In addition, it will include a jacket and color paintings by Alan Lee, illustrator of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Centenary Edition and Oscar-winning designer of the
film trilogy.

The Lord of the Rings was already acclaimed worldwide as the most popular book of the 20th Century before the blockbuster films in 2001-3 broke new ground and inspired millions more to read J.R.R. Tolkien's books -- an additional 50 million copies were sold, leaving
new fans wanting more. The Children of Hurin will be published by HarperCollins UK in April 2007, and on the same day in the United States by Houghton Mifflin.

Victoria Barnsley, CEO and Publisher of HarperCollins Publishers UK said: "This epic story of adventure, tragedy, fellowship and heroism stands as one of the finest expressions of J.R.R. Tolkien's skills as a storyteller. With a narrative as dramatic and powerful as anything
contained within The Lord of the Rings, it can now be read and enjoyed as Tolkien originally intended, and will doubtless be a revelation for millions of fans around the world."

Janet Silver, Vice President and Publisher of Houghton Mifflin, said, "As J.R.R. Tolkien's original American publisher, dating back to The Hobbit, we are extremely proud to be bringing this project to Tolkien's devoted readership in the United States. Christopher
Tolkien has done a great service in realizing his father's vision for The Children of Hurin."

And many thanks, Chronicles Network, for being the first forum (out of about six) I'd seen this news posted where someone didn't immediately mention Brian Herbert

[j. d. worthington]

Yes, I'd seen a short (not much longer than the original post here) notice on this, and was prepared to groan until I'd actually read what it had to say... Now, with the added information, this looks like it will definitely be worth getting; glad to know Christopher has been keeping to his intent to do a good, scholarly job on his father's writings....

[Shoegaze99]

I'll be very glad to see the Children of Hurin stories finished and soon on the shelves. They’re quite compelling sagas.

A few years back I was quite taken with the tale of Turin, but disappointed that it existed only in chunks spread across three different Tolkien releases, none of them complete. Well, the Turin saga in the Silmarillion is complete in a sense, but lacks a LOT of text, such as that found in Unfinished Tales. (The Silmarillion is more of an overview narrative, whereas the text in Unfinished Tales is more detailed, featuring a lot of dialogue and characterization not found in The Silmarillion.) I so badly wanted to read it as a complete, epic story, I took it upon myself to make a "complete" version. Using the Silmarillion chapters, the text published in Unfinished Tales, all the footnotes therein, and material published in the History of Middle Earth series, I edited it all together into a “complete” Tale of Turin. It was novella length was all was said and done, and all the writing was Tolkien’s. (A few fragmentary lines from Christopher Tolkien, culled from footnotes, were included because they helped transition passages.)

It has pretty much sat around on a CD-R since.

If the boss knew I did it on his time, he’d wonder what the point was. And I wouldn’t have an answer. Hooray for wasting my time!

As a lifelong Tolkien fan, I’m very glad to see Christopher Tolkien undertaking and completing this project. He’ll have a LOT more to work with, texts that have never seen the light of day, and which will make this an even more compelling saga than it already is. I’m thrilled at this news.

[SmoothasSilk]

I haven't read Unfinished Tales, but I have read MOST of the Silmarrillion, I can't wait for the Children of Hurin to come out though.. it sounds beautiful.

[Clank]

I literally just finished reading 'Turin' in The Silmarillion last night. One of the highlights of the book, but would love to have an 'expanded' version of the story so this sounds really interesting...

[Curugon]

The expanded version off the Turin tale is possibly my favorite piece Tolkien ever wrote. Absolutely amazing, especially if you're familiar with the surrounding events in the Silmarillion. Can't wait to check out this new edition.

[Pointfinder]

Can't wait to get it. I just wish it had been available for this past Christmas.

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by Pointfinder

Can't wait to get it. I just wish it had been available for this past Christmas.

*sigh* Seconded. Am very much looking forward to this one...

[Anomander]

I just like that name, Turin Turambar, master of doom (wonder how Dr Doom feels about having a master.... )

[disrepdog]

Has anyone read it yet?

[Rosemary]

I haven't even seen it in our bookshops yet! Am looking forward to getting a copy though...

[nixie]

Started it yesterday, so far so good