The End of the Third Age

From Tolkien Gateway
The name Third Age refers to more than one character, item or concept. For a list of other meanings, see Third Age (disambiguation).
The End of the Third Age
End of the Third Age 1998.png
AuthorJ.R.R. Tolkien
EditorChristopher Tolkien
PublisherHarperCollins (UK)
Houghton Mifflin (US)
Released1998
FormatPaperback
Pages159
ISBN0261103806
Preceded byThe War of the Ring (1990)

The End of the Third Age, published in 1998, is the fourth volume of The History of The Lord of the Rings, which documents the writing process of The Lord of the Rings.

This book is a shortened version of Sauron Defeated, containing only the first section of that volume, which excludes the content that is unrelated to Middle-earth.

Contents[edit]

  • Foreword
  • I. "The Story of Frodo and Sam in Mordor"
  • II. "The Tower of Kirith Ungol"
  • III. "The Land of Shadow"
  • IV. "Mount Doom"
  • V. "The Field of Kormallen"
  • VI. "The Steward and the King"
  • VII. "Many Partings"
  • VIII. "Homeward Bound"
  • IX. "The Scouring of the Shire"
  • X. "The Grey Havens"
  • XI. "The Epilogue"
  • Appendix: Drawings of Orthanc and Dunharrow

From the publisher[edit]

The End of the Third Age is comprised of the first section of the hardcover volume published as Sauron Defeated, the ninth volume of The History of Middle-earth. It completes Christopher Tolkien's account of the creation of The Lord of the Rings begun in the earlier volumes, The Return of the Shadow, The Treason of Isengard, and The War of the Ring.


The End of the Third Age begins with Sam's rescue of Frodo from the Tower of Kirith Ungol, and giving a very different account of the Scouring of the Shire, this part ends with versions of the hitherto unpublished Epilogue, in which, years after the departure of Bilbo and Frodo from the Grey Havens, Sam attempts to answer his children's questions.

The book is illustrated with changing conceptions of Kirith Ungol and Mount Doom, as well as previously unpublished drawings of Orthanc and Dunharrow.

Publication history and gallery[edit]

UK Editions
1998 paperback  
2002 paperback  


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
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