Unfinished Tales: Difference between revisions

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===2006 edition===
===2006 edition===
Published by HarperCollins, London. ISBN 026110215X Hardback in dustwrapper. Cover illustration by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Published by HarperCollins, London. ISBN 026110215X Hardback in dustwrapper. Cover illustration by J.R.R. Tolkien.
==Title page==
The title page contains an inscription in Tengwar:
''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.''


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Revision as of 02:12, 4 October 2014

Unfinished Tales
of Númenor and Middle-earth
File:UnfinishedTalesCover.jpg
AuthorJ.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien
PublisherGeorge Allen and Unwin (UK)
Houghton Mifflin (US)
Released2 October 1980 (UK)
18 November 1980 (US)
FormatHardback
Pages472
ISBN0618154051

Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth (often referred to, and sometimes published, as just Unfinished Tales) 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.

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.

Of particular note is the tale of Aldarion and Erendis, the only known story of Númenor before its fall. A map of Númenor is also 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, 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.

Contents

Part One: The First Age:

Part Two: The Second Age:

Part Three: The Third Age:

Part Four

Editions

1st edition (1980)

Published by 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)

Green cloth hardcover, tipped in map, Book club edition issued 1981. ISBN 0395299179

1st Paperback edition (1982)

Published by Unicorn/Unwin Paperbacks, London. ISBN 0048232084

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)

Published by Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0395324416

1st edition, 8th impression (1987)

Published by Unwin Hyman, London. Hardback in dustwrapper. ISBN 0048231797

1st edition, 9th impression (1987)

Published by Unwin Paperbacks, London. ISBN 0048232084. Paperback. Cover illustration by Roger Garland.

Impressions

  • 9th Impression 1987
  • 10th Impression 1988
  • 11th Impression 1989

Ballantine edition (1988)

Mass Market Paperback. Cover art by Michael Herring. ISBN 0345357116

1st Paperback edition, 12th impression (1990)

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

Published by Grafton, London. ISBN 0261102168. Paperback. Cover illustration by Roger Garland.

1991 edition, 2nd impression

Published by Grafton, London. ISBN 0261102168 Paperback. Cover illustration by John Howe.

1992 edition

Published by HarperCollins, London. ISBN 026110215X. Hardback in dustwrapper.

1993 edition

Published by HarperCollins, London. ISBN 0261102168. Paperback. Cover illustration by John Howe. At least five impressions have been printed.

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.

Title page

The title page contains an inscription in Tengwar:

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.