The Children of Húrin: Difference between revisions

From Tolkien Gateway
 
(94 intermediate revisions by 20 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{book|
{{disambig-more|Narn i Chîn Húrin|[[Narn i Chîn Húrin (disambiguation)]]}}{{book
title=The Children of Húrin|
| title=The Children of Húrin
image=[[Image:The Children of Hurin cover.jpg|225px]]|
| image=[[Image:Children of Húrin 2007.png|275px]]
author=[[J.R.R. Tolkien]], [[Christopher Tolkien]], with illustrations by [[Alan Lee]]|
| author=[[J.R.R. Tolkien]]
isbn=0618894640|
| editor=[[Christopher Tolkien]]
publisher=[[HarperCollins]], [[Houghton Mifflin]]|
| illustrator=[[Alan Lee]]
date=April 17th, 2007|
| publisherUK=[[HarperCollins]]
format=Hardcover|
| publisherUS=[[Houghton Mifflin]]
pages= 320|
| date=[[16 April]] [[2007]]
amazon=http://www.amazon.com/Children-Hurin-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0618894640|
| format=Hardcover; paperback; deluxe edition
amazonprice=$17.16
| pages=320
| isbn=0007246226
| precededby=[[The Peoples of Middle-earth]] (1996)
| followedby=[[Beren and Lúthien]] (2017)
}}
}}
'''''The Children of Húrin''''', also known as '''''Narn i Chîn Húrin: The Tale of the Children of Húrin''''', is a novel based on [[J.R.R. Tolkien]]'s writings, edited by his son [[Christopher Tolkien]] and published in [[2007]]. The main text had been previously published as "[[Narn i Hîn Húrin]]" in ''[[Unfinished Tales]]'', here edited by Christopher to form a consistent narrative as an independent work. First and most subsequent editions were illustrated by [[Alan Lee]].


The plot consists in the expanded account of the story of the wanderings and deeds of [[Túrin Turambar]], son of [[Húrin]], and his sister [[Niënor]], in their struggle against fate (and the curse cast upon Húrin's kin). It is considered to be among the darkest examples of any of Tolkien's works.


'''The Children of Húrin''' was released on April 17th of 2007, it is the culmination of 12 years of development work by [[Christopher Tolkien]]. Working on unfinished material written by his father, he has pieced together a single narrative with minimal editorial presence. It includes 8 new color plates and 25 new black and white illustrations by [[Alan Lee]].
The story is one of three "[[Atanatarion|great tales]]" set in the [[First Age]] of Tolkien's [[Middle-earth]], the other two being ''[[Beren and Lúthien]]'' and ''[[The Fall of Gondolin]]''.


==Contents==
==Synopsis==
* Preface (7)
'''Christopher Tolkien:'''
* Introduction (13)
* Note on Pronunciation (28)
* Narn I Chîn Húrin (31)
* The Tale of the Children of Húrin
::# [[The Childhood of Túrin]] (33)
::# [[The Battle of Unnumbered Tears]] (52)
::# [[The Words of Húrin and Morgoth]] (61)
::# [[The Departure of Túrin]] (66)
::# [[Túrin in Doriath]] (80)
::# [[Túrin among the Outlaws]] (98)
::# [[Of Mîm the Dwarf]] (121)
::# [[The Land of Bow and Helm]] (141)
::# [[The Death of Beleg]] (151)
::# [[Túrin in Nargothrond]] (159)
::# [[The Fall of Nargothrond]] (171)
::# [[The Return of Túrin to Dor-lómin]] (182)
::# [[The Coming of Túrin into Brethil]] (192)
::# [[The Journey of Morwen and Niënor to Nargothrond]] (198)
::# [[Niënor in Brethil]] (213)
::# [[The Coming of Glaurung]] (221)
::# [[The Death of Glaurung]] (234)
::# [[The Death of Túrin]] (248)
* Tables 261
* Genealogies:
::# The House of Hador & the People of Haleth (262)
::# The House of Bëor (263)
::# The Princes of the Noldor (264)
* Appendix (265)
::# The Evolution of the Great Tales (267)
::# The Composition of the Text (281)
* List of Names (291)
* Note on the map (319)


==Publication==
"There are tales of Middle-earth from times long before ''The Lord of the Rings'', and the story told in this book is set in the great country that lay beyond the [[Grey Havens]] in the North: lands where [[Treebeard]] once walked, but which were drowned in the great cataclysm that ended the [[First Age]] of the World.
The Children of Húrin was first announced on September 18th, 2006. It was published on April 16, 2007 by [[Houghton Mifflin]] in the United States, and [[HarperCollins]] in the UK / Canada.


A HarperCollins Deluxe edition was simultaneously released with the regular edition.
"In that remote time [[Morgoth]], the first Dark Lord, dwelt in the vast fortress of [[Angband]] in the North; and the tragedy of [[Turin]] and his sister [[Niënor]] unfolded within the shadow of the fear of Angband and the war waged by Morgoth against the lands and secret cities of the Elves.


A Houghton Mifflin Deluxe edition will be released a month later, on May 16, 2007.
"Their brief and passionate lives were dominated by the elemental hatred that Morgoth bore them as the children of Húrin, the man who had dared to defy and to scorn him to his face. Against them he sent his formidable servant, [[Glaurung]], a powerful spirit in the form of a huge wingless [[dragon]] of fire. Into his story of brutal conquest and flight, of forest hiding-places and pursuit, of resistance with lessening hope, the mythological persons of the God and the Dragon enter in fearfully articulate form. Sardonic and mocking, Glaurung manipulated the fates of Túrin and Niënor by lies of diabolic cunning and guile, and the curse of Morgoth was fulfilled.


Houghton Mifflin has increased its printing run from 250,000 up to 550,000.
"The earliest versions of this story by J.R.R. Tolkien go back to the end of the First World War and the years that followed; but long afterwards, when ''The Lord of the Rings'' was finished, he wrote it anew and greatly enlarged it in complexities of motive and character: it became the dominant story in his later work on Middle-earth. But he could not bring it to final and finished form. In this book I have endeavoured to construct, after long study of the manuscripts, a coherent narrative without any editorial invention."
HarperCollins increased its printing run from 250,000 to a totalo of 360,000


==Contents==
[[File:Alan Lee - Beleg Departs from Menegroth.jpg|thumb|''Beleg Departs from Menegroth'' by [[Alan Lee]]]]
* Preface
* Introduction
* Note on Pronunciation


end
* '''Narn I Chîn Húrin: The Tale of the Children of Húrin'''
A second printing is already under way as all 500,000 copies sold out in 10 days.
# "[[The Childhood of Túrin]]"
==Publication==
# "[[The Battle of Unnumbered Tears]]"
The Children of Húrin became the number 1 bestseller on the NYTimes bestseller list for the week of May 6, 2007 (Fiction - Hardcover).
# "[[The Words of Húrin and Morgoth]]"
# "[[The Departure of Túrin]]"
# "[[Túrin in Doriath]]"
# "[[Túrin among the Outlaws]]"
# "[[Of Mîm the Dwarf]]"
# "[[The Land of Bow and Helm]]"
# "[[The Death of Beleg]]"
# "[[Túrin in Nargothrond]]"
# "[[The Fall of Nargothrond]]"
# "[[The Return of Túrin to Dor-lómin]]"
# "[[The Coming of Túrin into Brethil]]"
# "[[The Journey of Morwen and Niënor to Nargothrond]]"
# "[[Niënor in Brethil]]"
# "[[The Coming of Glaurung]]"
# "[[The Death of Glaurung]]"
# "[[The Death of Túrin]]"


The Children of Húrin was first announced on September 18th, 2006. It was published by [[Houghton Mifflin]] in the United States, and [[HarperCollins]] in the UK / Canada, on April 16, 2007. A second printing is already under way as all 500,000 copies sold out in 10 days. Initial combined US/UK print runs of 550,00 hardcover books have been raised to over 900,000 books being printed over the first two months of publication.
* Tables - Genealogies:
** The House of Hador & the People of Haleth
** The House of Bëor
** The Princes of the Noldor
* Appendix
** The Evolution of the Great Tales
** The Composition of the Text
* List of Names
* Note on the Map


A HarperCollins Deluxe edition was simultaneously released with the regular edition.
==Writings and publication==
"The Children of Hurin," which came out April 17, has topped numerous best-seller lists and Houghton Mifflin has increased its printing from 250,000 to 550,000. In Britain, copies in print have been raised from 250,000 to 360,000.
A brief version of the story formed the base of [[Of Túrin Turambar|Chapter 21]] of ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', setting the tale in the context of the wars of [[Beleriand]]. Although based on the same texts used to complete the new book, Christopher Tolkien abridged the tale to avoid overcharging his edition.
A Houghton Mifflin Deluxe edition will be released a month later, on May 16, 2007.


==Press Release==
Other incomplete versions have been published in previous publications:
*The "[[Narn i Hîn Húrin]]" in ''[[Unfinished Tales]]''.
*Items in ''[[The History of Middle-earth]]'' series, including:
**"[[Turambar and the Foalókë]]", from ''[[The Book of Lost Tales: Part Two]]''
**"[[The Lay of the Children of Húrin]]" (a narrative poem), from ''[[The Lays of Beleriand]]''
None of these writings forms a complete and mature narrative. The published ''Children of Húrin'' is essentially a synthesis of the ''Narn'' and of the account found in ''The Silmarillion''.


'''Date:''' Mon, 18 Sep 2006
{{blockquote|It has seemed to me for a long time that there was a good case for presenting my father's long version of the legend of the Children of Húrin as an independent work, between its own covers, with a minimum of editorial presence, and above all in continuous narrative without gaps or interruptions, if this could be done without distortion or invention, despite the unfinished state in which he left some parts of it.|Christopher Tolkien}}


'''J.R.R. TOLKIEN'S THE CHILDREN OF HÚRIN TO BE PUBLISHED IN 2007'''
==Publication history and gallery==
 
;UK editions
Houghton Mifflin has acquired US rights to publish the first complete book by J.R.R. Tolkien since the posthumous Silmarillion in 1977. HarperCollins UK acquired the project from The Tolkien Estate in a world rights deal. Presented for the first time as a fully continuous and standalone story, the epic tale of The Children of Húrin will reunite fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Men, dragons and Dwarves, and the rich landscape and characters unique to Tolkien.
{{Gallery
 
|width=125
The Children of Húrin, begun in 1918, was one of three "Great Tales" J.R.R. Tolkien worked on throughout his life, though he never realized his ambition to see it published. Though familiar to many fans from extracts and references within other Tolkien books, it has long been assumed that the story would forever remain an "unfinished tale". Now reconstructed by Christopher Tolkien, painstakingly editing together the complete work from his father's many drafts, this book is the culmination of a tireless thirty-year endeavor by him to bring J.R.R. Tolkien's vast body of unpublished work to a wide audience.
|height=125
 
|lines=2
Christopher Tolkien said: "''It has seemed to me for a long time that there was a good case for presenting my father's long version of the legend of the Children of Húrin as an independent work, between its own covers, with a minimum of editorial presence, and above all in continuous narrative without gaps or interruptions, if this could be done without distortion or invention, despite the unfinished state in which he left some parts of it.''"
|File:Children of Húrin 2007.png |2007 hardcover
 
|File:Children of Húrin 2007 large.png |2007 hardcover large print
[[Image:Alan Lee - Beleg Departs Menegroth.jpg|150px|thumb|left|''Beleg Departs Menegroth'' by [[Alan Lee]].]]
|File:Children-of-hurin-deluxe-edition-w-stamp.jpg |2007 hardcover deluxe edition [[The Children of Húrin: Deluxe Edition|<sup>1</sup>]]
Having drawn the distinctive maps for the original The Lord of the Rings more than 50 years ago, Christopher has also created a detailed new map for this book. In addition, it will include a jacket and color paintings by Alan Lee, illustrator of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Centenary Edition and Oscar ® -winning designer of the film trilogy.
|File:The Children of Hurin Signed Limited Edition - 2.jpg |2007 hardcover limited deluxe [[The Children of Húrin Signed Limited Edition|<sup>2</sup>]]
 
|File:Children of Húrin 2008.jpeg |2008 paperback
The Lord of the Rings was already acclaimed worldwide as the most popular book of the 20th Century before the blockbuster films in 2001-3 broke new ground and inspired millions more to read J.R.R. Tolkien's books -- an additional 50 million copies were sold, leaving new fans wanting more. The Children of Húrin will be published by [[HarperCollins]] UK in April 2007, and on the same day in the United
|File:Children of Húrin 2008 special 2.jpeg |2008 paperback overseas edition
States by [[Houghton Mifflin]].
|File:Children of Húrin 2008 special.jpeg |2008 paperback 7th impression
 
|File:Children of Húrin 2014 large.png |2014 paperback large print
[[Image:Children-of-hurin-deluxe-edition-w-stamp.jpg |thumb|right|The Deluxe Edition]]
|File:Children of Húrin 2014.png |2014 paperback
Victoria Barnsley, CEO and Publisher of HarperCollins Publishers UK said: "''This epic story of adventure, tragedy, fellowship and heroism stands as one of the finest expressions of J.R.R. Tolkien's skills as a storyteller. With a narrative as dramatic and powerful as anything contained within The Lord of the Rings , it can now be read and enjoyed as Tolkien originally intended, and will doubtless be a revelation for millions of fans around the world.'''"
|File:Children of Húrin 2024.png |2024 paperback
}}
* [[HarperCollins]] hardcover ([[2007]]), pp. 320. ISBN 0007246226
* [[HarperCollins]] hardcover ([[2007]]), ISBN 0007252250 - (large print hardcover)
* [[HarperCollins]] hardcover with slipcase ([[2007]]), ISBN 0007252234
* [[HarperCollins]] hardcover with traycase ([[2007]]), ISBN 0007252242 - (limited deluxe edition)
* [[HarperCollins]] paperback ([[2008]]), ISBN 0007252269
* [[HarperCollins]] paperback ([[2008]]), ISBN 0007309368 - (special overseas edition)
** 2008 overseas edition, 7th? impression ([[2014]])
* [[HarperCollins]] paperback ([[2014]]), ISBN 0008108323 - (large print paperback)
* [[HarperCollins]] paperback ([[2014]]), ISBN 0007597339
** 2014 paperback edition, 14th impression ([[2024]])


Janet Silver, Vice President and Publisher of Houghton Mifflin, said, "''As J.R.R. Tolkien's original American publisher, dating back to The Hobbit, we are extremely proud to be bringing this project to Tolkien's devoted readership in the United States. Christopher Tolkien has done a great service in realizing his father's vision for The Children of Húrin.''"
;Audiobook editions
[[Image:The Children of Hurin Audiobook.jpg|150px|thumb|''The Children Of Húrin'' Audiobook]]
An unabridged [[The Children of Húrin (audiobook)|audio recording]] of ''The Children of Húrin'' read by [[Christopher Lee]] was released in November 2007. Lee spent five days in the studio recording the book for HarperCollins.[https://web.archive.org/web/20090825011552/http://www.christopherleeweb.com:80/content/children-hurin-0?s=2fe5c0abd7a86ace5f51d633fba86a37] The audiobook also features [[Christopher Tolkien]] reading his preface and introduction to the story.
* [[HarperCollins]], [[2007]], ISBN: 9780007269648
* [[HarperCollins]], [[2007]], ISBN: 9780007269631
* [[HarperCollins]], [[2007]], 1st edition CD Audio, ISBN: 9780007263455
* [[HarperCollins]], [[2008]], ISBN: 9780007298136


==See also==
==See also==
* [[The Children of Húrin Release Party]]
*"[[Of Túrin Turambar]]" (chapter of ''[[The Silmarillion]]'')
* [[The Children of Húrin reviews]]
*''[[The Story of Kullervo]]'' (the precursor to ''The Children of Húrin'')
*[[:Category:Images from The Children of Húrin|Images from ''The Children of Húrin'']] illustrated by [[Alan Lee]]
*[[The Children of Húrin Release Party|Release party]]


==External links==
==External links==
* Nicholas Birns, [https://muse.jhu.edu/article/240232 Review of the book], [[Tolkien Studies: Volume 5|Tolkien Studies. 5]]
* [[The Children of Húrin reviews|Other reviews of the book]]
* [http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/press/Children-of-Hurin-FAQ.htm Children of Húrin FAQ]
* [http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/press/Children-of-Hurin-FAQ.htm Children of Húrin FAQ]
* [http://www.lotrplaza.com/archive5/display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=24&TopicID=207607 Discussion at LotRPlaza.com]
* [http://www.lotrplaza.com/archive5/display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=24&TopicID=207607 Discussion at LotRPlaza.com]
* [http://wormtalk.blogspot.com/2006/09/j.html Blog post by Michael Drout]
* [http://wormtalk.blogspot.com/2006/09/j.html Blog post] by [[Michael D.C. Drout]]
* [http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/press/childrenofhurin.htm Article on TolkienLibrary.com]
* [http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/press/childrenofhurin.htm Article on TolkienLibrary.com]
* [http://www.harpercollins.ca:80/global_scripts/product_catalog/book_xml.asp?isbn=0007246226 News Release at HarperCollins.ca]
* [http://www.bitu.com/tolkien/tolkien-trailer.html The Children of Húrin Trailer US Edition]
* [http://tolkien.hcp-uk.co.uk/thechildrenofhurin.aspx The Children of Húrin Trailer]
* [http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_link_40925765_1/202-4391387-4644660?ie=UTF8&docId=1000064113&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=special-offers-1&pf_rd_r=0GT0FB0WME2MCPMCJ9XP&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=137498491&pf_rd_i=0007252234 Amazon.co.uk  "The Childhood of Túrin"]


==Purchase==
{{title|italics}}
'''Regular edition'''
{{Publishedmajorbooks}}
* [http://www.amazon.com/Children-Hurin-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0618894640/sr=8-1/qid=1170968587/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-2987979-0667618?ie=UTF8&s=books Amazon.com]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Children of Hurin, The}}
* [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Children-Hurin-Christopher-Tolkien/dp/0007246226  Amazon.co.uk]  
[[Category:The Children of Húrin]]
* [http://www.amazon.ca/Children-Hurin-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0007246226/sr=11-1/qid=1170986155/ref=sr_11_1/702-1711121-9420851 Amazon.ca]
[[Category:Books by Christopher Tolkien]]
*[http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?isbn=0618894640&z=y Barnes and Noble]
[[Category:Books by J.R.R. Tolkien]]
'''Deluxe edition'''
[[Category:Fiction books]]
* [http://www.amazon.com/Children-Hurin-Deluxe-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0618904417/sr=8-2/qid=1170968587/ref=pd_bbs_2/105-2987979-0667618?ie=UTF8&s=books Amazon.com]
[[Category:Posthumous publications]]
* [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Children-Hurin-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0007252234/sr=8-1/qid=1170968778/ref=pd_ka_1/203-1975989-7489551?ie=UTF8&s=books Amazon.co.uk]
[[Category:Publications by title]]
* [http://www.amazon.ca/Children-Hurin-Deluxe-J-Tolkien/dp/0007252234/sr=8-1/qid=1170968875/ref=pd_ka_1/702-4168450-3416061?ie=UTF8&s=books Amazon.ca]
[[de:Die Kinder Húrins]]
*[http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&endeca=1&isbn=0618904417&itm=2 Barnes and Noble]
[[fr:Les Enfants de Húrinn]]
'''All editions (Book search - New/Used)'''
[[fi:Húrinin lasten tarina (teos)]]
*[http://www3.addall.com/New/compare.cgi?dispCurr=USD&id=140237&isbn=0618894640&location=10000&thetime=20070429060810&author=&title=&state=AK addall.com]
[[fi:The Children of Húrin]]
*[http://www.pricescan.com/books/BookPrices.asp?region=none&fields=0618894640&searchSites=all&sortby=Total&title=The+Children+of+Hurin&author=J.R.R.+Tolkien&copyrdate=Houghton+Mifflin&binding=Hardcover&pages=&submit1=Get+Prices PriceSCAN]
[[Category:Books by J.R.R. Tolkien|Children of Húrin]]
[[Category:Books by Christopher Tolkien|Children of Húrin]]

Latest revision as of 17:01, 14 March 2024

The name Narn i Chîn Húrin refers to more than one character, item or concept. For a list of other meanings, see Narn i Chîn Húrin (disambiguation).
The Children of Húrin
Children of Húrin 2007.png
AuthorJ.R.R. Tolkien
EditorChristopher Tolkien
IllustratorAlan Lee
PublisherHarperCollins (UK)
Houghton Mifflin (US)
Released16 April 2007
FormatHardcover; paperback; deluxe edition
Pages320
ISBN0007246226
Preceded byThe Peoples of Middle-earth (1996)
Followed byBeren and Lúthien (2017)

The Children of Húrin, also known as Narn i Chîn Húrin: The Tale of the Children of Húrin, is a novel based on J.R.R. Tolkien's writings, edited by his son Christopher Tolkien and published in 2007. The main text had been previously published as "Narn i Hîn Húrin" in Unfinished Tales, here edited by Christopher to form a consistent narrative as an independent work. First and most subsequent editions were illustrated by Alan Lee.

The plot consists in the expanded account of the story of the wanderings and deeds of Túrin Turambar, son of Húrin, and his sister Niënor, in their struggle against fate (and the curse cast upon Húrin's kin). It is considered to be among the darkest examples of any of Tolkien's works.

The story is one of three "great tales" set in the First Age of Tolkien's Middle-earth, the other two being Beren and Lúthien and The Fall of Gondolin.

Synopsis[edit | edit source]

Christopher Tolkien:

"There are tales of Middle-earth from times long before The Lord of the Rings, and the story told in this book is set in the great country that lay beyond the Grey Havens in the North: lands where Treebeard once walked, but which were drowned in the great cataclysm that ended the First Age of the World.

"In that remote time Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in the vast fortress of Angband in the North; and the tragedy of Turin and his sister Niënor unfolded within the shadow of the fear of Angband and the war waged by Morgoth against the lands and secret cities of the Elves.

"Their brief and passionate lives were dominated by the elemental hatred that Morgoth bore them as the children of Húrin, the man who had dared to defy and to scorn him to his face. Against them he sent his formidable servant, Glaurung, a powerful spirit in the form of a huge wingless dragon of fire. Into his story of brutal conquest and flight, of forest hiding-places and pursuit, of resistance with lessening hope, the mythological persons of the God and the Dragon enter in fearfully articulate form. Sardonic and mocking, Glaurung manipulated the fates of Túrin and Niënor by lies of diabolic cunning and guile, and the curse of Morgoth was fulfilled.

"The earliest versions of this story by J.R.R. Tolkien go back to the end of the First World War and the years that followed; but long afterwards, when The Lord of the Rings was finished, he wrote it anew and greatly enlarged it in complexities of motive and character: it became the dominant story in his later work on Middle-earth. But he could not bring it to final and finished form. In this book I have endeavoured to construct, after long study of the manuscripts, a coherent narrative without any editorial invention."

Contents[edit | edit source]

Beleg Departs from Menegroth by Alan Lee
  • Preface
  • Introduction
  • Note on Pronunciation
  • Narn I Chîn Húrin: The Tale of the Children of Húrin
  1. "The Childhood of Túrin"
  2. "The Battle of Unnumbered Tears"
  3. "The Words of Húrin and Morgoth"
  4. "The Departure of Túrin"
  5. "Túrin in Doriath"
  6. "Túrin among the Outlaws"
  7. "Of Mîm the Dwarf"
  8. "The Land of Bow and Helm"
  9. "The Death of Beleg"
  10. "Túrin in Nargothrond"
  11. "The Fall of Nargothrond"
  12. "The Return of Túrin to Dor-lómin"
  13. "The Coming of Túrin into Brethil"
  14. "The Journey of Morwen and Niënor to Nargothrond"
  15. "Niënor in Brethil"
  16. "The Coming of Glaurung"
  17. "The Death of Glaurung"
  18. "The Death of Túrin"
  • Tables - Genealogies:
    • The House of Hador & the People of Haleth
    • The House of Bëor
    • The Princes of the Noldor
  • Appendix
    • The Evolution of the Great Tales
    • The Composition of the Text
  • List of Names
  • Note on the Map

Writings and publication[edit | edit source]

A brief version of the story formed the base of Chapter 21 of The Silmarillion, setting the tale in the context of the wars of Beleriand. Although based on the same texts used to complete the new book, Christopher Tolkien abridged the tale to avoid overcharging his edition.

Other incomplete versions have been published in previous publications:

None of these writings forms a complete and mature narrative. The published Children of Húrin is essentially a synthesis of the Narn and of the account found in The Silmarillion.

It has seemed to me for a long time that there was a good case for presenting my father's long version of the legend of the Children of Húrin as an independent work, between its own covers, with a minimum of editorial presence, and above all in continuous narrative without gaps or interruptions, if this could be done without distortion or invention, despite the unfinished state in which he left some parts of it.
—Christopher Tolkien

Publication history and gallery[edit | edit source]

UK editions
2007 hardcover  
2007 hardcover large print  
2007 hardcover deluxe edition 1  
2007 hardcover limited deluxe 2  
2008 paperback  
2008 paperback overseas edition  
2008 paperback 7th impression  
2014 paperback large print  
2014 paperback  
2024 paperback  
Audiobook editions
The Children Of Húrin Audiobook

An unabridged audio recording of The Children of Húrin read by Christopher Lee was released in November 2007. Lee spent five days in the studio recording the book for HarperCollins.[1] The audiobook also features Christopher Tolkien reading his preface and introduction to the story.

See also[edit | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]


A J.R.R. Tolkien book guide
Books by or mainly by Tolkien
Of Arda Authored by
J.R.R. Tolkien
The Hobbit · The Lord of the Rings
(i.The Fellowship of the Ring · ii.The Two Towers · iii.The Return of the King) ·
The Road Goes Ever On · Bilbo's Last Song
Edited by Christopher Tolkien The Silmarillion · Unfinished Tales · The History of Middle-earth series
(i.The Book of Lost Tales: Part One · ii.The Book of Lost Tales: Part Two · iii.The Lays of Beleriand · iv.The Shaping of Middle-earth · v.The Lost Road and Other Writings · vi.The Return of the Shadow · vii.The Treason of Isengard · viii.The War of the Ring · ix.Sauron Defeated · x.Morgoth's Ring · xi.The War of the Jewels · xii.The Peoples of Middle-earth · Index) ·
The Children of Húrin · Beren and Lúthien · The Fall of Gondolin
Edited by others The Annotated Hobbit · The History of The Hobbit · The Nature of Middle-earth ·
The Fall of Númenor · The Maps of Middle-earth
Not of Arda Short stories
and poems
Leaf by Niggle · Farmer Giles of Ham · Smith of Wootton Major · The Adventures of Tom Bombadil ·
Letters from Father Christmas · Mr. Bliss · Roverandom ·
Tree and Leaf (compilation) · Tales from the Perilous Realm (compilation)
Fictional works The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún · The Fall of Arthur · The Story of Kullervo · The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun
Translations and academic works Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo · Finn and Hengest ·
The Monsters and the Critics, and Other Essays · Beowulf and the Critics · Tolkien On Fairy-stories ·
Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary · A Secret Vice · The Battle of Maldon
Collected letters and poems The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien · The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien
Edited old texts A Middle English Vocabulary · Sir Gawain and the Green Knight · Ancrene Wisse · The Old English Exodus
Books by other authors
Biographies J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography · The Inklings · Tolkien and the Great War
Reference works The Complete Guide to Middle-earth · The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide
Scholarly studies The Road to Middle-earth · The Keys of Middle-earth · The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion ·
The Ring of Words · A Companion to J.R.R. Tolkien · Tolkien's Lost Chaucer ·
Tolkien's Library · Tolkien on Chaucer, 1913-1959
Scholarly journals Tolkien Studies · (The Chronology)
Other works by Tolkien
Linguistic journals Vinyar Tengwar various issues · Parma Eldalamberon issue 11-22
Collections of artwork
and manuscripts
Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien · J.R.R. Tolkien: Life and Legend · J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator ·
The Art of The Hobbit · The Art of The Lord of the Rings · Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth ·
Tolkien: Treasures · J.R.R. Tolkien: The Art of the Manuscript
This list is only a selection of works, for a fuller bibliography of Tolkien see here or here. See also a timeline and an index.