Article 2350 of rec.arts.books.tolkien:
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From: loos@amber.mgh.harvard.edu (William D.B. Loos)
Subject: ... and the Booklist
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This book list is in the process of being substantially expanded (in terms of
secondary sources especially). With luck the next posting will have been done
automatically, at which time it will also be available via ftp.
William D.B. Loos
loos@frodo.mgh.harvard.edu
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The following list is complete with respect to books containing material
written by J.R.R. Tolkien as of September 1992. It is (intentionally) not
complete with respect to secondary and biographical sources, but does contain
1) those which I consider best and 2) those which are generally highly regarded
(overlapping but not identical groups). This list is not limited to books in
print; indeed, a number of the best are out of print.
There is a lengthy introductory note on the state of the accompanying maps
as currently presented by the publishers, which I urge you to read if you or
anyone you know are about to obtain LotR (Tolkien himself considered the maps
to be of primary importance). [The beginning of the actual book listings is
marked with a double line of "="'s for skipping ahead purposes.]
VARIOUS POINTS
1) No attempt has been made to include in this list either Tolkien's academic
journal articles or poems that were published in various literary magazines.
For further information, see Appendix C of Humphrey Carpenter's Biography.
2) There have been numerous special editions of both The Hobbit and LotR; only
generic editions have been included here.
3) This list is composed primarily of American editions. In general there is
an equivalent British edition in each case, usually published by Unwin Hyman
(formerly Allen & Unwin). It is very difficult to get British editions in
the US (and vice-versa?).
4) In many cases two paper edition have been listed, one from Houghton Mifflin
and one from Ballantine. In all cases the Houghton Mifflin editions are
trade paperbacks (i.e. larger size) while the Ballantine editions are mass-
market paperbacks.
5) The following errors in Books in Print have been corrected. The major one:
_The Magical World of the Inklings_ was *NOT* written by J.R.R. Tolkien;
rather, it's *about* the Inklings (the Big Four: Lewis, Tolkien, Williams,
Barfield). Minor errors: it's the Book of *Lost* Tales, not "Last" Tales;
and a number of the books listed are in fact out of print.
6) The following abbreviations have been used: HM == Houghton Mifflin
op == out of print
A WORD ON MAPS
Because of Tolkien's extraordinarily careful attention to details of geography,
landscape, and the lengths of the various journeys, the maps have always been
extremely important -- without them it would have been impossible either to
write the story or to follow it in any detail. The best maps available are
those made by Christopher Tolkien (CJRT) for his father. Originally, all US
editions contained the same set of maps, but for some reason Ballantine has
substituted horrible redrawn maps for the originals in their current printings.
Thus, if you or anyone you know is acquiring The Lord of the Rings, make sure
you or they get a copy with the original maps. The Editions so graced are
1) either of the current Houghton Mifflin editions or 2) a sufficiently old
secondhand printing of the Ballantine edition. The best compromise between
cost and quality is probably the Houghton Mifflin trade paperback edition,
which has the maps as endpapers -- as such, the maps are large enough to be
useful. Given the escalating cost of mass market paperbacks, the difference
in price ($9.95 (Houghton Mifflin) vs. $5.95 (Ballantine)) is reasonably small
and well worth it (the trade edition is also a nicer edition in general).
For those who wish to identify which Ballantine printings are sufficiently old,
here are the specifics:
The first edition contained three maps: 1) the small map of the Shire
which precedes Chapter 1 of _The Fellowship of the Ring_ , 2) the main map
of the western lands of Middle-earth which accompanies _The Fellowship of the
Ring_ and _The Two Towers_ , and 3) the large-scale map of Rohan and Gondor
which accompanies _The Return of the King_ . In 1980 Christopher Tolkien
presented an enhanced main map to accompany _Unfinished Tales_ , which included
many place-names not on the original. UT also included a previouly unpublished
map of Numenor.
Now, the current Houghton Mifflin hardcover contains the Shire map in
its traditional place, the (original) main map in fold-out form with FR and TT,
and the large-scale map in fold-out form with RK. That's fine. The Houghton
Mifflin trade paper-cover edition contains the Shire map in its traditional
place, the main map as an endpaper (extending over two pages) to FR and TT,
and the large-scale map as an endpaper (also extending over two pages) to RK.
That's fine, too. The Ballantine edition originally had exactly the same
arrangement, with the maps reduced only to the extent required by the smaller
size of the books (but still quite adequate, being spread over two pages).
Unfortunately, sometime in the 80's Ballantine removed the originals.
Their first deranged act was to take Christopher's new main map from UT, reduce
it to microscopic size, cut it into quarters, and place the quarters on four
separate pages. They've now gone one step beyond even that and have redrawn
*all* the above maps. These redrawn maps are among the most horrible and
appalling creations I've ever seen. The mountains and trees are too large for
the scale; not only do they look silly but they also are placed carelessly,
thereby fuzzing the geographical details. The mode of lettering is too large:
the place names run over each other, and some are left off altogether. The
coastlines and many other places have been copied less carefully than they
might have been. Finally, both maps (the main map and the large-scale map)
have been squeezed onto one page each, whereas originally each was spread over
two. [The redrawn maps are signed "Shelly Shapiro 88".]
Worst of all is the Shire map: it's presented in reduced form in the
lower lefthand corner of the main map, with most of the features and 90% of
the place names left off. This last is especially tragic since Tolkien
expended enormous care and effort on the place names of the Shire (it was
a grand simulation of the place-names of England) -- a number of them do not
appear either in the narrative nor in the appendices.
Thus, what were five pages of maps have been reduced to two. Finally,
and inexplicably, a similarly redrawn version of the map of Numenor mentioned
above is shown on a third page. This last is particularly inane, since this
map, taken from Part II of Unfinished Tales, has no connection at all with
LotR. The wasted page might have been used for a larger version of the Shire
map. What's amazing about the new maps is that they're worthless from *every*
point of view. Not only are they aesthetically inferior (which only fanatics
might be expected to worry about) but they also destroy the (generally) tight
fit between the story and the originals. It's a performance of exceptional
ineptitude, even for a book publisher.
The situation in the current printing, then, is this. FR and TT contain
the three pages of redrawn maps described above; RK still contains the new main
map from UT cut into quarters. For those who prefer the cheaper Ballantine
editions, anything before 1980 is probably alright. However, if it's not clear
from the above description, I urge you strongly to spend a minute examining the
Houghton Mifflin editions so you'll know what the maps *should* look like.
OTHER MAPS
Having covered LotR so carefully, I should also mention the state of the
maps in the other works:
The Hobbit is fine: both Houghton Mifflin and Ballantine have included
the two original maps in double-page format.
Unfinished Tales: the Houghton Mifflin trade edition has Christopher's
redrawn map on the insides of the covers, which is adequate; the
Ballantine edition, on the other hand, has the same horrible set
of maps that FR and TT have.
The Silmarillion: the HM hardcover has the map of Beleriand as a foldout;
the HM trade edition doesn't have this map at all, which is silly
since the Table of Contents lists it as an endpaper (it isn't
there); the Ballantine edition, on the other hand, does have it
in a suitable form: spread over two pages.
Caveat emptor...
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A) Principal Works - The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
The Hobbit. Originally published by Allen & Unwin in 1937 (2nd ed. 1951,
3rd ed. 1966, 4th ed. 1978) and by HM in 1938 (2nd Amer. ed. 1951
[cloth] and 1965 [paper], 3rd Amer. ed. 1966); many editions are
currently available, including special 50th anniversary editions;
standard ones are: HM, 1966 (ISBN 0-395-28265-9) (paper); Ballantine,
1966 (ISBN 0-345-33968-1) (paper).
The Annotated Hobbit. Annotated by Douglas A. Anderson; HM, 1988
(ISBN 0-395-47690-9).
The Lord of the Rings. Originally published by Allen & Unwin in 1954-55
and by HM in 1955-56; revised edition in 1965; sometimes published as
one volume but generally as three; the 1987 HM editions referred to
below are the most recent attempt to correct the many textual errors
that have crept in over the years. [See the Note on the Text, by
Douglas A. Anderson, at the beginning of FR of that edition.]
The Fellowship of the Ring. HM, 1987 (ISBN 0-395-48931-8); HM, 1987 (ISBN
0-395-27223-8) (paper); Ballantine, 1965 (ISBN 0-345-33970-3)(paper).
The Two Towers. HM, 1987 (ISBN 0-395-48933-4); HM, 1987 (ISBN
0-395-27222-X) (paper); Ballantine, 1965 (ISBN 0-345-33971-1)(paper).
The Return of the King. HM, 1987 (ISBN 0-395-48930-X); HM, 1987 (ISBN
0-395-27221-I) (paper); Ballantine, 1965 (ISBN 0-345-33973-8)(paper).
Lord of the Rings. Centennary edition, with 50 illustrations by Alan Lee.
HM, 1991 (ISBN 0-395-59511-8) [$60.00]; HM, 1991 (ISBN 0-395-60423-0)
[Signed edition (by the artist) -- $250.00].
B) Related Middle-earth Works:
Any writing by J.R.R. Tolkien which extends our knowledge of Middle-earth
(excluding the History of M-e series). The _Letters_ are included because
of the many strange and wonderful insights into M-e that they contain, which
indeed is why most people read them. _A Tolkien Compass_ is included because
it contains "The Guide to Names in LotR", a fascinating but far too little
known compilation, also by JRRT himself.
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. Selected and Edited by Humphrey Carpenter with
the assistance of Christopher Tolkien. HM, 1981 (ISBN 0-395-31555-7).
The Road Goes Ever On: A Song Cycle. Poems by J.R.R. Tolkien set to music
by Donald Swann. HM, 1967, 1978 (ISBN 0-395-24758-6) [op]. Allen &
Unwin, 1968, 1978 (ISBN 0-04-784011-0) (British edition).
A Tolkien Compass. Including J.R.R. Tolkien's "Guide to the Names in The
Lord of the Rings" (prepared for publication by Christopher Tolkien).
Edited by Jared Lobdell. Open Court Publishing Company, 1975 (ISBN
0-87548-316-X); Open Court Publishing Company, 1975 (ISBN 0-87548-303-8)
(paper); Ballantine, 1980 (ISBN 0-345-28855-6) (paper).
The Silmarillion. Edited by Christopher Tolkien. HM, 1977 (ISBN
0-395-25730-I); HM, 1983 (ISBN 0-395-34646-0) (paper); Ballantine,
1985 (ISBN 0-345-32581-8) (paper).
Unfinished Tales. Edited by Christopher Tolkien. HM, 1980 (ISBN
0-395-29917-9) [op]; HM, 1982 (ISBN 0-395-32441-6) (paper);
Ballantine, 1988 (ISBN 0-345-35711-6)(paper).
Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien. HM, 1979 (ISBN 0-395-28523-2) [op].
C) The History of Middle-earth:
A careful and exhaustive presentation of J.R.R. Tolkien's unpublished
writings as edited by his son Christopher. Note that this is literary
scholarship, no more, no less, *NOT* new stories.
The Book of Lost Tales, Part One (HoM-e Vol I). HM, 1984 (ISBN
0-395-35439-0) [op]; HM, 1986 (ISBN 0-395-40927-6) (paper);
Del Rey (Ballantine), 1992 (ISBN 0-345-37521-1) (paper).
The Book of Lost Tales, Part Two (HoM-e Vol II). HM, 1984 (ISBN
0-395-36614-3) [op]; HM, 1986 (ISBN 0-395-42640-5) (paper);
Del Rey (Ballantine), 1992 (ISBN 0-345-37522-X) (paper).
The Lays of Beleriand (HoM-e Vol III). HM, 1985 (ISBN 0-395-39429-5);
HM, 1988 (ISBN 0-395-48683-1) (paper).
The Shaping of Middle-earth: The Quenta, The Ambarkanta, and The Annals
(HoM-e Vol IV). HM, 1986 (ISBN 0-395-42501-8).
The Lost Road and Other Writings: Language and Legend Before 'The Lord
of the Rings' (HoM-e Vol V). HM, 1987 (ISBN 0-395-45519-7).
The Return of the Shadow: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part One
(HoM-e Vol VI). HM, 1988 (ISBN 0-395-49863-5).
The Treason of Isengard: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part Two
(HoM-e Vol VII). HM, 1989 (ISBN 0-395-51562-9).
The War of the Ring: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part Three
(HoM-e Vol VIII). HM, 1990 (ISBN 0-395-56008-X).
Sauron Defeated: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part Four (HoM-e
Vol IX). HM, 1992 (forthcoming -- due in Fall 1992).
D) Children's Stories
These could arguably have been placed with the "Short Works". My reasons
for making a separate section: 1) they are children's stories in a way that
the other short works are not and 2) for convenience -- each has appeared in
one form, whereas the other short works exist in a multitude of combinations.
Bilbo's Last Song. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes. HM, 1990 (ISBN
0-395-53810-6). Dragonfly Books, 1992 (ISBN 0-679-82710-2) (paper).
(Published originally as a poster in 1974 by Allen & Unwin and by HM).
The Father Christmas Letters. Edited by Baillie Tolkien. HM, 1976 (ISBN
0-395-24981-3) [op]; HM, 1977, 1991 (ISBN 0-395-59698-X) (paper).
Allen & Unwin, 1976 (ISBN 0-04-823130-4) (British edition).
Mr. Bliss. HM, 1983 (ISBN 0-395-32936-1) [op]. Allen & Unwin, 1983
(ISBN 0-04-823215-7). (Facsimile edition reproduced from Tolkien's
illustrated manuscript.)
Oliphaunt (Beastly Verse Board Book). Illustrated by Hank Hinton. Calico
Books (Contemporary Books, Inc.), 1989 (ISBN 0-8092-4353-9). (An
illustrated version of the well-known poem.)
E) Short Works:
Various shorter pieces, all of them fiction except for 'On Fairy
Stories', a lecture, and 'The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son',
which includes scholarly commentary. All appeared during Tolkien's lifetime
and thus presumably were completed to his satisfaction. A variety of
combinations exists; the list below is not complete.
[FGH] Farmer Giles of Ham
[TL] Tree and Leaf ('On Fairy Stories' and 'Leaf by Niggle')
[HBBS] The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son
[ATB] The Adventures of Tom Bombadil
[SWM] Smith of Wooton Major
Farmer Giles of Ham. HM, 1950, 1978 (illustrated by Pauline Baynes)
(ISBN 0-395-07121-6) [op] ; HM, 1991 (illustrated by Roger Garland)
(ISBN 0-395-57645-8).
The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son, in Essays and Studies by
members of the English Association, New Series Volume VI, 1953, pp 1-18.
(London, John Murray).
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses From the Red Book. HM, 1963
(illustrated by Pauline Baynes); HM, 1991 (illustrated by Roger Garland)
(ISBN 0-395-57647-4).
Tree and Leaf. HM, 1965, 1989 (ISBN 0-395-50232-2). (The 1989 edition
includes the poem 'Mythopoeia'.)
The Tolkien Reader. Ballantine, 1966 (ISBN 0-345-29881-0) (paper). [Contains
HBBS, TL, FGH, and ATB.]
Smith of Wooton Major. HM, 1967 (illustrated by Pauline Baynes) [op] ;
HM, 1991 (illustrated by Roger Garland) (ISBN 0-395-57646-6).
Smith of Wooton Major and Farmer Giles of Ham. Illustrated by Pauline
Baynes. Ballantine, 1969 (ISBN 0-345-33606-2) (paper).
Poems and Stories. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes. Allen & Unwin, 1980
(ISBN 0-04-823174-6) (Deluxe Edition). [Contains ATB, HBBS, TL, FGH,
and SWM.]
F) Scholarly Works:
Such scholarly work of Tolkien's as has appeared in book form. Tolkien
in his own lifetime produced only the _Middle English Vocabulary_ and the
editions of _Sir Gawain and the Green Knight_ and the _Ancrene Wisse_. The
others were edited by Christopher Tolkien or other former students. The book
of _Essays in Memoriam_ contains only one piece by Tolkien but this seems a
suitable place to list it.
_Songs for Philologists_ strictly speaking is not a work of scholarship,
but it is certainly of that flavor. This is the category it comes closest to
fitting; since only about 15 copies are in existence it hardly matters where
it is listed. It contains poems by Tolkien and colleagues in Old, Middle,
and Modern English, Icelandic, and Latin, plus the only existing poem in
Gothic (by Tolkien). Some have been reprinted, most notably the one that
became Sam Gamgee's Troll Song. Three of Tolkien's Old English poems and
the one in Gothic are printed with translations in an appendix to _The Road
to Middle-earth_ by T.A. Shippey (see Section J).
Songs for Philologists. J.R.R. Tolkien, E.V. Gordon, and others. Privately
printed in the Department of English at University College, 1936.
A Middle English Vocabulary. Clarendon Press, 1922. (Designed for use with
Kenneth Sisam's _Fourteenth Century Verse and Prose_, Clarendon Press,
1921; subsequently published as a glossary to Sisam.)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Edited by J.R.R. Tolkien and E.V. Gordon.
Clarendon Press, 1925. (2nd edition revised by Norman Davis, 1967).
Ancrene Wisse: The English Text of the Ancrene Riwle. Edited by J.R.R.
Tolkien. Oxford University Press, 1962. Early English Text Society,
Original Series No. 249.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo. Translated by
J.R.R. Tolkien; edited by Christopher Tolkien. HM, 1975 (ISBN
0-395-21970-1) [op]; Ballantine, 1980 (ISBN 0-345-27760-0) (paper).
Allen & Unwin, 1975 (ISBN 0-04-821035-8).
The Old English Exodus. Text, translation, and commentary by J.R.R.
Tolkien; edited by Joan Turville-Petre. Oxford University Press, 1981
(ISBN 0-19-811177-0).
Finn and Hengest: the Fragment and the Episode. Edited by Alan Bliss.
HM, 1983 (ISBN 0-395-33193-5).
The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays. Edited by Christopher
Tolkien. HM, 1984 (ISBN 0-395-35635-0).
J.R.R. Tolkien, Scholar and Storyteller: Essays in Memoriam. Edited by
Mary Salu and Robert T. Farrell. Cornell University Press, 1979
(ISBN 0-8014-1038-X). [op]
G) Biographical Works:
Books about Tolkien's life rather than his literary or scholarly work
exclusively.
Tolkien: A Biography; by Humphrey Carpenter. HM, 1977 (ISBN 0-395-25360-8)
[op]; HM, 1988 (ISBN 0-395-48676-9) (paper); Ballantine, 1985 (ISBN
0-345-32729-2) (paper).
The Inklings: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, and Their
Friends; by Humphrey Carpenter. HM, 1979 (ISBN 0-395-27628-4). [op]
J.R.R. Tolkien, Architect of Middle-earth; by Daniel Grotta. Running
Press, 1976 (ISBN 0-89471-034-6); Running Press, 1978 (ISBN
0-89471-035-4) (paper).
A Tolkien Family Album; by John and Priscilla Tolkien. HM, 1992
(ISBN 0-395-59938-5).
H) Secondary Works I -- Middle-earth Lore:
These books are compilations of various kinds of information about
Middle-earth. How helpful any given one may be depends on the needs of
the individual reader. In general they are labors of love by people who
genuinely care about Middle-earth and thus are generally well done. Some
are enjoyable even when unneeded and more than one is impressive merely from
the truly phenomenal amount of detailed study it represents. Two works on
the following (incomplete) list (Strachey, Foster) have been referred to
positively by Christopher Tolkien in his various commentaries and a third
(Allan) by several people knowedgable in Middle-earth languages. I can
personally attest to the quality of the others.
The Atlas of Middle-earth; by Karen Wynn Fonstad. HM, 1981 (ISBN
0-395-28665-4) [op]; HM, 1991 (revised edition) (ISBN 0-395-53516-6)
(paper).
A Tolkien Bestiary; by David Day. Crescent Books, 1979 (ISBN
0-517-47325-9). [op]
The Languages of Tolkien's Middle-earth; by Ruth S. Noel. HM, 1974, 1980
(ISBN 0-395-29129-1) [op]; HM, 1980 (ISBN 0-395-29130-5) (paper).
An Introduction to Elvish: and to other tongues and proper names and writing
systems of the Third Age of the Western Lands of Middle-earth as set
forth in the published writings of Professor John Ronald Reuel Tolkien.
Edited and compiled by Jim Allan from his own researches and from those
of Nina Carson [and others]; as authorized by the Mythopoeic Linguistic
Fellowship, a discussion group of the Mythopoeic Society. Bran's Head
Books Ltd., 1978 (ISBN 0-905220-10-2). [US -- op ; England -- in print]
Journeys of Frodo: An Atlas of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings; by
Barbara Strachey. Ballantine, 1981.
The Complete Guide to Middle-earth,; by Robert Foster. HM, 1971, 1978
(ISBN 0-345-27520-9) [op]; Ballantine, 1974, 1979 (ISBN 0-345-32436-6)
(paper).
J) Secondary Works II -- Critical Works:
A small sampling of the voluminous body of critical works which have
attempted to address the "Lord of the Rings phenomenom". Except for the
last two, the ones listed are those studies which I have read *and* which
I have reason to think are above average (which is to say, they don't miss
the mark entirely). The last two: the Knight book (which may indeed be
interesting though only one quarter about Tolkien, the other three-quarters
being about Lewis, Williams, and Barfield) is included because it's listing
was so garbled in Books in Print (Tolkien is *NOT* the author); the Johnson
book (a bibliography) is included to help those who have a taste for such
things to pursue the literature (it takes us up through c. 1985).
A word on _The Road to Middle-earth_. I recommend it unreservedly --
there's no question that it's the best study of Tolkien available, being
primarily philological and medievalist rather than literary in perspective.
Shippey, a friend of both Tolkiens, father and son, is himself a philologist
and medievalist who holds the chair at Leeds University that Tolkien once
held himself.
The Road to Middle-earth; by T.A. Shippey. HM, 1983 (ISBN 0-395-33973-1).
[op]
Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World; by Verlyn Flieger.
Eerdmans, 1983 (ISBN 0-8028-1955-9) (paper) [op]. (a facsimile version
of the original hardcover is available for an outrageous sum.)
Tolkien and the Silmarillion; by Clyde S. Kilby. Harold Shaw, 1976
(ISBN 0-87788-816-7). [op]
Master of Middle-earth: The Fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien; by Paul Kocher. HM,
1972 (ISBN 0-395-14097-8) [op]; HM, 1972 (ISBN 0-395-17701-4) (paper).
J.R.R. Tolkien: Myth, Morality, and Religion; by Richard L. Purtill.
Harper & Row, 1984 (ISBN 0-06-066712-5). [op]
The Magical World of the Inklings; by Gareth Knight. Element Books, UK
(Tempest Books, US), 1990 (ISBN 1-85230-169-4) (paper).
J.R.R. Tolkien: Six Decades of Criticism; by Judith A Johnson.
(Bibliographies & Indexes in World Literature Series No. 6).
Greenwood Press, 1986 (ISBN 0-313-25005-7).