J.R.R. TOLKIEN Edited by Christopher Tolkien | The Fall of Gondolin. Edited by Christopher Tolkien. With Illustrations by Alan Lee. [SIGNED EDITION]. | HarperCollins, 2018 | First UK edition, first printing Signed copy by the illustrator Alan Lee. Nice copy.
J.R.R. TOLKIEN Edited by Christopher Tolkien
The Fall of Gondolin. Edited by Christopher Tolkien. With Illustrations by Alan Lee. [SIGNED EDITION].
HarperCollins, 2018
Hardback Octavo 9,06 × 5,9 inch. (23 x 15 cm) dust jacket mylar protected (as new) 304 pp. Golden decorated black slipcase. Sticker on dustjacket "SIGNED BY THE ILLUSTRATOR".
First UK edition, first printing
Signed copy by the illustrator Alan Lee.
In the Tale of The Fall of Gondolin are two of the greatest powers in the world. There is Morgoth of the uttermost evil, unseen in this story but ruling over a vast military power from his fortress of Angband. Deeply opposed to Morgoth is Ulmo, second in might only to Manwë, chief of the Valar; he is called the Lord of Waters, of all seas, lakes, and rivers under the sky. But he works in secret in Middle-earth to support the Noldor, the kindred of the Elves among whom were numbered Húrin and Túrin Turambar. Central to this enmity of the gods is the city of Gondolin, beautiful but undiscoverable. It was built and peopled by Noldorin Elves who, when they dwelt in Valinor, the land of the gods, rebelled against their rule and fled to Middle-earth. Turgon King of Gondolin is hated and feared above all his enemies by Morgoth, who seeks in vain to discover the marvellously hidden city, while the gods in Valinor in heated debate largely refuse to intervene in support of Ulmo’s desires and designs. Into this world comes Tuor, cousin of Túrin, the instrument of Ulmo’s designs. Guided unseen by him Tuor sets out from the land of his birth on the fearful journey to Gondolin, and in one of the most arresting moments in the history of Middle-earth the sea-god himself appears to him, rising out of the ocean in the midst of a storm. In Gondolin he becomes great; he is wedded to Idril, Turgon’s daughter, and their son is Eärendil, whose birth and profound importance in days to come is foreseen by Ulmo. At last comes the terrible ending. Morgoth learns through an act of supreme treachery all that he needs to mount a devastating attack on the city, with Balrogs and dragons and numberless Orcs. After a minutely observed account of the fall of Gondolin, the tale ends with the escape of Tuor and Idril, with the child Eärendil, looking back from a cleft in the mountains as they flee southward, at the blazing wreckage of their city. They were journeying into a new story, the Tale of Eärendil, which Tolkien never wrote, but which is sketched out in this book from other sources. Following his presentation of Beren and Lúthien Christopher Tolkien has used the same ‘history in sequence’ mode in the writing of this edition of The Fall of Gondolin. In the words of J.R.R. Tolkien, it was ‘the first real story of this imaginary world’ and, together with Beren and Lúthien and The Children of Húrin, he regarded it as one of the three ‘Great Tales’ of the Elder Days. J.R.R. Tolkien was born on 3rd January 1892 in Bloemfontein. After serving in the First World War, Tolkien embarked upon a distinguished academic career and was recognised as one of the finest philologists in the world. He is, however, best known as the creator of Middle-earth and author of such classic and extraordinary works of fiction as The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. His books have been translated into more than 60 languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide. He was awarded a CBE, and an honorary Doctorate of Letters from Oxford University in 1972. He died in 1973 at the age of 81. Christopher Tolkien, born on 21st November 1924, is the third son of J.R.R. Tolkien. Appointed by Tolkien to be his literary executor, he has devoted himself since his father’s death in 1973 to the editing and publication of unpublished writings, notably The Silmarillion and the collections entitled Unfinished Tales and The History of Middle-earth. He and his wife Baillie have lived in France since 1975.
Christopher Tolkien, né le 21 novembre 1924, est le troisième fils de J.R.R. Tolkien. Désigné par Tolkien comme son exécuteur littéraire, il s’est consacré, depuis la mort de son père en 1973, à l’édition et à la publication des écrits inédits, notamment Le Silmarillion et les recueils intitulés Contes et légendes inachevés et L’Histoire de la Terre du Milieu. Lui et son épouse Baillie vivent en France depuis 1975.
Nice copy "SIGNED BY THE ILLUSTRATOR" in editor slipcase.