The published writings of J.R.R. Tolkien
The purpose of this page is to give an "overall description" to the entirety of J.R.R. Tolkien's published writings.
Note that the primary focus here are the writings themselves, not the publications in which they appear, though they are organized by the publications.
The "point of view" of this page is that of a reader (not a scholar) who, knowing it's useless to look for the "first publication" of a certain writing (because that is always unobtainable), wishes to have access to that writing in the most ready and easy way.
For this reason, whenever a writing has appeared in more than one publication, it is only listed under the most recent / most accessible / most prominent publication.
- Notes
- No poem is named individually in any publication, because The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien will override all prior publications and be the one reference work to rule them all.
- No letter is individually listed, they are only listed collectively under the publications where large numbers of them appear.
- Quotations are treated in the same way as the letters.
Writings on the Mythology
- Text of the published The Hobbit (author's note, 19 chapters), 2 maps, 8 illustrations, cover illustration. — The Hobbit (1937)
- All extant drafts of The Hobbit, plot notes, correction notes to the 2nd edition, 2 unpublished rewritten chapters for the 3rd edition, timelines and itinerary, related other writings and letters. — The History of The Hobbit (2011)
- Revisional history, long version of "The Quest of Erebor" in full, additional related illustrations. — The Annotated Hobbit (2002)
- Text of the published The Lord of the Rings (foreword, prologue, 62 chapters, 6 appendices), cover illustration. — The Lord of the Rings (1954-5)
- Revisional history, the "Nomenclature", unfinished index, notes from check copies, numerous quotes from unpublished papers and letters. — The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion (2014)
Text of the published The Silmarillion. — The Silmarillion (1977)Note 1- All relevant writings of the earliest composed Mythology, known as "The Book of Lost Tales", written in 1916-20, roughly comprise 16 tales; a text on Ælfwine, 2 drawings. — The Book of Lost Tales: Part One (1983) and Part Two (1984)
- A long poem "Lay of the Children of Húrin" in two versions, with related verses; two poems with only beginnings Note 2; another long poem "Lay of Leithian", with related verses and outlines, and several rewritten sections. — The Lays of Beleriand (1985)
- Notes
- 1. These are not JRRT's original writings, but are heavily edited and reconstructed by CJRT. For the exact details refer to the book Arda Reconstructed. The original writings are listed below.
- 2. A third, the "Lay of the Fall of Gondolin", is not given here, but will be published in the Collected Poems.