Browsing the Compleat Middle-Earth Library - Page 10

The Return of the Shadow begins the task of explaining how Tolkien began to consciously create the primary Middle-earth mythology. This book, the next two, and the first half of Sauron Defeated have been republished as The History of The Lord of the Rings. These books contain early drafts for the chapters of the book, and many notes and explanations by Christopher. Some very important historical and cultural information appears only in these books, although reconciling previously unpublished material with the primary sources is not an easy task. Anyone purchasing these four books for themselves or as a gift should be sure to also purchase The Peoples of Middle-earth.

See comments under The Return of the Shadow.

See comments under The Return of the Shadow.

Concerning the first half of this book, see comments under The Return of the Shadow. Sauron Defeated is noteworthy, however, for including the two versions of the epilogue Tolkien wrote for The Lord of the Rings. Although he was persuaded to drop the epilogue from the book when he first published it, he came to regret that choice, and I believe it was indeed a mistake to drop this material from the primary canon. Sauron Defeated also includes material contemporary with Tolkien's final work on the The Lord of the Rings (not including pre-publication edits and work on the appendices), especially "The Drowning of Anadune", which was the source of the legend of Numenor. More linguistic information relevant to the study of Adunaic appears in this book.

Although Tolkien finished the primary narrative of The Lord of the Rings in 1948, he did not immediately turn to work on the appendices. Instead, after a hiatus of 11 years, he returned to the "Silmarillion" mythology, and he began a comprehensive rewrite of the entire work. Through his decision to incorporate the world of the Silmarillion into Middle-earth, Tolkien committed himself to altering several fundamental aspects of the mythology. The most notable alteration was the final revocation of any notion that the Valar were gods in the ancient mythological tradition. Instead, because The Lord of the Rings was a Catholic work (that is, the story pays some reverence to Tolkien's Catholic belief in one supreme being), the Valar and their associates the Maiar became angelic beings created by God (Iluvatar). The flat Earth myth remained largely intact, but Tolkien began foreshadowing events which occurred in or were documented in The Lord of the Rings and even The Hobbit. Morgoth's Ring covers the beginning of that process. But the book also includes some essays which Tolkien wrote as an offshoot of his extensive revisions to the Silmarillion mythology. And the final section, "Myths Transformed", collects essays and notes from the 1950s through the 1970s which reveal Tolkien's growing doubt about the feasibility of the original mythological concepts. He examines many troubling philosophical questions in both the essays and a story, "Athrbeth Finrod ah Andreth", which resembles some Greek plays in form and purpose.