Tolkien's Legendarium Essays on The History of Middle-earth

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I just came across this book, edited by Verlyn Flieger and Carl F. Hostetter, and published in 2000 by Greenwood Press and I am utterly flabbergasted that I have never heard of it before. It contains a series of essays about the HoME books. Here is the table of contents:

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Conventions and Abbreviations
The History
Early Days of Elder Days by Rayner Unwin
The Development of Tolkien's Legendarium: Some Threads in the Tapestry of Middle-earth by Christina Scull
"A Continuing and Evolving Creation": Distractions in the Later History of Middle-earth by Wayne G. Hammond
On the Construction of "The Silmarillion" by Charles E. Noad
The Literary Value of The History of Middle-earth by David Bratman
The Languages
Gnomish Is Sindarin: The Conceptual Evolution of an Elvish Language by Christopher Gilson
Certhas, Skirditaila, Fupark: A Feigned History of Runic Origins by Arden R. Smith
Three Elvish Verse Modes Ann-thennath, Minlamad thent/estent, and Linnod by Patrick Wynne and Carl F. Hostetter
The Cauldron and the Cook
Tolkien's Lyric Poetry by Joe R. Christopher
Some of Tolkien's Narrators by Paul Edmund Thomas
The Footsteps of AElfwine by Verlyn Flieger
The Lost Road, The Dark Tower and The Notion Club Papers: Tolkien and Lewis's Time Travel Triad by John D. Rateliff
Gandalf and Odin by Marjorie Burns
Túrin's Ofermod: An Old English Theme in the Development of Túrin by Richard C. West
Appendix
:Christopher Tolkien: A Bibliography by Douglas A. Anderson
Suggested Further Reading
Index
About the Contributors

Has anyone seen this book? I'd be very curious to hear any opinions anyone might have.

I am particularly freaked out about this essay: On the Construction of "The Silmarillion" by Charles E. Noad, for obvious reasons. From the descriptions I have read, it's not really all that similar to what I have been doing (and at 38 pages, its obviously not nearly as comprehensive as my work). Still, it was a shock to find that there has been something published called On the Construction of the "The Silmarillion". I can't help but think that it means that there will be even less likelihood of my being able to publish my opus when it is finished.

At a cool $94.95 (after a five dollar discount ) I don't know if I am going to rush out to buy this. On the other hand, I think I probably am going to have to get it eventually, just to see what Noad has to say. Some of the other essay do look interesting as well, particularly the other ones in the first section. But I don't know about that price.

Here is the Amazon page: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/031330 ... 55&s=books

[Primula Baggins]

Yikes—I just typed it into AbeBooks, as you probably already did, and the Amazon price is a steal.

It does seem like something you have to read, for the work you're doing.

You could write it off on your taxes, couldn't you? Since your goal is publication? I've always been able to write off writing-related expenses, even in years where I had no writing income.

Edit: The essay that sounds similar to what you're doing would not prevent you from publishing your own independent work on the same topic. And an essay in a book this rare and expensive is hardly going to affect interest in your book.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I was able to read the first three pages of the essay in Amazon, before it sternly cut me off. It does appear to be completely different then what I am doing (despite the very similar name). I suppose I should add Greenwood Press to the very short list of potential publishers to send my manuscript to (when I have a manuscript, that is).

[Frelga]

This is completely OT, but I just can't wait for the day when I can say, "Oh, there is this insanely cool guy I know, he's a lawyer, plays African drums, and he just published a book about Tolkien."

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Frelga, you just made my day.

(Of course, there are the small matters of finishing the thing, and then finding someone willing to publish it, but we won't let a little thing like reality get in the way of some nice feel-good vibes.)

[Primula Baggins]

There are more publication options for niche books every day, Voronwë. Because of the Internet, you no longer have to be sure of selling thousands of copies of something for it to be worth publishing. Books can find their audiences much more easily.

Do not be discouraged!

[MithLuin]

Actually, yes, I've seen that book. My college library has it. I'd recommend finding a copy there before buying it. If I recall correctly, that essay is about what the Silmarillion would have been, had JRRT readied it for publication himself. In other words, it mentions that he would have wanted the Athrabeth as an appendix, stuff like that. There is an explanation as to why the course he detailed was not taken by CJRT: he included 'wishes' that never materialized.

So no, fear not, he does not go through the published work, dissecting word-for-word where it came from! He certainly does mention sources, but that is the point of that whole collection - to make use of HoME critically.

But, admittedly, the last time I looked at this book was December, and it was more a cursory glance. I did not check it out, but just read parts of it at the library. [I recall the dedication at the beginning, which names Eriol and Aelfwine.] But I think that was the second time I had picked it up - I may have read more earlier (like, in 2001). In general, I would recommend it as seriously good Tolkien criticism. More 'popularly' good criticism can be found in Understanding Lord of the Rings.

[Athrabeth]

I've done a bit of googling, and it seems that this, as Mith says, is a far, far more general work than yours, Voronwë. Many reviews say that the last few pages of the essay are the most important, with Noad coming up with an outline of what he thinks Tolkien would have preferred to publish. Noad, BTW, is evidently an archivist for the Tolkien Society, and met with both JRRT and CT. He actually might be an interesting person for you to get in touch with........networking, and all that, you know.

Here's what somebody on some messageboard wrote about the gist of the essay:

There is an article by Charles Noad in Tolkien's Legendarium (ISBN 0313305307) that tries to reconstruct Tolkien's intentions for The Silmarillion using details given on title pages of the various manuscripts described in The History of Middle-earth series . This is what he came up with:

Quenta Silmarillion

Concerning the Powers
Ainulindalë
Valaquenta

The Great Tales
The Lay of Leithian
Narn i Chin Húrin
The Fall of Gondolin
Eärendil the Wanderer

The Later Tales
Akallabêth
Of the Rings of Power

Appendices
The Tale of Years
Of the Laws and Customs among the Eldar
Dangweth Pengolod
Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth
Quendi and Eldar

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Thanks, Ath! I saw that too (I googled it pretty obsessively ). It definitely is a different type of thing altogether. To be honest, reading the bit of his essay that I got to read did make me a bit self-conscious (but I'm certainly not going to turn back now; it's a bit late for that). As for networking with people like Noad, I'm afraid if I do get my thing published I'm not going to be very popular in that crowd, because of my criticisms of some of CT's decision (though I really do try to make it clear that I recognize that hindsight is 20/20 and that I have tremendous respect and gratitude for CT's work). And in any right, I am horrible at networking (most of the lawyers in Santa Cruz don't even know who I am).

Mith, thanks for the first hand observation! I do think I will try figure out how to get my hands on a copy of the book without having to pay for it.

Prim, thanks for the encouragement! I do plan to get it out there one way or the other. But I would certainly prefer a "real" publisher to an internet "publish your own book" kind of deal. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there. I've got a long way to go.

[MithLuin]

Hmmm, as to networking, I mentioned your project to the academic-types from TORN I met at the Gathering. They seemed impressed by it - there would be some interest in seeing it.

As to who these people are - they post on the Reading Room at TORN, and are currently involved in an encyclopedia project. That will be published. I had dinner with 8 other people, two of whom were professors who do this "for a living" (one was Mike Foster). The other six people just do it for fun - they were accountants or such in real life. So, there is room for 'amateur' participation in this field. I don't know the names of everyone there: squire, Curious and Entwife were not present, I don't think, but I know I met N. E. Brigand (who takes notes obsessive-compulsively) and Saelind. A guy from Niagra Falls whose name escapes me asked several times about this project, but I doubt he was able to follow my directions to the Hall of Fire .

So....if you want, I will go over there and post a link to your work here. But I haven't posted on TORN before, so I'm not going to do that without your....encouragement .

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Mith, thank you! But I don't want to encourage you to do anything you are not comfortable with doing (I've never posted at TORN either, and their messageboard seems very, erm, unuserfriendly). It's good to know that the interest is out there, but I don't think it is necessary for you to go out of your way to join up at forum that you don't participate in otherwise just for the purpose of posting a link to my work. That might seem a bit strange, and I can understand your reluctance. If people were interested in coming here to discuss Tolkien in general, I would definitely encourage you to encourage them to do so. But if it is just to get an opportunity to read my project, I say let 'em buy the book.

[MithLuin]

Well, I've posted on TORN, but I will wait for awhile before bringing up your project. Once I mention who I am, I wouldn't be surprised if someone asks me for a link . But we'll see.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Thanks.

[Old_Tom_Bombadil]

I just came across this book, edited by Verlyn Flieger and Carl F. Hostetter, and published in 2000 by Greenwood Press and I am utterly flabbergasted that I have never heard of it before. It contains a series of essays about the HoME books...

Has anyone seen this book? I'd be very curious to hear any opinions anyone might have.

I recall seeing a collection of essays listed in the Amon Hen. I don't know whether it was this same one or not, but you might want to check with the Tolkien Society.

[Primula Baggins]

I do plan to get it out there one way or the other. But I would certainly prefer a "real" publisher to an internet "publish your own book" kind of deal. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there. I've got a long way to go.

Certainly we will. But I didn't mean a vanity press. I meant literally a "real" publisher.

There is a tremendous amount of waste involved in traditional publishing. When my book is published, there may be, I don't know, 30,000 copies? And if it sells extraordinarily well for a first novel by an unknown, only half of those will have their covers ripped off to be returned for a refund while the pages are pulped. The window of availability will be maybe 8 to 10 weeks; then the covers start coming back, and I'm either a success or a failure.

It's a stupid model. I think within ten years it will be dead.

Print on Demand has already taken off for "vanity" publishing, but it's beginning to be used by small specialty publishers as well. There is so little waste that even a "little" book can be profitable for a "real" publisher.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I'll definitely be picking your brain in the coming months, my dear friend.

[Primula Baggins]

What's left of it, you're welcome to.

[Jude]

Voronwë, see your library and ask about an Interlibrary Loan. These are usually free, and most people don't know about these, so they don't ask.

When you tell them you have a source, you'll get bumped to the front of the queue, since the libraries won't have to do any searching, but simply have to make a request from the other library.

Here's your source:
University of Ottawa, Morisset Library
Call number: PR 6039 .O32 H5727 2000

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Thanks, Jude! (and nice to see you)

[axordil]

Publishers are behind their biggest retailer, Amazon, on the curve these days, but the smart ones are catching up. In ten years, books will simply never go out of print, they will only take a bit longer to ship. Read "The Long Tail" to see how, in some ways, freedom from bricks and mortar is a GOOD thing for writers...and a lot of other people.