The History of Middle-earth

J.R.R. Tolkien is famous the world over for his unique literary creation, exemplified in The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. What is less well known, however, is that he also produced a vast amount of further material that greatly expands upon the stories that were published, and which herein gives added life to the tales of the hobbits, Gandalf and the quest of the Fellowship as told in The Lord of the Rings.It was to this enormous task of literary construction that Tolkien¿s youngest son and literary heir, Christopher, applied himself to produce the monumental and endlessly fascinating series of twelve books, The History of Middle-earth.This brand new hardback edition brings together volumes VI ¿ IX of The History of Middle-earth ¿ The Return of the Shadow, The Treason of Isengard, The War of the Ring and Sauron Defeated ¿ into one volume. Together these books give a fascinating and complete account of the writing of The Lord of the Rings, and provide the reader with numerous additional scenes, together with rare maps and illustrations, which never made it into the final book, including the epilogue in its entirety.Epic in scope and extent, this second hardback volume of a planned trilogy will present the reader with a unique opportunity: to collect a complementary set of each hardback volume in The Complete History of Middle-earth series.