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The History of Middle-Earth #7
The Treason of Isengard: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part Two
The Treason of Isengard is the seventh volume in Christopher Tolkien's History of Middle-earth and the second in his account of the evolution of The Lord of the Rings. This book follows the long halt in the darkness of the Mines of Moria (which ended The Return of the Shadow) and traces the tale into new lands south and east of the Misty Mountains. Tolkien introduces us to Lothlorien, land of the elves, where we meet the Ents, the Riders of Rohan, and Saruman the White in the fortress of Isengard. In brief outlines and penciled drafts dashed down on scraps of paper are the first entry of Galadriel; the earliest ides of the history of Gondor; and the original meeting of Aragorn with Eowyn, its significance destined to be wholly transformed. Conceptions of what lay ahead dissolve as the story takes its own paths, as in the account of the capture of Frodo and his rescue by Sam Gamgee from Minas Morgul, written long before J.R.R. Tolkien actually reached that point in the writing of The Lord of the Rings. A chief feature of the book is a full account of the original Map, with drawings of successive phases, which was long the basis and accompaniment of the emerging geography of Middle-earth. An appendix describes the Runic alphabets of the time, with illustrations of the forms and an analysis of the Runes used in the Book of Mazarbul found beside Balin's tomb in Moria.
504 pages, Hardcover
First published November 30, 1989
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12788 people want to read
About the author
J.R.R. Tolkien
798 books78.1k followersJohn Ronald Reuel Tolkien: writer, artist, scholar, linguist. Known to millions around the world as the author of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien spent most of his life teaching at the University of Oxford where he was a distinguished academic in the fields of Old and Middle English and Old Norse. His creativity, confined to his spare time, found its outlet in fantasy works, stories for children, poetry, illustration and invented languages and alphabets.
Tolkien’s most popular works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set in Middle-earth, an imagined world with strangely familiar settings inhabited by ancient and extraordinary peoples. Through this secondary world Tolkien writes perceptively of universal human concerns – love and loss, courage and betrayal, humility and pride – giving his books a wide and enduring appeal.
Tolkien was an accomplished amateur artist who painted for pleasure and relaxation. He excelled at landscapes and often drew inspiration from his own stories. He illustrated many scenes from The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, sometimes drawing or painting as he was writing in order to visualize the imagined scene more clearly.
Tolkien was a professor at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford for almost forty years, teaching Old and Middle English, as well as Old Norse and Gothic. His illuminating lectures on works such as the Old English epic poem, Beowulf, illustrate his deep knowledge of ancient languages and at the same time provide new insights into peoples and legends from a remote past.
Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 1892 to English parents. He came to England aged three and was brought up in and around Birmingham. He graduated from the University of Oxford in 1915 and saw active service in France during the First World War before being invalided home. After the war he pursued an academic career teaching Old and Middle English. Alongside his professional work, he invented his own languages and began to create what he called a mythology for England; it was this ‘legendarium’ that he would work on throughout his life. But his literary work did not start and end with Middle-earth, he also wrote poetry, children’s stories and fairy tales for adults. He died in 1973 and is buried in Oxford where he spent most of his adult life.
Tolkien’s most popular works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set in Middle-earth, an imagined world with strangely familiar settings inhabited by ancient and extraordinary peoples. Through this secondary world Tolkien writes perceptively of universal human concerns – love and loss, courage and betrayal, humility and pride – giving his books a wide and enduring appeal.
Tolkien was an accomplished amateur artist who painted for pleasure and relaxation. He excelled at landscapes and often drew inspiration from his own stories. He illustrated many scenes from The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, sometimes drawing or painting as he was writing in order to visualize the imagined scene more clearly.
Tolkien was a professor at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford for almost forty years, teaching Old and Middle English, as well as Old Norse and Gothic. His illuminating lectures on works such as the Old English epic poem, Beowulf, illustrate his deep knowledge of ancient languages and at the same time provide new insights into peoples and legends from a remote past.
Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 1892 to English parents. He came to England aged three and was brought up in and around Birmingham. He graduated from the University of Oxford in 1915 and saw active service in France during the First World War before being invalided home. After the war he pursued an academic career teaching Old and Middle English. Alongside his professional work, he invented his own languages and began to create what he called a mythology for England; it was this ‘legendarium’ that he would work on throughout his life. But his literary work did not start and end with Middle-earth, he also wrote poetry, children’s stories and fairy tales for adults. He died in 1973 and is buried in Oxford where he spent most of his adult life.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 114 reviews
August 10, 2017
I don’t think I have too much to say about _The Treason of Isengard_. It is very much, of course, a continuation of the previous HoME volume as we follow Tolkien’s further development of the story of the Lord of the Rings in as near a chronological manner as Christopher Tolkien is able to piece together from the numerous drafts, re-writings, and changes in his father’s text. That is perhaps the first thing to note: throughout the HoME series it has become obvious that Christopher Tolkien really did take on a monumental task in choosing to edit the early works/drafts of his father given the method (or madness?) of Tolkien’s writing process. That is definitely apparent in spades in this volume. Not only was Tolkien an inveterate re-writer, continually going back to the beginning of a previously written text to ‘polish it up’, only to end up re-writing the whole damn thing…usually before he had even finished the first draft of the initial phase, he was also in the habit of erasing and/or overwriting earlier pencil drafts in ink, adding marginal notes throughout, was often working on multiple competing versions of the same plot elements at the same time, and even inserting riders and writing stray notes on any scrap of paper he could find that refer to text on the ‘main’ pages. Truly a dizzying puzzle to try and unravel if one wants to discover a sequential progression in the text.
Some of the major developments to note in this volume:
- Here we see the final change of our friend Trotter the wooden shoe wearing hobbit-ranger to the figure that would eventually become Aragorn, son of Arathorn, heir of Isildur.
- Saruman emerges as a figure in the text (already a traitor), though still in a fairly minor role compared to the one he will occupy later.
- Lothlorien and Galadriel emerge seemingly from nowhere, an important development indeed given the central place Galadriel would come to occupy in Tolkien’s mind (to the point where he would go back and re-write huge segments of the Silmarillion material so she could be included…though that is not even hinted at yet).
- Gandalf is gradually raised in stature from the little old man who happens to be a wizard we saw in the original version of The Hobbit to something much more (though the concept of the Istari is not yet in place).
- Rohan and the society of the Riders developing out of whole cloth with obvious nods to Tolkien’s love of Anglo-Saxon culture and literature (esp. Beowulf) being apparent in their genesis.
- Some fun tidbits: it appears that Gandalf’s fall in Moria and subsequent return were part of the plan from the beginning; since we still have no Arwen the initial plan points to Aragorn falling for Eowyn when he meets her in Theoden’s Golden Hall (great vindication for numerous fan fic writers out there no doubt); Boromir was at first going to be an unremitting traitor who didn’t heroically die at the hands of Orcs while trying to save Merry and Pippin, but who would actually have been a full rival of Aragorn as the two vied for control of Minas Tirith.
Required reading if you have read the preceding volume and want to know how the story further grows and develops, but definitely not the point you want to start with the HoME series.
Some of the major developments to note in this volume:
- Here we see the final change of our friend Trotter the wooden shoe wearing hobbit-ranger to the figure that would eventually become Aragorn, son of Arathorn, heir of Isildur.
- Saruman emerges as a figure in the text (already a traitor), though still in a fairly minor role compared to the one he will occupy later.
- Lothlorien and Galadriel emerge seemingly from nowhere, an important development indeed given the central place Galadriel would come to occupy in Tolkien’s mind (to the point where he would go back and re-write huge segments of the Silmarillion material so she could be included…though that is not even hinted at yet).
- Gandalf is gradually raised in stature from the little old man who happens to be a wizard we saw in the original version of The Hobbit to something much more (though the concept of the Istari is not yet in place).
- Rohan and the society of the Riders developing out of whole cloth with obvious nods to Tolkien’s love of Anglo-Saxon culture and literature (esp. Beowulf) being apparent in their genesis.
- Some fun tidbits: it appears that Gandalf’s fall in Moria and subsequent return were part of the plan from the beginning; since we still have no Arwen the initial plan points to Aragorn falling for Eowyn when he meets her in Theoden’s Golden Hall (great vindication for numerous fan fic writers out there no doubt); Boromir was at first going to be an unremitting traitor who didn’t heroically die at the hands of Orcs while trying to save Merry and Pippin, but who would actually have been a full rival of Aragorn as the two vied for control of Minas Tirith.
Required reading if you have read the preceding volume and want to know how the story further grows and develops, but definitely not the point you want to start with the HoME series.
July 22, 2021
Picking up where the last one ended (yet another revision of the chapters up to the Mines of Moria, this goes through yet more revisions and returns to previously abandoned ideas, the most interesting being Hamilcar Bolger, aka Ham, and his adventures first as an abductee of the Nazgul and then as a traveling companion to Gandalf. Just the thought of the Nazgul riding around the countryside with Ham is humorous to me - until you realize that they'd just kill him upon discovering he doesn't have the ring. Tolkien came to the same conclusion and finally cut him from the quest. :( (But he'll survive in Fatty Bolger, as the hobbit who stayed behind.)
It was interesting to see that Tolkien thought he could wrap up this story more quickly than actually happened. His preliminary outline of Frodo and Sam's journey cut right to Cirith Ungol and he clearly had no idea how to get them out of that situation. There's no hint of the passage of the Dead Marshes, and certainly no hint of Faramir. Heck, he just barely came up with Denethor.
Seeing the Rohan side of things was interesting too. Treebeard is finally determined not to be evil, Saruman was theorized to be the balrog for a hot minute, Wormtongue's just a dude in Théoden's court, Théoden momentarily had a daughter who was just as quickly overlooked and discarded, poor thing, among other things. The outlines and discarded ideas and storylines in these histories are a treasure trove for AU fanfics.
Sadly, a lot of the earliest writing of the Rohan chapters was "lost" due to Tolkien's habit during this time to erase the penciled draft and write over it in ink. It was interesting to see things like the actual Mariner song that should have been in the published LOTR but was misplaced at the time of submission, and the various little mistakes that never got edited out of the book, and not all of them are easily remedied, such as what exactly was Shadowfax up to between Weathertop/Rivendell and him showing up in Rohan three months later, since it obviously wouldn't have taken him that long to get there. (I decided he found Bill the Pony wandering around after being released outside Moria and escorted him to Bree. :D Before that? I don't know. Probably just enjoying his freedom, lol.)
This ends with the King of the Golden Hall, and a rough outline of the Frodo and Sam chapters up to the escape from Cirith Ungol, and Tolkien realizing he'd need to split the storylines and move Frodo and Sam's half to after everyone else's parts.
It was interesting to see that Tolkien thought he could wrap up this story more quickly than actually happened. His preliminary outline of Frodo and Sam's journey cut right to Cirith Ungol and he clearly had no idea how to get them out of that situation. There's no hint of the passage of the Dead Marshes, and certainly no hint of Faramir. Heck, he just barely came up with Denethor.
Seeing the Rohan side of things was interesting too. Treebeard is finally determined not to be evil, Saruman was theorized to be the balrog for a hot minute, Wormtongue's just a dude in Théoden's court, Théoden momentarily had a daughter who was just as quickly overlooked and discarded, poor thing, among other things. The outlines and discarded ideas and storylines in these histories are a treasure trove for AU fanfics.
Sadly, a lot of the earliest writing of the Rohan chapters was "lost" due to Tolkien's habit during this time to erase the penciled draft and write over it in ink. It was interesting to see things like the actual Mariner song that should have been in the published LOTR but was misplaced at the time of submission, and the various little mistakes that never got edited out of the book, and not all of them are easily remedied, such as what exactly was Shadowfax up to between Weathertop/Rivendell and him showing up in Rohan three months later, since it obviously wouldn't have taken him that long to get there. (I decided he found Bill the Pony wandering around after being released outside Moria and escorted him to Bree. :D Before that? I don't know. Probably just enjoying his freedom, lol.)
This ends with the King of the Golden Hall, and a rough outline of the Frodo and Sam chapters up to the escape from Cirith Ungol, and Tolkien realizing he'd need to split the storylines and move Frodo and Sam's half to after everyone else's parts.
December 21, 2022
Sedma knjiga Istorije Srednje Zemlje i druga knjiga koja prati nastajanje Gospodara Prstenova.
Ova knjiga se nastavlja na predhodnu, i veoma je zanimljivo pratiti Tolknov tok misli o idejama vezanim za radnju i svaki karakter ponaosob. Sve je manje vise na vec dobro znanom putu, medjutim alternativne ideje cesto nam daju neke od najzanimljivijih informacija koje ne mozete da nadjete u zavrsnom tekstu Druzine Prstena ili Dve kule, ali veoma realno leliujaju u pozadini. Svakome ko je procitao Gospodara Prstenova bice veoma zanimljivo da se upusti u ovaj, slobodno mogu reci, visi nivo analize najpoznatijeg dela fantastike.
Ova knjiga se nastavlja na predhodnu, i veoma je zanimljivo pratiti Tolknov tok misli o idejama vezanim za radnju i svaki karakter ponaosob. Sve je manje vise na vec dobro znanom putu, medjutim alternativne ideje cesto nam daju neke od najzanimljivijih informacija koje ne mozete da nadjete u zavrsnom tekstu Druzine Prstena ili Dve kule, ali veoma realno leliujaju u pozadini. Svakome ko je procitao Gospodara Prstenova bice veoma zanimljivo da se upusti u ovaj, slobodno mogu reci, visi nivo analize najpoznatijeg dela fantastike.
July 26, 2019
As always with this series I find Christopher’s dedication and determination to compile all of this immensely interesting and thank him for the hours and hours of work it must have entailed, and the insight to how a great writer crafts his stories is invaluable and sadly with the advent of modern word processing, something we are unlikely to see laid out in this way ever again.
December 27, 2019
@TolkienKC completed a concurrent group read of The Treason of Isengard and the fist half of the first book of The Two Towers in September of 2019. Check the Tolkien Society of Kansas City Facebook page for details.
October 5, 2021
If you want to write fantasy, or if you write and you love Tolkien, you need to read this! This gives an inside look at Tolkien's creative process as he gets beyond the mind-blocks into a creative flow. Christopher Tolkien includes other drafts and ideas that would have turned out a completely different Lord of the Rings. It may be that in an alternate universe somewhere, Sam fought goblins up to the tower, and got so mad at one of them for hitting Frodo he plunged a sword into the vile throat, making him gurgle on his own filthy orc-blood. When they came outside the tower Sam the Conqueror took a few more down.
In these pages many other versions reside!
As we all know, in our universe Tolkien took a different path with Sam and Frodo, two helpless Hobbits in the hand of Providence (Illuvitar, the unseen and unspoken Hero of the story).
In these pages many other versions reside!
As we all know, in our universe Tolkien took a different path with Sam and Frodo, two helpless Hobbits in the hand of Providence (Illuvitar, the unseen and unspoken Hero of the story).
October 26, 2015
The continuing analysis of the writing process.
It's not so wide-open as it was in The Return of the Shadow, since the prior story imposed definitely constraints. But he's still sorting out which hobbits have what names, and which ones will go. At one point Elrond firmly puts his foot down on the notion that either Merry or Pippin can go. Sam didn't always go with Frodo after the split up, and sometimes he was the first one to see Gandalf again. Eowyn was considered as a love interest for Aragorn, but only briefly. And her cousin, Theoden's daughter, didn't exist for long. At one point Boromir and Aragorn made it to Minas Tirth together, and Aragorn got chosen as Lord there, to Boromir's jealousy.
Interesting to watch the provisional status of everything fixed in the final version.
It's not so wide-open as it was in The Return of the Shadow, since the prior story imposed definitely constraints. But he's still sorting out which hobbits have what names, and which ones will go. At one point Elrond firmly puts his foot down on the notion that either Merry or Pippin can go. Sam didn't always go with Frodo after the split up, and sometimes he was the first one to see Gandalf again. Eowyn was considered as a love interest for Aragorn, but only briefly. And her cousin, Theoden's daughter, didn't exist for long. At one point Boromir and Aragorn made it to Minas Tirth together, and Aragorn got chosen as Lord there, to Boromir's jealousy.
Interesting to watch the provisional status of everything fixed in the final version.
October 20, 2024
Az előző kötethez hasonlóan nagy élményt jelentett ennek is az olvasása, szóval talán hasonló dolgokat is fogok kiemelni.
Christopher Tolkien hihetetlen elkötelezettsége és megszállottsággal határos tudományos precizitása, amivel apja hagyatékát feldolgozta, már-már hasonlóan valószínűtlen, mint az, hogy Tolkien milyen részletességgel dolgozta ki mitológiáját. Erre mindenképp érdemes idézni egy rövid részletet a Függelék a rúnákról fejezetből:
"A Darion ábécéjeként ismert rendszer eredetileg főként fába vésett feliratok céljaira tervezett »rúnaírás«, amely az ilkorinok közt jött létre. Többnyire úgy tartják, Doriathban keletkezett, és annyi bizonyos, hogy ott fejlődött ki legteljesebben, még kézírásos változata is létezett. Tényleges feltalálása azonban valószínűleg Ossiriand dan tündéihez köthető (akik végső soron a noldák fajtájából származtak). A »Darion ábécéje« név annak köszönhető, hogy Darionnak, doriathi Thingol király balsorsú dalnokának néhány daltöredéke ezzel az írással maradt fenn Pengoldnak, Gondolin bölcsének az ősi beleriandi nyelvekről írt munkáiban."
Christopher elképesztő munkájára pedig a rengeteg szövegközi hivatkozás (a korábbi kötetekre is) és a névmutató remek példa - ennek precíz átültetéséért a magyar fordító és a szerkesztői gárda is elismerést érdemel.
A Gyűrűk Ura alakuló történetének megismerése ismét számos roppant érdekes részletet kínál:
De nemcsak a történet alakulásának fázisait izgalmas követni, hanem például az olyan mondatokat olvasni is, mint amit Tolkien egy ismerőséhez írt levelében írt le: úgy érzi, ő nem kitalálja a történetet, hanem egyszer csak "rájön", mi is történt "valójában".
A Gyűrűk Ura históriájának kötetei mindig felébresztik bennem a vágyat, hogy újraolvassam magát az alapművet is, de most már, azt hiszem, megvárom, amíg megjelenik az utolsó kötet is, és ezzel a háttérismerettel felvértezve vetem bele magam újra ebbe a fantasztikus világba.
Christopher Tolkien hihetetlen elkötelezettsége és megszállottsággal határos tudományos precizitása, amivel apja hagyatékát feldolgozta, már-már hasonlóan valószínűtlen, mint az, hogy Tolkien milyen részletességgel dolgozta ki mitológiáját. Erre mindenképp érdemes idézni egy rövid részletet a Függelék a rúnákról fejezetből:
"A Darion ábécéjeként ismert rendszer eredetileg főként fába vésett feliratok céljaira tervezett »rúnaírás«, amely az ilkorinok közt jött létre. Többnyire úgy tartják, Doriathban keletkezett, és annyi bizonyos, hogy ott fejlődött ki legteljesebben, még kézírásos változata is létezett. Tényleges feltalálása azonban valószínűleg Ossiriand dan tündéihez köthető (akik végső soron a noldák fajtájából származtak). A »Darion ábécéje« név annak köszönhető, hogy Darionnak, doriathi Thingol király balsorsú dalnokának néhány daltöredéke ezzel az írással maradt fenn Pengoldnak, Gondolin bölcsének az ősi beleriandi nyelvekről írt munkáiban."
Christopher elképesztő munkájára pedig a rengeteg szövegközi hivatkozás (a korábbi kötetekre is) és a névmutató remek példa - ennek precíz átültetéséért a magyar fordító és a szerkesztői gárda is elismerést érdemel.
A Gyűrűk Ura alakuló történetének megismerése ismét számos roppant érdekes részletet kínál:
De nemcsak a történet alakulásának fázisait izgalmas követni, hanem például az olyan mondatokat olvasni is, mint amit Tolkien egy ismerőséhez írt levelében írt le: úgy érzi, ő nem kitalálja a történetet, hanem egyszer csak "rájön", mi is történt "valójában".
A Gyűrűk Ura históriájának kötetei mindig felébresztik bennem a vágyat, hogy újraolvassam magát az alapművet is, de most már, azt hiszem, megvárom, amíg megjelenik az utolsó kötet is, és ezzel a háttérismerettel felvértezve vetem bele magam újra ebbe a fantasztikus világba.
October 10, 2024
Fascinating.
Not the kind of thing to read straight through, even for a Tolkien geek like me, but I'm glad I was able to finish it within the 12 weeks the library allowed me.
Not the kind of thing to read straight through, even for a Tolkien geek like me, but I'm glad I was able to finish it within the 12 weeks the library allowed me.
December 5, 2019
The first part of this one took me awhile to get through because it's mostly rewriting the passages from HoME Vol. 6. I even skipped a chapter about maps...... But by the end of the volume, we're in Rohan and that's one of my favourite parts.
March 14, 2019
Goooood, more the Lord of the Rings history! That's what I signed up for! This reads a lot faster than the previous few.
July 26, 2024
Ismét remek élmény volt belefelejtkezni a tolkieni világba. A könyv a Gyűrűk Ura keletkezésének a történetét Gandalf késlekedésétől egészen a rohani megérkezésig írja le, sok esetben számos párhuzamos vázlatot, kapcsolódó jegyzeteket ismertetve, amiből többé kevésbé kiderül, hogyan született meg a mestermű végleges formája. Persze ehhez jó, ha esetleg az emberben viszonylag frissen él a Gyűrű Szövetsége és a Két Torony, de ha éppenséggel főleg a filmekre emlékszik, akkor is garantált az élmény.
---SPOILER---
A könyv azt mutatja be, hogy milyen kezdeti ötletekből alakult a történet, a szereplők neve, jelleme stb. És mindez kirívóan szórakoztató tud lenni. Amit az olvasók természetesnek vesznek, hiszen kanonizálódott, az ezekben a jegyzetekben még teljesen eltérően is szerepelhet. Itt Frodó már Frodó (nem úgy, mint az előző kötet Bingója), de Aragorn például jórészt még Kótogi, Ingold vagy Tündekő, Radagastra Gandalf az unokatestvéreként hivatkozik, Boromir az árulása után Saruman szolgálatába áll, Szilszakáll egy óriás, Aragorn összeházasodik Éowinnal... és még hosszan lehetne sorolni a furcsaságokat, a Tolkien-univerzumot ismerők számára mókás, olykor megmosolyogtató, olykor szinte szentségtörésnek tűnő ötleteket, elgondolásokat.
---SPOILER VÉGE---
Döbbenetes belelátni az alkotói folyamatba, és talán csak jó pillanatban kapott el a könyv, de én tényleg még azokat a részeket is élveztem, ami arról szólt, hogy bizonyos vázlatok éppen milyen vizsgadolgozat hátuljára, tollal vagy ceruzával lettek írva/felülírva stb.
Szokás szerint elképesztő szerkesztői munka áll mögötte Christopher Tolkien részéről, de a magyar fordítók és szerkesztők helyében sem lettem volna, ők is bizonyára megküzdöttek a rengeteg hivatkozással, a fordítási nüanszokkal.
Végtelenül igényes kiadvány, aki hozzám hasonló hatalmas Gyűrűk Ura és Tolkien-rajongó, annak kihagyhatatlan olvasmány.
---SPOILER---
A könyv azt mutatja be, hogy milyen kezdeti ötletekből alakult a történet, a szereplők neve, jelleme stb. És mindez kirívóan szórakoztató tud lenni. Amit az olvasók természetesnek vesznek, hiszen kanonizálódott, az ezekben a jegyzetekben még teljesen eltérően is szerepelhet. Itt Frodó már Frodó (nem úgy, mint az előző kötet Bingója), de Aragorn például jórészt még Kótogi, Ingold vagy Tündekő, Radagastra Gandalf az unokatestvéreként hivatkozik, Boromir az árulása után Saruman szolgálatába áll, Szilszakáll egy óriás, Aragorn összeházasodik Éowinnal... és még hosszan lehetne sorolni a furcsaságokat, a Tolkien-univerzumot ismerők számára mókás, olykor megmosolyogtató, olykor szinte szentségtörésnek tűnő ötleteket, elgondolásokat.
---SPOILER VÉGE---
Döbbenetes belelátni az alkotói folyamatba, és talán csak jó pillanatban kapott el a könyv, de én tényleg még azokat a részeket is élveztem, ami arról szólt, hogy bizonyos vázlatok éppen milyen vizsgadolgozat hátuljára, tollal vagy ceruzával lettek írva/felülírva stb.
Szokás szerint elképesztő szerkesztői munka áll mögötte Christopher Tolkien részéről, de a magyar fordítók és szerkesztők helyében sem lettem volna, ők is bizonyára megküzdöttek a rengeteg hivatkozással, a fordítási nüanszokkal.
Végtelenül igényes kiadvány, aki hozzám hasonló hatalmas Gyűrűk Ura és Tolkien-rajongó, annak kihagyhatatlan olvasmány.
May 8, 2018
A really good companion if you love Tolkien and want to discover his writing process when he write his masterpiece. If not, I’d advice you to leave this be.
It is really interesting to see many alternative on how the story could have gone. Reading this, you start to understand how much work and thinking Tolkien put into his work.
As a regular Tolkien fan, you know it already but reading here all the alternatives (and yet not all of them are even here) about the story, quotes or the multiple names in several drafts, that Christopher Tolkien presents to us. Many excerpts written in now fading pencil draft, crossed sentences on many supports.
Christopher Tolkien underlines the main differences, with all of his father’s source material at hands, between the drafts and the final version.
You’ll discover that Aragorn had many names, Theoden had a daughter for a little while, an analysis of the evolution of the maps and other tidbits of alternative what-ifs which are really neat to know.
This book is really for people who want to dig even more into Tolkien’s world and love to read more academic oriented works as it’s very complete with many notes.
It is really interesting to see many alternative on how the story could have gone. Reading this, you start to understand how much work and thinking Tolkien put into his work.
As a regular Tolkien fan, you know it already but reading here all the alternatives (and yet not all of them are even here) about the story, quotes or the multiple names in several drafts, that Christopher Tolkien presents to us. Many excerpts written in now fading pencil draft, crossed sentences on many supports.
Christopher Tolkien underlines the main differences, with all of his father’s source material at hands, between the drafts and the final version.
You’ll discover that Aragorn had many names, Theoden had a daughter for a little while, an analysis of the evolution of the maps and other tidbits of alternative what-ifs which are really neat to know.
This book is really for people who want to dig even more into Tolkien’s world and love to read more academic oriented works as it’s very complete with many notes.
Read
October 26, 2022
χρόνος ανάγνωσης κριτικής: 25 δευτερόλεπτα
Όπως και με τον προηγούμενο τόμο έτσι και αυτός ι έχει να κάνει με την
Τρίτη Εποχή και πιο συγκεκριμένα την ιστορία του
Άρχοντα των Δαχτυλιδιών, το αγαπημένο μου βιβλίο.
Αφηγείται τη διαδικασία δημιουργίας του, από τις πρώτες ιδέες μέχρι τα
τελευταία προσχέδια.
Η διαφορά με το προηγούμενο είναι ότι άρχισαν πλέον να
αυξάνονται οι επαναλήψεις
και οι συχνές διακοπές της αφήγησης
από τον Κρίστοφερ για να κάνει σχολιασμό.
Και η αλήθεια είναι ότι άρχισα κάπως να βαριέμαι αυτή την εξονυχιστική
ανάλυση για το πόσες διακλαδώσεις έχει ο τάδε ποταμός, τη μέρα έπεφτε
πανσέληνος, και πόσες γενιές διαφορά έχει ο ένας βασιλιάς από τον άλλο
στο πρώτο και στο δεύτερο προσχέδιο.
February 14, 2021
If the next book opens with yet another return to the Shire, then I will cackle for a full 23 minutes before lighting myself on fire.
Real talk: This was interesting and informative just like the last book, but the narrative is starting to resemble the published text more and more with each passing chapter which means it's not nearly as amusing and wild anymore lol. I'd much rather read the final published form.
Real talk: This was interesting and informative just like the last book, but the narrative is starting to resemble the published text more and more with each passing chapter which means it's not nearly as amusing and wild anymore lol. I'd much rather read the final published form.
November 9, 2024
Another interesting examination of the various drafts that went into the writing of Lord of the Rings. A lot of the differences were more minor than in the last volume, which led to fewer “wait, what??” moments, but I still enjoyed the deep dive and looked at elements of an old favorite in new ways.
May 8, 2019
Insightful, illuminating, fascinating.
January 18, 2022
Fairly certain the reason that Aragorn has so many names is because Tolkien just couldn't pick one.
February 3, 2023
Love love loved this! It was covering Tolkien’s notes and background while he was writing the LOTR series. It’s so incredible to see the work he put into them.
March 10, 2025
The evolution of names, events, etc. is fascinating.
April 15, 2019
Another collection of manuscripts showing the development of The Lord of the Rings, which proved just as helpful to me in understanding the mind of this highly influential author. Again, this is only for the die-hards but there's a lot of people who fit that category, and I predict soon that we'll get lots of interpretations of Tolkien that will be absolute bunk, so let's note some stuff.
First off, I noticed that the way Tolkien writes, it is as though he thought of it as his duty not to invent the world of Middle Earth so much as to discover it. This is one of the reasons the book has such weight: it feels like Tolkien thought the world had to be a certain way, whether he wanted it to be that way or not, and that has a huge impact. It certainly makes things weird, but I think it explains the uncompromising nature of the project.
Second, the most fascinating thing about this book is the fact that Tolkien clearly didn't know where he was going. While many people highlight his perfectionism, pointing out that he wouldn't just copy and paste, and would always start over, this is only half the truth: Tolkien really did lean heavily on what he had already written and that's evident here. Some of the funnest portions are the bits where, after having decided that Boromir should try to take the ring from Frodo, he ponders (in the manuscripts) completely different outcomes. This shows that Tolkien was not at all sure where things would go, and thus any interpretation of the book that presupposes some grand platonic scheme in Tolkien's mind before he wrote the books must be discounted. It also shows, in my opinion, that Tolkien was more plot centered than character centered.
Here's some of the juiciest bits: before they got to Lothlorien, Tolkien intended for Sam to find Gollum and enlist his help in finding the fleeing Frodo. At that point Gollum leads them to Mordor where black riders arrive, turned into demonic eagles. Frodo and Sam reach the crack, Gollum takes the ring, but Sam grabs Gollum and dies with him in the gulf. The idea of multiple spiders is also thought of at this point, as is the idea of Sam temporarily bearing the ring. Also, when the ring is destroyed, wouldn't this have been cool: "Frodo standing on side of Fire Mountain holds up sword. He now commands Ringwraiths and bids them be gone. They fall to earth and vanish like wisps of smoke with a terrible wail." (210). At the same time, Merry and Pippin meet Fangorn (no orc attack), Legolas and Gimli get lost and are captured by Saruman, and Aragorn and Boromir go to Minas Tirith and when Denethor is killed, the men elect Aragorn, forcing Boromir to go to Saruman for help. In some versions of this, Legolas and Gimli lose heart and head north, only to meet Gandalf. Gandalf used mithril to escape Moria. Saruman AND Sauron attack Minas Tirith at the same time, and Treebeard breaks the siege of Minas Tirith. Tolkien even speculates on killing Boromir (through Aragorn) Pippin! Saruman is dressed in a mud-colored robe and told to beg for a day's digging.
At this point, Lothlorien is written, and at one point Galadriel and Celeborne have white hair. Frodo, I think, sees the vision at first alone, and then Sam is added. Gimli gets a green stone from Galadriel, rather than Aragorn! However, the story is otherwise the same as in the final version. After this, we get another outlining. As usual, Tolkien plans to have Aragorn and Boromir go to Minas Tirith together, where they come into conflict. More importantly, Tolkien starts writing the ending of Frodo and Sam's adventures. After some brief dialogue with Gollum's meeting with Sam and the two tracking down Frodo, he writes bits and pieces of Frodo's coma because of spider stings (there are still multiple spiders) and his capture after Sam takes the ring. Gollum leads the orcs to Frodo's body and is tasked with hunting down Sam. Sam's rescue of Frodo from Cirith Ungol is actually fairly close (though this time Frodo uses the ring to escape and they kill an orc to get his armor for the visible Sam). Frodo is separated from Sam in Mordor.
At this point however, Tolkien decides upon a less dramatic breaking of the fellowship in which Boromir is killed, Merry and Pippin captured by orcs, and the three hunters pursue them. Much stronger than Legolas and Gimli going across the plain. When Pippin and Merry meet Treebeard, he talks about Tom Bombadil. When Gandlaf returns, Tolkien ponders making Saruman the balrog.
The first draft of the arrival at Rohan has no Wormtongue, and Theoden is just grouchy and reluctant to help Gandalf, not under enchantment as in the final version. Eowyn, of course, is destined to marry Aragorn at this point.
So, again, a special thanks to Christopher Tolkien for being such a good scholar. I really do hope that these books are referenced as people write and interpret Tolkien.
First off, I noticed that the way Tolkien writes, it is as though he thought of it as his duty not to invent the world of Middle Earth so much as to discover it. This is one of the reasons the book has such weight: it feels like Tolkien thought the world had to be a certain way, whether he wanted it to be that way or not, and that has a huge impact. It certainly makes things weird, but I think it explains the uncompromising nature of the project.
Second, the most fascinating thing about this book is the fact that Tolkien clearly didn't know where he was going. While many people highlight his perfectionism, pointing out that he wouldn't just copy and paste, and would always start over, this is only half the truth: Tolkien really did lean heavily on what he had already written and that's evident here. Some of the funnest portions are the bits where, after having decided that Boromir should try to take the ring from Frodo, he ponders (in the manuscripts) completely different outcomes. This shows that Tolkien was not at all sure where things would go, and thus any interpretation of the book that presupposes some grand platonic scheme in Tolkien's mind before he wrote the books must be discounted. It also shows, in my opinion, that Tolkien was more plot centered than character centered.
Here's some of the juiciest bits: before they got to Lothlorien, Tolkien intended for Sam to find Gollum and enlist his help in finding the fleeing Frodo. At that point Gollum leads them to Mordor where black riders arrive, turned into demonic eagles. Frodo and Sam reach the crack, Gollum takes the ring, but Sam grabs Gollum and dies with him in the gulf. The idea of multiple spiders is also thought of at this point, as is the idea of Sam temporarily bearing the ring. Also, when the ring is destroyed, wouldn't this have been cool: "Frodo standing on side of Fire Mountain holds up sword. He now commands Ringwraiths and bids them be gone. They fall to earth and vanish like wisps of smoke with a terrible wail." (210). At the same time, Merry and Pippin meet Fangorn (no orc attack), Legolas and Gimli get lost and are captured by Saruman, and Aragorn and Boromir go to Minas Tirith and when Denethor is killed, the men elect Aragorn, forcing Boromir to go to Saruman for help. In some versions of this, Legolas and Gimli lose heart and head north, only to meet Gandalf. Gandalf used mithril to escape Moria. Saruman AND Sauron attack Minas Tirith at the same time, and Treebeard breaks the siege of Minas Tirith. Tolkien even speculates on killing Boromir (through Aragorn) Pippin! Saruman is dressed in a mud-colored robe and told to beg for a day's digging.
At this point, Lothlorien is written, and at one point Galadriel and Celeborne have white hair. Frodo, I think, sees the vision at first alone, and then Sam is added. Gimli gets a green stone from Galadriel, rather than Aragorn! However, the story is otherwise the same as in the final version. After this, we get another outlining. As usual, Tolkien plans to have Aragorn and Boromir go to Minas Tirith together, where they come into conflict. More importantly, Tolkien starts writing the ending of Frodo and Sam's adventures. After some brief dialogue with Gollum's meeting with Sam and the two tracking down Frodo, he writes bits and pieces of Frodo's coma because of spider stings (there are still multiple spiders) and his capture after Sam takes the ring. Gollum leads the orcs to Frodo's body and is tasked with hunting down Sam. Sam's rescue of Frodo from Cirith Ungol is actually fairly close (though this time Frodo uses the ring to escape and they kill an orc to get his armor for the visible Sam). Frodo is separated from Sam in Mordor.
At this point however, Tolkien decides upon a less dramatic breaking of the fellowship in which Boromir is killed, Merry and Pippin captured by orcs, and the three hunters pursue them. Much stronger than Legolas and Gimli going across the plain. When Pippin and Merry meet Treebeard, he talks about Tom Bombadil. When Gandlaf returns, Tolkien ponders making Saruman the balrog.
The first draft of the arrival at Rohan has no Wormtongue, and Theoden is just grouchy and reluctant to help Gandalf, not under enchantment as in the final version. Eowyn, of course, is destined to marry Aragorn at this point.
So, again, a special thanks to Christopher Tolkien for being such a good scholar. I really do hope that these books are referenced as people write and interpret Tolkien.
March 26, 2012
This book is not a logical sequel to "The Return of the Shadow" but rather somewhat arbitrary separation of Tolkien early drafts. This book does not start where "The Return of the Shadow" ended as there are again later drafts of previous chapters. Christopher Tolkien had to separate his father's papers into several books so we are not presented with one massive book and this place seems as good as any. So if you expect this book to cover evolution of "The Two Towers" you'll be dissapointed.
Rewrites of early parts of LOTR-Fellowship of the Ring up to Rivendell mostly cover details. Tolkien tinkers with movement of Black riders, movement of Hobbits and most of all dates. Overall interesting details but something that only really hard core Tolkien fans would find cruicial.
The most important part of this volume is "Council of Elrond". This chapter is used as a tool to place LOTR into Tolkien's world and transforms it from "The Hobbit" sequel unconnected to his massive fantasy world to continuation of earlier ages. Tolkien achieves this by renaming characters to equate them with older ones and their motives. Elrond is given place at defeat of Sauron (The Last Alliance), Aragorn becomes Isildur's heir (removed several generations, of course), Gandalf and Saruman are given bigger role in Middle-earth and so on.
Another interesting thing is we see Tolkien's style of writting. LOTR wasn't created from a draft where he had a general idea of events but events more or less wrote themselves. While he had a general idea of ending (destruction of the Ring, last clash between Sauron and Men....) he had little idea about how to get there. While he had general idea about two massive battles which later became siege of Minas Tirith and Black Gates later was to be fought at Mordor itself and former was still sketchy, as can be seen by his inclusion of Ents/Hurons/trees. These elements later found their way to battle of Helm's Deep but at this point Tolkien's ideas about Rohan were still vague.
And it's with Rohan that this book ends. Gimli, Legolas, Gandalf and Aragorn enter that land and see the king but early work shows that much was changed later. While leter events are sketched and you can see hints of pivotal moments these are still rough ideas. You can sense ideas about battle of Helm's Deep but it was to be fought at Isen fords, battle that was covered only briefly in the LOTR.
And if Rohan is still vague Gondor doesn't exists beyond "there is a land in the south where stewards rule for absent king".
Overall written (or edited) in same style as "The Return of the Shadow" this book covers further evolution of LOTR into what we came to love.
Rewrites of early parts of LOTR-Fellowship of the Ring up to Rivendell mostly cover details. Tolkien tinkers with movement of Black riders, movement of Hobbits and most of all dates. Overall interesting details but something that only really hard core Tolkien fans would find cruicial.
The most important part of this volume is "Council of Elrond". This chapter is used as a tool to place LOTR into Tolkien's world and transforms it from "The Hobbit" sequel unconnected to his massive fantasy world to continuation of earlier ages. Tolkien achieves this by renaming characters to equate them with older ones and their motives. Elrond is given place at defeat of Sauron (The Last Alliance), Aragorn becomes Isildur's heir (removed several generations, of course), Gandalf and Saruman are given bigger role in Middle-earth and so on.
Another interesting thing is we see Tolkien's style of writting. LOTR wasn't created from a draft where he had a general idea of events but events more or less wrote themselves. While he had a general idea of ending (destruction of the Ring, last clash between Sauron and Men....) he had little idea about how to get there. While he had general idea about two massive battles which later became siege of Minas Tirith and Black Gates later was to be fought at Mordor itself and former was still sketchy, as can be seen by his inclusion of Ents/Hurons/trees. These elements later found their way to battle of Helm's Deep but at this point Tolkien's ideas about Rohan were still vague.
And it's with Rohan that this book ends. Gimli, Legolas, Gandalf and Aragorn enter that land and see the king but early work shows that much was changed later. While leter events are sketched and you can see hints of pivotal moments these are still rough ideas. You can sense ideas about battle of Helm's Deep but it was to be fought at Isen fords, battle that was covered only briefly in the LOTR.
And if Rohan is still vague Gondor doesn't exists beyond "there is a land in the south where stewards rule for absent king".
Overall written (or edited) in same style as "The Return of the Shadow" this book covers further evolution of LOTR into what we came to love.
November 29, 2019
Although not quite as exciting as the first part of Christopher Tolkien's account of the evolution of The Lord of the Rings, reviewed here, this is still a fascinating read for the Tolkien aficionado. The reason for the "not quite" can be found not in the quality or detail of its scholarship (which is as meticulous as ever), nor in any lack of substantial variation from the book as eventually published (there is plenty), but emerges as a direct consequence of J.R.R. Tolkien's writing process. The first 180+ pages of this volume are devoted to tracing, as Christopher makes clear, his father's attempts to resolve the "intractable problems" that had emerged during the drafts that make up The Return of the Shadow. This means that the beginning of this book has to go over a lot of the ground of its predecessor before it can move forward; and for the reader who is hoping to see the story move from 3, to 4, to 5 (numbers arbitrary), a return to 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3 can be a little frustrating.
Once this point is reached, though, with Tolkien senior eventually able to move on from Moria, to Lorien, to Rohan, there is plenty of fresh material to enjoy. This ranges from early plot lines (Boromir's projected return to Minas Tirith), to extended sequences of narrative that would end up changing quite radically (such as the early versions of Frodo and Sam's passage through Kirith Ungol and escape from Minas Morgul), and also includes glimpses of radical changes that Tolkien considered only momentarily (such as having Gandalf face Saruman, instead of a Balrog, in Moria), as well as absences (no Arwen or Faramir, as yet) and characters who lived for a few brief lines or pages, before vanishing (such as Idis, the daughter of Theoden, who appears beside Eowyn for a while, silent and overshadowed by her, until she is gone forever). Like the first volume, there is also plenty of detail on chronology and geography, and here for the first time an exhaustive examination of Tolkien's early maps, runes, and the evolution of some of the poems in the text. Much of this can be safely skipped or skimmed; and indeed doing so, according to the reader's interest, might be the best way to make the most of an enjoyable but sometimes formidable book.
Once this point is reached, though, with Tolkien senior eventually able to move on from Moria, to Lorien, to Rohan, there is plenty of fresh material to enjoy. This ranges from early plot lines (Boromir's projected return to Minas Tirith), to extended sequences of narrative that would end up changing quite radically (such as the early versions of Frodo and Sam's passage through Kirith Ungol and escape from Minas Morgul), and also includes glimpses of radical changes that Tolkien considered only momentarily (such as having Gandalf face Saruman, instead of a Balrog, in Moria), as well as absences (no Arwen or Faramir, as yet) and characters who lived for a few brief lines or pages, before vanishing (such as Idis, the daughter of Theoden, who appears beside Eowyn for a while, silent and overshadowed by her, until she is gone forever). Like the first volume, there is also plenty of detail on chronology and geography, and here for the first time an exhaustive examination of Tolkien's early maps, runes, and the evolution of some of the poems in the text. Much of this can be safely skipped or skimmed; and indeed doing so, according to the reader's interest, might be the best way to make the most of an enjoyable but sometimes formidable book.
January 17, 2012
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1849441...
The most interesting point for me was that Frodo and Sam's path to Mordor, and even back to the Shire, emerged in Tolkien's thinking much earlier than the story of the others after the death of Boromir. He seems to almost make up the tale of Gimli, Legolas and Aragorn as he goes along, and I must admit it's not the most satisfying part of the book (and was the most messed around with by Peter Jackson for the film). In the middle of this, however, the Treebeard chapter stands out as a coming together of long-simmering ideas for Tolkien, who was fascinated by trees and forests and had been dropping foreshadowing references to Treebeard into his drafts without really thinking them through.
Tolkien took great care over names. It's a bit jarring to read "Trotter" instead of "Strider", "Ingolf" instead of "Aragorn" and "Ondor" instead of "Gondor", but I think it's not just familiarity with the final product - the eventually chosen names are genuinely better. There are a very few exceptions - Tolkien was not happy with "Osgiliath", and I think rightly so, but didn't find a good alternative. Irish readers find it amusing that one of Treebeard's fellow elder Ents is named Finglas; this name is there in the very first draft.
I noted with interest that all the early examples of runes - basically Gandalf's messages left at Bree and scrawled at Weathertop - use the good old-fashioned futhark, rather than what we came to know as the Cirth. The switch was made while composing the inscription on Balin's tomb in Moria, and implemented consistently after that. The development of the runes shows off Tolkien's deep knowledge of phonetics; you would expect him to have some familiarity with the subject as a philologist, but clearly it was a profound fascination. (Do you pronounce the 'o's differently in 'Lord' and 'Moria'? I don't, but Tolkien evidently did, going by his first drafts.)
Anyway, much enjoying this reconstruction of how the classic came to be.
The most interesting point for me was that Frodo and Sam's path to Mordor, and even back to the Shire, emerged in Tolkien's thinking much earlier than the story of the others after the death of Boromir. He seems to almost make up the tale of Gimli, Legolas and Aragorn as he goes along, and I must admit it's not the most satisfying part of the book (and was the most messed around with by Peter Jackson for the film). In the middle of this, however, the Treebeard chapter stands out as a coming together of long-simmering ideas for Tolkien, who was fascinated by trees and forests and had been dropping foreshadowing references to Treebeard into his drafts without really thinking them through.
Tolkien took great care over names. It's a bit jarring to read "Trotter" instead of "Strider", "Ingolf" instead of "Aragorn" and "Ondor" instead of "Gondor", but I think it's not just familiarity with the final product - the eventually chosen names are genuinely better. There are a very few exceptions - Tolkien was not happy with "Osgiliath", and I think rightly so, but didn't find a good alternative. Irish readers find it amusing that one of Treebeard's fellow elder Ents is named Finglas; this name is there in the very first draft.
I noted with interest that all the early examples of runes - basically Gandalf's messages left at Bree and scrawled at Weathertop - use the good old-fashioned futhark, rather than what we came to know as the Cirth. The switch was made while composing the inscription on Balin's tomb in Moria, and implemented consistently after that. The development of the runes shows off Tolkien's deep knowledge of phonetics; you would expect him to have some familiarity with the subject as a philologist, but clearly it was a profound fascination. (Do you pronounce the 'o's differently in 'Lord' and 'Moria'? I don't, but Tolkien evidently did, going by his first drafts.)
Anyway, much enjoying this reconstruction of how the classic came to be.
March 19, 2019
The fascinating evolution of Tolkien's characters and events continues in this second part of The History of The Lord of the Rings. The emergence of important elements, and the subsequent reshaping of the overall adventure is always interesting to read, and is highly informative of Tolkien's ongoing search for relevance and meaning in the unfolding – and expanding – storyline.
Christopher Tolkien provides solid reasoning and informed opinion on various issues and alterations, and gives us an insight into his father's writing processes and general thinking by determining when text or notes were most likely written, and how the timeline of events was continuously updated as new developments impacted on chapters already conceived.
Although this series of books is full of detailed discussion and repeated examinations of material already covered, I've not found myself bored or confused by either the tone or the content at any point so far. There is great intrigue in the way that Tolkien constructs TLotR – its complex history, overlapping subplots and broad themes – with many important parts of the final story only appearing at the time of writing without preparation or earlier consideration. This 'behind the scenes' access never fails to appeal, especially with Christopher's personal connection, which significantly adds to the authenticity.
Christopher Tolkien provides solid reasoning and informed opinion on various issues and alterations, and gives us an insight into his father's writing processes and general thinking by determining when text or notes were most likely written, and how the timeline of events was continuously updated as new developments impacted on chapters already conceived.
Although this series of books is full of detailed discussion and repeated examinations of material already covered, I've not found myself bored or confused by either the tone or the content at any point so far. There is great intrigue in the way that Tolkien constructs TLotR – its complex history, overlapping subplots and broad themes – with many important parts of the final story only appearing at the time of writing without preparation or earlier consideration. This 'behind the scenes' access never fails to appeal, especially with Christopher's personal connection, which significantly adds to the authenticity.
July 30, 2019
From Rivendell to Rohan
It is undeniable that what pushes a reader to go through several versions of the same narrative goes beyond the simple curiosity. There is a sort of affectionate awe in discovering how, layer after layer the personality of known characters are shaped, structured and anchored deep into the legendarium that defined a genre in the XXth century. We readers are not here for the pretty story anymore, but to feel the blood and bones of a myth being born.
Here below my reviews to the previous volumes of the History of Middle-earth:
Vol.1: Sit down and listen
Vol.2: Heroics of a young author
Vol.3: The poet of Middle-earth
Vol.4: Sketches and Annals of the First Age
Vol.5: A glimpse of Númenor
Vol.6: When Trotter led the way
It is undeniable that what pushes a reader to go through several versions of the same narrative goes beyond the simple curiosity. There is a sort of affectionate awe in discovering how, layer after layer the personality of known characters are shaped, structured and anchored deep into the legendarium that defined a genre in the XXth century. We readers are not here for the pretty story anymore, but to feel the blood and bones of a myth being born.
Here below my reviews to the previous volumes of the History of Middle-earth:
Vol.1: Sit down and listen
Vol.2: Heroics of a young author
Vol.3: The poet of Middle-earth
Vol.4: Sketches and Annals of the First Age
Vol.5: A glimpse of Númenor
Vol.6: When Trotter led the way
June 17, 2015
Dense and certainly not for everyone, but fascinating and full of intriguing odds and ends about the creation of the Lord of the Rings series. Tolkien originally intended Aragorn marry Eowyn! It's amazing how late some very essential plot points (like Arwen) enter the story at all.
Read
December 26, 2022This one was a tough one to finish tbh. Looking forward to the ones about the Silmarillion
November 24, 2019
The Treason Of Isengard (The History Of The Lord Of the Rings: Part Two), by J.R.R. Tolkien
It is remarkable just how little of this book has to do with the Treason of Isengard. Although I am very familiar with the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, I have to say that I was unaware that there was so big an interest in the manuscript history of his Lord of the Rings to make it worth making a giant series that relies on the fact that readers are not only aware of the Lord of the Rings itself but are interested in seeing large amounts of variants that reveal the painstaking process by which that epic came into being. And let it be understood that this book is by no means the only such book in the series--it is the second of three that I have read and it manages to cover some of the same ground that the first book had gone over showing the fourth and fifth (!) efforts that Tolkien made to get through some of the beginning chapters of the Fellowship of the Ring. This sort of book is a clear example of a secondary work, one whose existence depends on the excellence and worth of a previous work, but such works are not bad ones.
This book consists of twenty-six chapters featuring manuscripts and various comments by the Tolkiens on material that ranges from the beginning of Fellowship of the Ring to the beginning of The Two Towers. The material includes a discussion of Galdalf's delay (1), the fourth phase of the introduction to Fellowship (2,3), more discussion about Gandalf and Saruman (4), Bilbo's song at Rivendell (5), the council of Elrond (6,7), the movement of the ring to the south (8), the mines of Moria (9,10), the story as foreseen from that point (11), , Lothlorien (12), and Galadriel (13), and the farewell to Lorien (14). There are chapters on the first map of the LotR (15), the story as foreseen from Lorien (16), the great river (17), the breaking of the fellowship (18), the departure of Boromir (19), the riders of Rohan (20), the Uruk-hai (21), Treeberad (22), some miscellaneous notes (23), the white rider (24), the story foreseen from Fangorn (25), and the king of the golden hall (26), a well as an appendix on runes and an index. All told, this material takes up more than 400 pages, some of it turning in itself in the way that snakes are sometimes shown to have devoured their own tails, but not in a bad way.
It is hard to recommend this book to someone who is not a huge fan of Lord of the Rings. While the original publishers of Tolkien's works wondered how big of an audience would be interested in the Hobbit and then Lord of the Rings and thought that they may lose money on it, the existence of this book not only proves that Lord of the Rings has a huge enough audience to support other books being written about it but that there is an audience that event wants to read the manuscripts that demonstrate the painfully slow process by which Tolkien's story that was originally going to be a simple and straightforward story of the destruction of the one ring as a sequel to the Hobbit became a sprawling epic that hinted at still more sprawling epic stories involved in his legendarium. I found this book interesting, but at the same time I wonder if this sort of book is really a good one to enjoy very often, since like laws and sausages I would prefer not to know how my novels are made from endless and frustrating edits that add length and complexity to originally simple and straightforward plans, especially since Tolkien and I write in very different ways.
It is remarkable just how little of this book has to do with the Treason of Isengard. Although I am very familiar with the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, I have to say that I was unaware that there was so big an interest in the manuscript history of his Lord of the Rings to make it worth making a giant series that relies on the fact that readers are not only aware of the Lord of the Rings itself but are interested in seeing large amounts of variants that reveal the painstaking process by which that epic came into being. And let it be understood that this book is by no means the only such book in the series--it is the second of three that I have read and it manages to cover some of the same ground that the first book had gone over showing the fourth and fifth (!) efforts that Tolkien made to get through some of the beginning chapters of the Fellowship of the Ring. This sort of book is a clear example of a secondary work, one whose existence depends on the excellence and worth of a previous work, but such works are not bad ones.
This book consists of twenty-six chapters featuring manuscripts and various comments by the Tolkiens on material that ranges from the beginning of Fellowship of the Ring to the beginning of The Two Towers. The material includes a discussion of Galdalf's delay (1), the fourth phase of the introduction to Fellowship (2,3), more discussion about Gandalf and Saruman (4), Bilbo's song at Rivendell (5), the council of Elrond (6,7), the movement of the ring to the south (8), the mines of Moria (9,10), the story as foreseen from that point (11), , Lothlorien (12), and Galadriel (13), and the farewell to Lorien (14). There are chapters on the first map of the LotR (15), the story as foreseen from Lorien (16), the great river (17), the breaking of the fellowship (18), the departure of Boromir (19), the riders of Rohan (20), the Uruk-hai (21), Treeberad (22), some miscellaneous notes (23), the white rider (24), the story foreseen from Fangorn (25), and the king of the golden hall (26), a well as an appendix on runes and an index. All told, this material takes up more than 400 pages, some of it turning in itself in the way that snakes are sometimes shown to have devoured their own tails, but not in a bad way.
It is hard to recommend this book to someone who is not a huge fan of Lord of the Rings. While the original publishers of Tolkien's works wondered how big of an audience would be interested in the Hobbit and then Lord of the Rings and thought that they may lose money on it, the existence of this book not only proves that Lord of the Rings has a huge enough audience to support other books being written about it but that there is an audience that event wants to read the manuscripts that demonstrate the painfully slow process by which Tolkien's story that was originally going to be a simple and straightforward story of the destruction of the one ring as a sequel to the Hobbit became a sprawling epic that hinted at still more sprawling epic stories involved in his legendarium. I found this book interesting, but at the same time I wonder if this sort of book is really a good one to enjoy very often, since like laws and sausages I would prefer not to know how my novels are made from endless and frustrating edits that add length and complexity to originally simple and straightforward plans, especially since Tolkien and I write in very different ways.
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