 Volume 1, illustrated byJohn Howe | |
| Editor | Christopher Tolkien |
|---|---|
| Author | J. R. R. Tolkien |
| Language | English |
| Series | The History of Middle-earth |
| Subject | Tolkien's legendarium |
| Genre | |
| Publisher | George Allen & Unwin (UK) Houghton Mifflin (US) |
Publication date |
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| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 297(Vol. 1, first edition) 400(Vol. 2, first edition) |
| ISBN | 0-395-35439-0(Vol. 1) 0-395-36614-3(Vol. 2) |
| Followed by | The Lays of Beleriand |
The Book of Lost Tales is a collection of early stories by the English writerJ. R. R. Tolkien, published as the first two volumes ofChristopher Tolkien's 12-volume seriesThe History of Middle-earth, in which he presents and analyses the manuscripts of those stories, which were the earliest form (begun in 1917) of thecomplex fictional myths that would eventually formThe Silmarillion. Each of the Tales is followed by notes and a detailed commentary by Christopher Tolkien.[1]
For publication the book was split into two volumes:The Book of Lost Tales 1 (1983) andThe Book of Lost Tales 2 (1984), but this is simply an editorial division. Each volume contains several "Lost Tales".
| The Book of Lost Tales (1917) | Storyteller | The Silmarillion (1977) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Book I | |||
| 1. "The Cottage of Lost Play" | Vairë | (Frame story omitted byChristopher Tolkien, to his later regret[2]) | |
| 2. "The Music of theAinur" | Rúmil | "Ainulindalë" | |
| 3. "The Coming of theValar and the Building ofValinor" | Rúmil | "Valaquenta" 1. "Of the Beginning of Days" | |
| - | 2. Of Aulë and Yavanna | ||
| 4. "The Chaining ofMelko" 5. "The Coming of theElves and the Making of Kôr" | Meril-i-Turinqi | 3. "Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor" 4. "OfThingol andMelian" 5. "Of Eldamar and the Princes of the Eldalië" | |
| 6. "The Theft of Melko and the Darkening of Valinor" 7. "The Flight of theNoldoli" | Lindo | 6. "Of Fëanor and the Unchaining of Melkor" 7. "Of theSilmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor" 8. "Of the Darkening of Valinor" 9. "Of the Flight of the Noldor" | |
| 8. "The Tale of the Sun and Moon" 9. "The Hiding of Valinor" | Lindo Vairë | 11. "Of the Sun and Moon and the Hiding of Valinor" | |
| 10. "Gilfanon's Tale: The Travail of the Noldoli and the Coming of Mankind" –unwritten; 2 fragments and 2 outlines only | Gilfanon | 10. "Of theSindar" 12. "OfMen" 13. "Of the Return of theNoldor" 14. "OfBeleriand and its Realms" 15. "Of the Noldor in Beleriand" 16. "OfMaeglin" 17. "Of the Coming of Men into the West" 18. "Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall ofFingolfin" | |
| Book II | |||
| 1. "The Tale of Tinúviel" | Vëannë | 19. "Of Beren and Lúthien" | |
| - | 20. "Of the Fifth Battle:Nirnaeth Arnoediad" | ||
| 2. "Turambar and the Foalókë" | Eltas | 21. "OfTúrin Turambar" | |
| 3. "The Fall of Gondolin" | Ilfinion | 23. "Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin" | |
| 4. "The Nauglafring" | Ailios | 22. "Of the Ruin ofDoriath" | |
| 5. "The Tale of Eärendel" —unwritten; 3 outlines and 4 poems only | - | 24. "Of the Voyage ofEärendil and theWar of Wrath" | |
| 6a. "The End of the Tales" —unwritten; 1 outline, 4 notes, epilogue only 6b. "The History of Eriol or Ælfwine" —unwritten; 2 outlines (based on 19 notes), 2 poems, 1 fragment only | - | (Frame story; see note to 'The Cottage of Lost Play' in Book I) | |
There is an inscription in theFëanorian characters (Tengwar, an alphabet Tolkien devised for High-Elves) in the first pages of everyHistory of Middle-earth volume, written by Christopher Tolkien and describing the contents of the book. The inscription in Book I reads "This is the first part of the Book of the Lost Tales of Elfinesse which Eriol the Mariner learned from the Elves ofTol Eressëa, the Lonely Isle in thewestern ocean, and afterwards wrote in the Golden Book of Tavrobel. Herein are told the Tales ofValinor, from theMusic of the Ainur to the Exile of theNoldoli and theHiding of Valinor."
The inscription in Book II reads "This is the second part of the Book of the Lost Tales of Elfinesse which Eriol the Mariner learned from the Elves of Tol Eressëa, the Lonely Isle in the western ocean, and afterwards wrote in the Golden Book of Tavrobel. Herein are told the Tales of Beren and Tinúviel, of Turambar, of the Fall of Gondolin and of the Necklace of the Dwarves."
The science fiction authorColin Greenland reviewedThe Book of Lost Tales I forImagine magazine, and stated that "Those who prefer their fairy-tales sophisticated, in weighty prose with scholarly footnotes and appendices, will plunge joyously into J R R Tolkien's firstBook of Lost Tales."[3]
Thescience fiction criticDave Langford reviewedThe Book of Lost Tales II forWhite Dwarf #59, stating that he had mixed feelings about it, since while it provided some added depth, he was not sure that every detail was worth "annotating with such ghastly solemnity."[4]
The Tolkien scholarCharles Noad, reviewing Part 1 inMallorn in 1984, notes the mismatches between the names in the book and those inThe Silmarillion, the many alternative names, and the varying attributes of the characters when the name remains unchanged. He likens the book's relationship toThe Silmarillion to that of a charcoal sketch and the oil painting that it precedes: much work is evidently needed. Further,Tolkien's prose style is at this point still "immature and unsophisticated". Noad quotes Christopher Tolkien's remark that development was usually "by subtle transformation". He finds "very extraordinary" the revelation that the island that the wanderer Eriol sets foot on iswhat would become England. He notes, too, what he calls a major problem facing Tolkien: how "to present his mythology in the proper perspective", commenting that it was meant to be "a survival from the remotest antiquity". That, Noad writes, requires an indirect approach, whichThe Hobbit eventually provided: thelegendarium became the distant past to the story in the foreground. He concludes that the book will be mainly of [literary] 'archaeological' interest "and cannot be recommended to the casual reader".[5]
Noad, in his review of Part 2, comments that the reviewer's task faces the problem that the sort of comparisons a review would normally make have already all been made, in "abundant detail", by Christopher Tolkien in his commentary and notes. But it was still striking, he wrote, howBeren is here an Elf, not a Man; and Lúthien rescues him not from Sauron but from Tevildo, Prince of Cats. Noad finds it remarkable how much the story had changed, given that the tale of Lúthien and Beren was so important to Tolkien. Of the volume as a whole, Noad comments that it is less "cosmographic" than Part 1, but has a stronger narrative thread. All the same, he feels it is "more of use to the curious" or the researcher than a stand-alone work; he finds the writing "stilted", failing to achieve its intended effects. Evidently, he concludes, Tolkien did not acquire his finished prose style quickly or easily. Noad praises Christopher Tolkien's editing, setting out the complicated materials "astonishingly well".[6]
TheTolkien scholar Vladimir Brljak, writing inTolkien Studies in 2010, notes that Tolkien's comment inBeowulf: The Monsters and the Critics, thatBeowulf was already antiquarian when written, and is now "an echo of an echo",[7][8] bringing poignant vistas of sad times long gone by, was also a defence of his own writings, wherehe followed theBeowulf poet in deliberately seeking to create animpression of depth. He did this in the twoBooks of Lost Tales by creating "anintricate metafictional structure", embedding his works in a framework of "translations of redactions of ancient works, telling of things even more ancient." Brljak argues that this framework is "both the cornerstone and crowning achievement of Tolkien's mature literary work."[7]
