Tolkien's son to finish Middle Earth novel

[Androga Erindalant]

I was just checking my mail at Yahoo, when I stumbled upon following article. It says Christopher Tolkien has continued his father J.R.R. Tolkien's tale of the Children of Hurin. I haven't seen a release date though. I quoted the article, and you'll find the source at Yahoo news through the link underneath:

news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060918/ap_on_en_ot/books_new_tolkien_1

Unfinished Tolkien work to be published (at Yahoo News)
Mon Sep 18, 12:17 PM ET


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.

J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings Trilogy" has sold more than 50 million copies and was also adapted into a blockbuster, Academy Award-winning trio of films. A stage version is scheduled to open next year.

[Desi Baggins]

Looks like we will have more reading to do!

[Andorinha]

A "new" Old Tolkien Book:

Here's an update on C. Tolkien's "Children of Hurin," which should be out soon in 2007 as Amazon.Com is taking "pre-orders" for it. Alan Lee has already done a number of new illustrations just for this volume.

______________

English version of an interview with Adam Tolkien from www.fantasymundo.com/articulo.php?articulo=439

Alejandro Serrano: ¡Hello, Adam!

Adam Tolkien (in spanish): Hi! And sorry for the lateness in answering you…

Alejandro Serrano: First of all, sorry for my english. I supposed that Christopher Tolkien was very busy these days, and usually he grants very few interviews, and it is not our intention to be a nuisance for him (or for yours). Of course, it is an honor that you could attend to us. And certainly, we also understand the world's interest in Children of Húrin and other works, and we value very much that you take your time answering us.

Alejandro Serrano: First of all, we want to know if there will be new material in Children of Húrin, or the text that will be published is essentially the same that appears in other books. This is something that many of we ask ourselves.

Adam Tolkien: This is a more difficult question than it seems: As you know, versions and pieces of the story of Hurin and his descendants have been published in various works (Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, Lost Tales, Lays of Beleriand, etc). The text of "The Children of Hurin" is in part compiled from these extant texts, and particularly that which appears in Unfinished Tales.

But it is a new reworking of the complete story. Many parts of the text will be - if not identical - recognizable to the knowledgeable reader, but there are also pieces that have never appeared before.

Also the format of the text, as a standalone and complete text with no editorial commentary to interrupt the tale should in itself and in my opinion considerably tranform the reading experience.

Christopher Tolkien believes there may be many readers who have found the Silmarillion too difficult and distanced in style to be attracted to the story, and who have not wished to make their way through the painstaking editorial content that makes for the main interest of the History of Middle Earth.

We hope that these readers will be sufficiently attracted to "The Children of Hurin", and will discover in this way the "great tale" that was so important to JRR Tolkien and then the whole fascinating mythology that lies behind "The Lord of The Rings".

So in conclusion : Many parts of the text are essentially the same as those that appear in other works (and particularly "Unfinished Tales"), other parts will be new except for those readers who have read in detail the History of Middle Earth.

The text as a whole can be said to be "new" as it is a recomposition of published texts and other "pieces" that weren't published previously. A completed puzzle, in a sense.

Alejandro Serrano: We also want to know if the text of Children of Húrin is a
compilation of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien or it is completed by phrases of Christopher integrated to the book (as The Silmarillion).

Adam Tolkien: The reply above should help answer this question. But the fact is that the text of "The Children of Hurin" is entirely in the author's (So J.R.R. Tolkien) words - apart from very minor reworkings of a grammatical and stylistic nature.

Christopher's work has been to produce a polished text that is a faithful rendition of his father's writings - using many sources spaced out over decades.

Alejandro Serrano: It would be a dream for all. ¿but this publication opens the door to other books, for example only about 'The Fall of Gondolin', 'Beren and Lúthien' or the 'Song of Leithian'?

Adam Tolkien: There has been some talk on this subject, the problem being that J.R.R. Tolkien never rewrote these tales as extensively as the The Children of Hurin, so there is less material to work on, and it would be more difficult to produce a worthwhile volume. It is not totally unthinkable, but no more than that!

Alejandro Serrano: The spanish fans of J.R.R. Tolkien are waiting anxious for the publication. and probably let's have to wait beyond april of 2007. ¿Do you know an aproximate date of the release of the spanish edition of Children of Húrin, the next books could be "international releases"?

Adam Tolkien: For more information on this you will have to question the Spanish publishers. We are not aware of anything definite, and it will be a matter that is dealt with between Harper Collins - our English publishers - and the Spanish publishers.

Alejandro Serrano: They say many things about a film (or two) based on The Hobbit. ¿this things are good for the books (many people could read them for the first time if they do a film, as happened with The Lord of the Rings) or they are damaging them?

Adam Tolkien: I would have to say that it will depend on the film!

Alejandro Serrano: Finally, thanks for your time and congratulations for Christopher for his work in this book and others about his father that had been published by now. ¿Could you salute to the people of Dor-Lómin.org, Fantasymundo.com and The Spanish Tolkien Society?

Adam Tolkien (in spanish): Hi, and thanks for your interest. I hope that Children of Húrin satisfies your expectations. It’s a magnificent story…

Alejandro Serrano: Many thanks for your time…

Adam Tolkien(in spanish again): Not at all!

[illadria]

Another article I stumbled across in regards to The Children of Hurin.

www.planet-tolkien.com/news/article_275.html

It's an old article, published nearly a year ago, but interesting still, and I was struck by the conclusion...

"Christopher Tolkien is now 81 and The Children of Hurin may be the last "new" book under the JRR Tolkien name. Writers' literary estates lose their entitlement to copyright income 70 years after their death."

In my estimation, Christopher is not given nearly the credit he deserves. Not only for the love he has shown in carrying on his father's works, but for the skill in which he's accomplished it.