The War of the Jewels: The Later Silmarillion, Part Two (The History of Middle-Earth, Vol. 11) [Hardcover]

J.R.R. Tolkien (Author), Christopher Tolkien (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Tolkien, J R R (John Ronald Reuel)//History of Middle-Earth | Publication Date: December 6, 1994

In volumes ten and eleven of The History of Middle-earth, Christopher Tolkien recounts from the original texts the evolution of his father's work on The Silmarillion, the legendary history of the Elder Days or First Age, from the completion of the Lord of the Rings in 1949 until J.R.R. Tolkien's death. In volume ten, Morgoth's Ring, the narrative was taken only as far as the natural dividing point in the work, when Morgoth destroyed the Trees of Light and fled from Valinor bearing the stolen Silmarils. In The War of the Jewels, the story returns to Middle-earth and the ruinous conflict of the High Elves and the Men who were their allies with the power of the Dark Lord. With the publication in this book of all of J.R.R. Tolkien's later narrative writing concerned with the last centuries of the First Age, the long history of The Silmarillion, from its beginnings in The Book of Lost Tales, is completed; the enigmatic state of the work at his death can now be understood. A chief element in The War of the Jewels is a major story of Middle-earth, now published for the first time - a continuation of the great "saga" of Turin Turambar and his sister Nienor, the children of Hurin the Steadfast. This is the tale of the disaster that overtook the forest people of Brethil when Hurin came among them after his release from long years of captivity in Angband, the fortress of Morgoth. The uncompleted text of the Grey Annals, the primary record of the War of the Jewels, is given in full; the geography of Beleriand is studied in detail, with redrawings of the final state of the map; and a long essay on the names and relations of all the peoples of Middle-earth shows more clearly than any writing yet published the close connection between the language and history in Tolkien's world. The text also provides new information, including some knowledge of the divine powers, the Valar.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Silmarillion (1977), published four years after his death, continued the saga of the mythological kingdom of Middle-Earth, begun in his epic trilogy Lord of the Rings. Christopher Tolkien, son of the English novelist and medievalist, here reconstructs the evolution of The Silmarillion using his father's manuscripts and notes and adding his own extensive commentaries and annotations. Picking up where this massive study left off, he reprints the entire text of the unfinished Grey Annals (begun around 1930, reworked in the 1950s, and largely incorporated in The Silmarillion). Amid momentous battles and heroic deeds, we learn how Hurin the Steadfast, released after 28 years of captivity in Morgoth's fortress, journeys among the forest people of Brethril, spreading disaster, and follow the exploits of his son Turin Turambar and daughter Nienor. Included also are J.R.R. Tolkien's discussion of his characters' motives, his detailed maps of imaginary realism, and his essays on the origins and meanings of elvish words and the Dwarves' elaborate gestural language. For hard-core Tolkien devotees and scholars.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

CHRISTOPHER TOLKIEN is the third son of J.R.R. Tolkien. Appointed by Tolkien to be his literary executor, he has devoted himself to the editing and publication of unpublished writings, notably The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, and The History of Middle-earth.

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) is the creator of Middle-earth and author of such classic and extraordinary works of fiction as The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. His books have been translated into more than fifty languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 488 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (December 6, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395710413
• ISBN-13: 978-0395710418
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #178,278 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892.1973), beloved throughout the world as the creator of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, a fellow of Pembroke College, and a fellow of Merton College until his retirement in 1959. His chief interest was the linguistic aspects of the early English written tradition, but even as he studied these classics he was creating a set of his own.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Christopher Tolkien unveils the truth about The Silmarillion, December 13, 2000

By 

Michael Martinez - See all my reviews

This review is from: The War of the Jewels: The Later Silmarillion, Part Two (The History of Middle-Earth, Vol. 11) (Hardcover)

The War of the Jewels is one of the most misunderstood and underrated volumes in the History of Middle-earth series. Although it is primarily a scholarly work which explains precisely how Christopher Tolkien brought together the various sources to produce the published Silmarillion, this book also opens up new vistas into First Age Middle-earth that readers never imagined could exist.

Casual readers will enjoy "The Wanderings of Hurin", which Christopher has editorialized to some extent. The story of what Hurin REALLY did after he left Morgoth's domain is an eye-opening experience, and it explains why the sons of Earendil and Elwing were the last heirs of the heroic chieftains of the Edain. But "The Wanderings of Hurin" also gives us the only detailed view of the Folk of Haleth, the mysterious woodmen who figured so prominently in "Narn i Chin Hurin", the tale of Turin Turambar.

Another fantastic gem lies between the covers of this book, however. Accompanying the very scholarly essay "Quendi and Eldar" is a short Elvish nursery tale which provides the only account of how the Elves awoke at Cuivienen, and who the eldest Elves actually were. Their names will surprise everyone. "Quendi and Eldar" itself is filled with a great deal of historical and cultural information although it is primarily a linguistic work. It may represent the last significant contribution Tolkien made to his mythology, even though he later changed his mind on a few details.

35 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but for die-hards only, February 21, 2000

By 

Rhian G. Hunt (Port Wing, WI United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The War of the Jewels: The Later Silmarillion, Part Two (The History of Middle-Earth, Vol. 11) (Hardcover)

Hi! The WAR OF THE JEWELS is a good book for the die-hard Tolkien fan, but I can't reccommend it for the general fantasy reader. If you have never read the Silmarillion WOTJ probably won't make any sense to you. If you have, be warned that WOTJ duplicates quite a bit of the Silmarillion. However, there is some new material too, such as a very dramatic and sometimes moving account of Hurin's wanderings after his release from Angband. So if you're a Tolkien fanatic and have a little extra money, go for it. If not, this book's probably not for you.

45 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must" for all J.R.R. Tolkien fans!, July 5, 2000

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The War of the Jewels: The Later Silmarillion, Part Two (The History of Middle-Earth, Vol. 11) (Hardcover)

Since J.R.R. Tolkien's death in 1973, a substantial effort has been made by first Guy Gavriel Kay working with Christopher Tolkien, then Christopher Tolkien but also a host of only marginally acknowledged Tolkien scholars such\ as Taum Santoski, John Rateliff, Doug Anderson, Richard C. West and possibly others unknown to us, to make the body of J.R.R. Tolkien's lifework available to those of us wishing to watch the creative process of architecture of Tolkien's world unfold. Early on in the process, there was a parting of the ways between Guy Gavriel Kay and J.R.R. Tolkien's son, Christopher, over the form that J.R.R. Tolkien's posthumously-published lifework would be presented. G.G. Kay opted for a posthumous collaboration format which would allow for the presentation of much of the work in a finished form. Christopher Tolkien chose a more scholarly option. Each approach has its advantages and audiences. While The History of Middle Earth in its currently eleven volumes (projected for twelve) is perhaps a unique event in publishing history, useful to the scholar but also prized by a wider group of readers, one wonders what the effect might have been of presenting this body of work as works of fiction. Phil suspects that it may have supplanted a whole generation of bad imitators of the works, style and subject matter of Tolkien. Especially if the themes were handled at a level of artfulness consistent with the will of J.R.R. Tolkien. We can only speculate whether that would even be possible without Tolkien's own hand - a core question in any discussion of individual creativity. However, since J.R.R. Tolkien thought of himself as a chronicler rather than a creator, it might be argued that a writer such as G.G. Kay who has so effectively used other historical sources as themes for his own work (e.g. A Song for Arbonne), could have achieved results that even the master would have approved. This particular volume of the History also includes the second part of a set of Tolkien's notes and commentary on the Later or Quenta Silmarillion, an unfinished MS. that appears in Volume V of the History (The Lost Road and Other Writings, 1987, p. 199-338) as well as J.R.R's background notes and annotations on The Lays of Beleriand (Volume III, 1985) and a few other similar texts from J.R.R. Tolkien's papers, with contextual commentary by Christopher Tolkien. As with most of the other works in the History, this one requires a good memory or a good library of Tolkien or both. Nevertheless the scholar or the Tolkien enthusiast will want to own the book, complete with its (typically) excellent indexes to help in establishing both the illusion that Middle Earth has an intense level of validity (almost reality) and to trace the complexities of Tolkien's creative process. The history in its entirety is a demonstration of both J.R.R. and Christopher Tolkien's textual/scholarly training in language and literature, translation and Anglo-Saxon textual studies, and the wonderful sense of play with these topics that could give rise to the entirety of Middle Earth in fictional and 'historical' detail. (Index, p. 425-470).

Philip E. Kaveny Reviewer