The Return of the Shadow: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part One (The History of Middle-Earth, Vol. 6) (Hardcover)

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

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Collectively, these volumes are marketed as "The History of The Lord of the Rings" and tell alternate stories of the siege of Middle-earth and Sauron's defeat.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description
In this sixth volume of The History of Middle-earth the story reaches The Lord of the Rings. In The Return of the Shadow (an abandoned title for the first volume) Christopher Tolkien describes, with full citation of the earliest notes, outline plans, and narrative drafts, the intricate evolution of The Fellowship of the Ring and the gradual emergence of the conceptions that transformed what J.R.R. Tolkien for long believed would be a far shorter book, 'a sequel to The Hobbit'. The enlargement of Bilbo's 'magic ring' into the supremely potent and dangerous Ruling Ring of the Dark Lord is traced and the precise moment is seen when, in an astonishing and unforeseen leap in the earliest narrative, a Black Rider first rode into the Shire, his significance still unknown. The character of the hobbit called Trotter (afterwards Strider or Aragorn) is developed while his indentity remains an absolute puzzle, and the suspicion only very slowly becomes certainty that he must after all be a Man. The hobbits, Frodo's companions, undergo intricate permutations of name and personality, and other major figures appear in strange modes: a sinister Treebeard, in league with the Enemy, a ferocious and malevolent Farmer Maggot.

The story in this book ends at the point where J.R.R. Tolkien halted in the story for a long time, as the Company of the Ring, still lacking Legolas and Gimli, stood before the tomb of Balin in the Mines of Moria. The Return of the Shadow is illustrated with reproductions of the first maps and notable pages from the earliest manuscripts.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 1st US Ed edition (January 5, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395498635
• ISBN-13: 978-0395498637
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #389,997 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 6 in The History of Middle-earth Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for aspiring writers., October 2, 2002

By	Ian McLeod (Baltimore, MD United States) - See all my reviews

In the forward of the Return of the Shadow, Christopher Tolkien writes "My father bestowed immense pains on the creation of The Lord of the Rings, and my intention has been that this record of his first years of work on it should reflect those pains." Well he has succeeded immeasurably. By taking the time to sift through all the old manuscripts, some only half finished and written in fading pencil, and putting them into a coherent order Christopher not only tells the story of how the Lord of the Rings came to be, but he provides aspiring writers like myself with a textbook, if you will, on how great books are written. As the quote above implies, writing a story can be like an intellectual child birthing during which the writer experiences great pains and frustrations to achieve what he hopes will become a wonderful new creation that others will enjoy. Perhaps the realization that a master storyteller and obvious genius like J.R.R. Tolkien first put pen to paper without even knowing what the story would be about, or where it would go, and then suffered through hundreds of revisions, alterations, and conflicting ideas to produce his masterpiece of literature should not be surprising. But it is, and therefore, such knowledge is a great encouragement for some who is currently going through the same process. Thank You very much Christopher Tolkien for this wonderful work.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Details, details, June 1, 2000

By	Michael Haughey (Eastpointe, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Return of the Shadow: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part One (The History of Middle-Earth, Vol. 6) (Paperback)

For a Tolkien enthusiast, I think this is an extremely interesting work. Much like the relationship between The Silmarillion and the Books of Lost Tales, The Return of the Shadow is an in depth exploration of the development of The Fellowship of the Ring. The book gives an account of each chapter in the Fellowship of the Ring, from the Long-Expected Party to the Mines of Moria. Each section includes the various versions of the chapter that Professor Tolkien wrote and rejected. Notes and comments are included for each chapter. I was impressed by the research that went into compiling this book, as every stage of development was discussed in detail. While the Return of the Shadow is similar in format to the Books of Lost Tales I and II, one should not expect the dramatic differences between the Silmarillion and its embryonic tales. The early versions of the Fellowship of the Ring are not completely alien to the product that was produced. However, the development of characters and elements of the tale prove most interesting indeed. For someone who is unfamiliar with The Lord of the Rings, this book would most certainly be a poor choice to read. But for those who cherish the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of The Shadow is a wealth of information which I would recomment as being indispensable.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful contribution. . ., December 14, 2000

By	David Zampino "21st Century Hobbit" (Delavan, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Return of the Shadow: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part One (The History of Middle-Earth, Vol. 6) (Paperback)

. . .for anyone who wants to understand the thought processes behind the greatest exercise in fantasy fiction of all time.

In preparing this volume (and the others in the series) Christopher Tolkien has permitted us access to the inner workings of his father's thought, as the story which ultimately became "The Lord of the Rings" gradually evolved and took shape.

Any aficionado of "The Lord of the Rings" will delight at the early character portrayls of characters like Farmer Maggot and Treebeard (and not the least, Trotter the hobbit whose character ultimately morphs into that of Aragorn).

This book is also highly recommend for any student of language and literature and any budding novelist.

Thank you, Christopher, for your labor of love on behalf of your father.