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{{book
{{book
|title=Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth
|title=Unfinished Tales<br/><small>of Númenor and Middle-earth</small>
|image=[[Image:UnfinishedTalesCover.jpg|200px]]
|image=[[File:Unfinished Tales 1980.png|275px]]
|author=[[J.R.R. Tolkien]], edited by [[Christopher Tolkien]]
|author=[[J.R.R. Tolkien]]
|publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin]]
|editor=[[Christopher Tolkien]]
|date=[[1980]]
|publisherUK=[[George Allen and Unwin]]
|format=Paperback
|publisherUS=[[Houghton Mifflin]]
|pages=480
|dateUK=[[2 October]] [[1980]]
|isbn=0618154051
|dateUS=[[18 November]] 1980
|amazon=http://www.amazon.com/Unfinished-Numenor-Middle-Earth-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0618154051/ref=ed_oe_p/002-4874231-7435249?ie=UTF8&qid=1181616591&sr=8-1
|format=Hardcover; paperback; deluxe-edition; audio-book
|amazonprice=$14.95
|pages=472
|isbn=0048231797
|precededby=[[The Silmarillion]] {1977)
|followedby=[[The Book of Lost Tales: Part One]] (1983)
}}
}}
'''Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth''' is a collection of stories by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]] that were never completed during his lifetime, but were edited by his son [[Christopher Tolkien]] and published in 1980.


Unlike ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', for which the narrative fragments were modified to connect into a consistent and coherent work, the ''Unfinished Tales'' are presented as Tolkien left them, with little more than names changed (the author having had a confusing habit of trying out different names for a character while writing a draft).  Thus some of these are incomplete stories, while others are collections of "factual" information about [[Middle-earth]]. Each tale is followed by a long series of notes explaining inconsistencies and obscure points.
{{quote|They say it is the first step that costs the effort. I do not find it so. I am sure I could write unlimited 'first chapters'. I have indeed written many.|J.R.R. Tolkien on writing ''[[A Long-expected Party]]'', and on his tendency to abandon and revisit his writings.<ref>{{L|23}}</ref>}}


As with ''The Silmarillion'', Christopher Tolkien edited and published ''Unfinished Tales'' before he had finished his study of the materials in his father's archive. Despite its shortcomings in editorial consistency, ''Unfinished Tales'' does provide more detailed information about characters, events and places mentioned only briefly in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''. Versions of such tales including the origins of [[Gandalf]] and the [[Istari]] (Wizards), the death of [[Isildur]] and the loss of the [[One Ring]] in the [[Gladden Fields]], and the founding of the kingdom of [[Rohan]] help expand knowledge about Middle-earth.  
'''''Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth''''', or simply '''''Unfinished Tales''''', is a collection of stories and essays by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]] that were never completed during his lifetime, but were edited by his son [[Christopher Tolkien]] and published in [[1980]].


Of particular note is the tale of [[Tar-Aldarion|Aldarion]] and [[Erendis]], the only known story of [[Númenor]] before its fall. A map of Númenor is also included in the book.
Many of the tales within are retold in ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', albeit in modified forms; the work also contains a summary of the events of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' told from a less personal perspective.


The commercial success of ''Unfinished Tales'' demonstrated that the demand for Tolkien's stories several years after his death was not only still present, it was growing. Encouraged by the result, Christopher Tolkien began to embark upon the more ambitious twelve-volume work entitled ''[[The History of Middle-earth]]'' which encompasses nearly the entire corpus of Tolkien's writings about Middle-earth.
==Overview==
Unlike ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', also published posthumously (in [[1977]]), for which the narrative fragments were modified to connect into a consistent and coherent work, the ''Unfinished Tales'' are presented as Tolkien left them, with little more than names changed (the author having had a confusing habit of trying out different names for a character while writing a draft). Thus some of these are incomplete stories, while others are collections of information about [[Middle-earth]]. Each tale is followed by a long series of notes explaining inconsistencies and obscure points.


== Contents ==
As with ''The Silmarillion'', Christopher Tolkien edited and published ''Unfinished Tales'' before he had finished his study of the materials in his father's archive. ''Unfinished Tales'' provides more detailed information about characters, events and places mentioned only briefly in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''. Versions of such tales, including the origins of [[Gandalf]] and the other [[Istari]] (Wizards), the death of [[Isildur]] and the loss of the [[One Ring]] in the [[Gladden Fields]], and the founding of the kingdom of [[Rohan]], help expand knowledge about Middle-earth.
Part One: The [[First Age]]:
* "[[Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin]]"
* "[[Narn i Chîn Húrin | Narn i Chîn Húrin (The Tale of the Children of Húrin)]]" <!-- Chîn and not Hîn, see article -->
Part Two: The [[Second Age]]:
* "[[A Description of the Island of Númenor]]"
* "[[Aldarion and Erendis: The Mariner's Wife]]"
* "[[The Line of Elros: Kings of Númenor]]"
* "[[The History of Galadriel and Celeborn]]"
Part Three: The [[Third Age]]:
* "[[The Disaster of the Gladden Fields]]"
* "[[Cirion and Eorl and the Friendship of Gondor and Rohan]]"
* "[[The Quest of Erebor]]"
* "[[The Hunt for the Ring]]"
* "[[The Battles of the Fords of Isen]]"
Part Four
* "[[The Drúedain]]"
* "[[The Istari]]"
* "[[The Palantíri]]"


==Editions==
Of particular note is the tale of [[Tar-Aldarion]] and [[Erendis]], the only known story of [[Númenor]] before its fall. A map of Númenor, the only one Tolkien ever made, is included in the book.
===1st edition (1980)===
Published by [[Allen and Unwin|George Allen & Unwin]], London ([[October 2]]). 44,000 combined total copies for the 7 impressions. Hardcover in dustwrapper. ISBN 0048231797
====Impressions====
* 1st Impression 1980
* 2nd Impression 1980
* 3rd Impression 1980
* 4th Impression [[1981]]
* 5th Impression 1981
* 6th Impression [[1982]]
* 7th Impression [[1984]]


===1st US edition (1980)===
The commercial success of ''Unfinished Tales'' demonstrated that the demand for Tolkien's stories several years after his death was not only still present but growing. Encouraged by the result, Christopher Tolkien embarked upon the more ambitious twelve-volume work entitled ''[[The History of Middle-earth]]'' which encompasses nearly the entire corpus of his father's writings about Middle-earth.
Green cloth hardcover, tipped in map, Book club edition issued 1981. ISBN 0395299179


===1st Paperback edition (1982)===
==Contents==
Published by Unicorn/Unwin Paperbacks, London. ISBN 0048232084
* Introduction
====Impressions====
* 1st Impression 1982
* 2nd Impression 1983
* 3rd Impression 1983
* 4th Impression 1983
* 5th Impression 1984
* 6th Impression [[1985]]
* 7th Impression [[1986]]
* 8th Impression 1986


===US Trade Paperback (1982)===
* '''Part One: The [[First Age]]'''
Published by Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0395324416
** I. "[[Of Tuor and His Coming to Gondolin]]"
** II. "[[Narn i Hîn Húrin]]: The Tale of the Children of Húrin"
*** Appendix


===1st edition, 8th impression (1987)===
* '''Part Two: The [[Second Age]]'''
Published by Unwin Hyman, London. Hardback in dustwrapper. ISBN 0048231797
** I. "[[A Description of the Island of Númenor]]"
*** [[:File:Christopher Tolkien - Numenore.png|''Map of Númenor'']]
** II. "[[Aldarion and Erendis]]: The Mariner's Wife"
** III. "[[The Line of Elros: Kings of Númenor]]"
** IV. "[[The History of Galadriel and Celeborn]] and of Amroth King of Lórien"
*** Appendices


===1st edition, 9th impression (1987)===
* '''Part Three: The [[Third Age]]'''
Published by Unwin Paperbacks, London. ISBN 0048232084. Paperback. Cover illustration by Roger [[Garland]].
** I. "[[The Disaster of the Gladden Fields]]"
====Impressions====
*** Appendix: Númenórean Linear Measures
* 9th Impression 1987
** II. "[[Cirion and Eorl and the Friendship of Gondor and Rohan]]"
* 10th Impression 1988
*** (i) The Northmen and the Wainriders
* 11th Impression 1989
*** (ii) The Ride of Eorl
*** (iii) Cirion and Eorl
*** (iv) The Tradition of Isildur
** III. "[[The Quest of Erebor]]"
*** Appendix: Note on the texts, and extracts from the earlier version
** IV. "[[The Hunt for the Ring]]"
*** (i) Of the Journey of the Black Riders according to the account that Gandalf gave to Frodo
*** (ii) Other Versions of the Story
*** (iii) Concerning Gandalf, Saruman and the Shire
** V. "[[The Battles of the Fords of Isen]]"
*** Appendix


===Ballantine edition (1988)===
* '''Part Four'''
Mass Market Paperback. Cover art by [[Michael Herring]]. ISBN 0345357116
** I. "[[The Drúedain]]"
** II. "[[The Istari]]"
** III. "[[The Palantíri]]"


===1st Paperback edition, 12th impression (1990)===
* Index
Published by Unwin Paperbacks, London. ISBN 0048232084. Paperback. Cover illustration by [[Roger Garland]]. This edition is the first time the JRRT monogram appears on a cover of ''Unfinished Tales''.


===1991 edition 1st impression===
==Inscriptions==
Published by Grafton, London. ISBN 0261102168. Paperback. Cover illustration by Roger Garland.
There is an inscription in the [[Tengwar]] characters in the title page, it reads:


===1991 edition, 2nd impression===
:"''In this book of unfinished tales by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien which was brought together by Christopher Reuel Tolkien his son are told many things of men and elves in Numenor and in Middle-Earth, from the Elder Days in [[Beleriand]] to the War of the Ring and an account is given of the Druedain, the Istari, and the Palantiri.''"
Published by Grafton, London. ISBN 0261102168 Paperback. Cover illustration by [[John Howe]].


===1992 edition===
==Publication history and gallery==
Published by HarperCollins, London. ISBN 026110215X. Hardback in dustwrapper.
:''Please see [[Unfinished Tales/Publication history and gallery|Publication history and gallery]].''


===1993 edition===
==See also==
Published by HarperCollins, London. ISBN 0261102168. Paperback. Cover illustration by John Howe. At least five impressions have been printed.
* ''[[The Silmarillion]]''
 
* ''[[The History of Middle-earth]]'' series
===1998 edition, 1st impression===
Published by HarperCollins, London. ISBN 0261103628 Paperback. Three impressions printed.
 
===1998 edition, 4th impression===
Published by HarperCollins, London. ISBN 0261103628 Paperback.
 
===1998 edition, 6th impression===
Published by HarperCollins, London. ISBN 0261103628 Paperback. Cover design based on artwork by JRRT. This edition may have been introduced as early as the 5th impression.
 
===2000 edition===
Published by HarperCollins, London. ISBN 026110215X. Hardback in dustwrapper. Cover illustration by J.R.R. Tolkien. At least three impressions have been printed. The ISBN isbn "0261102168" was listed in the book incorrectly, the correct ISBN is listed on the dustwrapper.
 
===2000 Book Club edition===
Published by HarperCollins for Book Club Associates, London. Paperback. Cover illustration by J.R.R. Tolkien. The ISBN for this book is listed incorrectly as 0261102168.
 
===US 2001 edition===
Hardcover with dust jacket. Cover art by [[Ted Nasmith]]. ISBN 0618154043
 
===US 2001 Paperback edition===
Published by Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0618154051
 
===Library Binding Edition 2001===
Published by Sagebrush / Tandem. ISBN 0613999800
 
===Ballantine Edition 2002===
Mass Market Paperback. Cover art by [[Tony DiTerlizzi]] (Spiderwick Chronicles). ISBN 0345357116
 
===Easton Press (2004)===
Published by Easton Press. Leatherbound with ribbed spine, AEG in 22k gold, moire endpapers, ribbon placeholder, bells, and whistles.  Sold only in a set with The Book of Lost Tales Part I & The Book of Lost Tales Part II.
 
===2006 edition===
Published by HarperCollins, London. ISBN 026110215X Hardback in dustwrapper. Cover illustration by J.R.R. Tolkien.


{{references}}
{{Publishedmajorbooks}}
{{title|italics}}
[[Category:Books by J.R.R. Tolkien]]
[[Category:Books by J.R.R. Tolkien]]
[[Category:Books by Christopher Tolkien]]
[[Category:Books by Christopher Tolkien]]
[[Category:Fiction books]]
[[Category:Fiction books]]
[[Category:Publications by title]]
[[Category:Publications by title]]
 
[[Category:Posthumous publications]]
__NOTOC__
[[de:Nachrichten aus Mittelerde]]
[[fi:Keskeneräisten tarujen kirja]]
[[fr:/tolkien/biblio/cli]]

Latest revision as of 16:35, 28 July 2023

Unfinished Tales
of Númenor and Middle-earth
Unfinished Tales 1980.png
AuthorJ.R.R. Tolkien
EditorChristopher Tolkien
PublisherGeorge Allen and Unwin (UK)
Houghton Mifflin (US)
Released2 October 1980 (UK)
18 November 1980 (US)
FormatHardcover; paperback; deluxe-edition; audio-book
Pages472
ISBN0048231797
Preceded byThe Silmarillion {1977)
Followed byThe Book of Lost Tales: Part One (1983)
"They say it is the first step that costs the effort. I do not find it so. I am sure I could write unlimited 'first chapters'. I have indeed written many."
― J.R.R. Tolkien on writing A Long-expected Party, and on his tendency to abandon and revisit his writings.[1]

Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, or simply Unfinished Tales, is a collection of stories and essays by J.R.R. Tolkien that were never completed during his lifetime, but were edited by his son Christopher Tolkien and published in 1980.

Many of the tales within are retold in The Silmarillion, albeit in modified forms; the work also contains a summary of the events of The Lord of the Rings told from a less personal perspective.

Overview[edit | edit source]

Unlike The Silmarillion, also published posthumously (in 1977), for which the narrative fragments were modified to connect into a consistent and coherent work, the Unfinished Tales are presented as Tolkien left them, with little more than names changed (the author having had a confusing habit of trying out different names for a character while writing a draft). Thus some of these are incomplete stories, while others are collections of information about Middle-earth. Each tale is followed by a long series of notes explaining inconsistencies and obscure points.

As with The Silmarillion, Christopher Tolkien edited and published Unfinished Tales before he had finished his study of the materials in his father's archive. Unfinished Tales provides more detailed information about characters, events and places mentioned only briefly in The Lord of the Rings. Versions of such tales, including the origins of Gandalf and the other Istari (Wizards), the death of Isildur and the loss of the One Ring in the Gladden Fields, and the founding of the kingdom of Rohan, help expand knowledge about Middle-earth.

Of particular note is the tale of Tar-Aldarion and Erendis, the only known story of Númenor before its fall. A map of Númenor, the only one Tolkien ever made, is included in the book.

The commercial success of Unfinished Tales demonstrated that the demand for Tolkien's stories several years after his death was not only still present but growing. Encouraged by the result, Christopher Tolkien embarked upon the more ambitious twelve-volume work entitled The History of Middle-earth which encompasses nearly the entire corpus of his father's writings about Middle-earth.

Contents[edit | edit source]

  • Introduction
  • Index

Inscriptions[edit | edit source]

There is an inscription in the Tengwar characters in the title page, it reads:

"In this book of unfinished tales by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien which was brought together by Christopher Reuel Tolkien his son are told many things of men and elves in Numenor and in Middle-Earth, from the Elder Days in Beleriand to the War of the Ring and an account is given of the Druedain, the Istari, and the Palantiri."

Publication history and gallery[edit | edit source]

Please see Publication history and gallery.

See also[edit | edit source]

References

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.