It is well known that J.R.R. Tolkien publishedΒ The HobbitΒ in 1937 andΒ The Lord of the RingsΒ in 1954β5. What may be less known is that he continued to write about Middle-earth in the decades that followed, right up until the years before his death in 1973.
For him, Middle-earth was part of an entire world to be explored, and the writings inΒ The Nature of Middle-earthΒ reveal the journeys that he took as he sought to better understand his unique creation. From sweeping themes as profound as Elvish immortality and reincarnation, and the Powers of the Valar, to the more earth-bound subjects of the lands and beasts of NΓΊmenor, the geography of the Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor, and even who had beards!
This new collection, which has been edited by Carl F. Hostetter, one of the worldβs leading Tolkien experts, is a veritable treasure-trove offering readers a chance to peer over Professor Tolkienβs shoulder at the very moment of discovery: and on every page, Middle-earth is once again brought to extraordinary life.
J.R.R. Tolkien (1892β1973) was a distinguished academic, though he is best known for writing The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion, plus other stories and essays. His books have been translated into over sixty languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.