"Children of Húrin" has been published...

[Primula Baggins]

Given CJRT's advanced age and possibly weak state of health, he might not have felt able to do a more extensive job. And from what I know of him, he might not find it easy to trust anyone else to make decisions about the form of the book; clearly he believes that he has the best understanding of his father's true intentions.

Perhaps there will be a greatly expanded second edition in some future generation.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Does anyone else suspect that the publishers were pressuring CJRT for something "Done" at almost any cost? Houghton-Mifflin must have known the thing would sell a bajillion copies, regardless of reception from the community.

I don't think so, really, Ax. I doubt the publishers were on the ball enough to suggest such a thing. I'm pretty sure that this is Christopher's baby.

Given CJRT's advanced age and possibly weak state of health, he might not have felt able to do a more extensive job.

We'll really need to wait and see the final product before we judge how extensive a job he has done. As I said earlier, there are sound storytelling reasons for leaving out the Wanderings of Húrin. It will take a detailed analysis (almost on the level of Arda Reconstructed) to get a real sense of how extensive a job he has done.

And from what I know of him, he might not find it easy to trust anyone else to make decisions about the form of the book; clearly he believes that he has the best understanding of his father's true intentions.

Despite my disappointment with some of what he did with The Silmarillion, I am inclined to agree that he does.

Perhaps there will be a greatly expanded second edition in some future generation.

I seriously doubt it. Either of The Children of Húrin or The Silmarillion itself (which is what I would really like to see).

[Primula Baggins]

I think there might be, if there is enough interest, especially once the family situation changes. If Tolkien's more remote descendants are uninterested in doing the work themselves, they might be willing to allow someone else to do it—especially given the renewed income a revised Silmarillion might generate. We might even see some film rights sold (which is relevant to this discussion because it probably would strengthen the interest in expanded versions of previously published books).

Anyone undertaking an expansion of the Sil will, of course, have your book at his or her elbow.

[Old_Tom_Bombadil]

Anyone have any thoughts about this?

You did an excellent job of covering all the salient points there, Voronwë.

Even before looking at the index it occurred to me that the clue to whether or not the possibly "anti-climatic material" was included was the title of the book, The CHILDREN of Húrin. As it turns out, that hunch was correct.

...clearly he believes that he has the best understanding of his father's true intentions

If he doesn't, who does? I know it's popular to criticize CJRT for the errors in judgment he's made over the years but, as I've said elsewhere, the work he performed in bringing The Silmarillion and The History of Middle-earth to a publishable form is nothing short of Herculean in my mind. Besides bringing order to chaos and deciphering the nearly indecipherable, CJRT had to make many judgment calls along the way. It is no small wonder that in hindsight some of those judgment calls would prove to be faulty, particularly given the complexity and ever-shifting visions of JRRT.

I think what puts people off about CJRT are some of his attitudes and over-protectiveness of his father’s work. He believes that protecting he his father’s legacy and, I imagine, attempting to doing so with his father’s own peculiar sense of values. Would we be any different if we were in his place? I honestly can’t say that I would.

I'm sorry if my defense of CJRT rubs some of you the wrong way, but that's how I feel. I believe it's hard to pass judgment on people unless you've made an honest attempt at seeing things from their point of view, you know, walk around in their shoes a bit as they say. I think that far too often we (I include myself in this) don't take this difficult yet important step.

[Primula Baggins]

I wasn't passing judgment, Tom. I was describing how I think he probably views the matter.

(I know you feel strongly about this, but I suggest that you try not to read the attitudes you seem to expect from people into their posts. )

[Old_Tom_Bombadil]

I wasn't passing judgment, Tom. I was describing how I think he probably views the matter.

I wasn't sure whether you were or not, Prim, and I'm sorry if my post sounded like a lecture. I just thought it was important to say as topics of this nature often break down into CJRT bashing. I know Voronwë, while respectful of Christopher's work, is very critical of it and him, too, or so it seems to me. I suppose there's nothing wrong with that, as long as there is some balance. I try to provide some of that balance on the other side.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

That' okay, Christopher is pretty critical of me and my work, too.

Truth be told, I'm pretty much in agreement with everything that you said above, Tom. While I am critical of some of the decisions that he made in putting together (no more then he himself is at times), I recognize what an impossible task that he took on. As I say in the Foreword to Arda Reconstructed:

It is not my intention, however, to attempt to pass judgment on decisions made by Christopher Tolkien and Guy Kay in pursuing this mammoth task. Nonetheless, I have found it impossible not to express my opinion about some of these decisions. I wish to make clear that I recognize that hindsight is 20/20 (Christopher himself expresses regret on several occasions for some of the decisions he made). None of the criticisms that I make should be taken as a sign that I have anything but the deepest admiration for Christopher Tolkien, and profound gratitude to him for the incredibly tireless (and extremely competent) work that he has done to make so much of his father’s incredible work accessible to the public. Needless to say, without that tireless effort, this work would be impossible. This book, therefore, is dedicated to him.

Tying this post back to the subject at hand, I can honestly say that there is no one else that I would rather have working on producing The Children of Húrin for publication then Christopher Tolkien, and I am very pleased that I has been able to finish this task while he is still with us.

[Old_Tom_Bombadil]

That was very well done, Voronwë.

It is not surprising that Christopher, being his father's son, would be very critical of his own work.

[axordil]

axordil wrote:
Does anyone else suspect that the publishers were pressuring CJRT for something "Done" at almost any cost? Houghton-Mifflin must have known the thing would sell a bajillion copies, regardless of reception from the community.


I don't think so, really, Ax. I doubt the publishers were on the ball enough to suggest such a thing. I'm pretty sure that this is Christopher's baby.

Actually, I was thinking more of the ORIGINAL Sil than CoH, which does seem to have been a more carefully constructed product, whatever the result. I misread which you were discussing.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Ah, that explains why you posted in the other thread. Sorry about that. I didn't realize that you were responding to my comment about the published Silmarillion (and apparently, neither did Prim).

In that case I am a bit more inclined to agree with you. I'm sure that the publisher was anxious to have that. But on the other hand, again quoting from my Foreword to Arda Reconstructed, "The tapestry that was woven by Christopher Tolkien and Guy Kay from different portions of Tolkien’s work is often quite mind-boggling." Had Christopher simply rushed to get something "done" as soon as possible he never would have take the time to piece together different portions from different sources, sometimes within the same paragraph. I have never questioned CT's dedication, nor his integrity, even though I do question whether the results of some of his choices have somewhat damaged his father's legacy.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Here is the first released illustration from the book, entitled "Beleg Departs from Menegroth":



For a larger version, go here

[Alatar]

Mmmmm. Lovely. I hope all the images make it into the 2008 Calendar!

[Voronwë the Faithful]

It is beautiful, isn't it? I would definitely buy a "Children of Húrin" 2008 calendar!

Edited to add:

Silly me, I didn't look far enough down on the page of the TolkienLibrary Children of Húrin faq:

[Old_Tom_Bombadil]

Thanks for that info, Voronwë. I can see that when my Alan Lee LOTR 2007 calendar has run its course I'll need to replace ith with an Alan Lee COH 2008 calendar.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

For those in the New York area:

Talk about being lucky to live in NYC! Houghton Mifflin has just alerted TORn to this unique opportunity:
A Barnes & Noble Exclusive. A **LIMITED QUANTITY** of THE CHILDREN OF HÚRIN signed by Christopher Tolkien and Alan Lee will go on sale at 12:00 noon on April 17, 2007.

Make your plans for a chance to be one of the lucky few to get your hands on a signed edition of the first complete book by J.R.R. Tolkien in three decades!! The books have exclusive bookplates previously signed by Tolkien and Lee. Books will be sold on a first come first served basis. Limit 5 books per customer.

DATE: April 17, 2007
TIME: 12:00 noon
PLACE: Barnes & Noble, 5th Avenue & 46th Street, New York City (212) 697-3048

[Old_Tom_Bombadil]

I've met Alan Lee on a couple of occasions, and am hoping he comes to the SF Bay Area once again. What a thrill it would be to meet Christopher Tolkien as well! I'm afraid jetting off to NYC isn't an option available to me at this time, though.

Did you all see the Q&A linked at TORN? If not here it is:

Five Questions with Alan Lee

I found this particular bit interesting:

Those of us working in the art department did our best to create the environments and artifacts that would support the actors, though a genius like Ian McKellen could stand in front of a cardboard box and make you believe it was a castle.

He calls Ian McKellan a genius. I say the same about Alan Lee.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

It's not likely that Christopher is going to be doing any promotional appearances. Even in the UK.

[Primula Baggins]

Is he ill, or is it just his age, Voronwë?

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I don't know, Prim. But at the Children of Húrin FAQ at the Tolkien Library that I have quoted before (http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/press/Chi ... in-FAQ.htm) it states:

Q: Will Christopher Tolkien be doing any signings?
Christopher Tolkien will regrettably be unavailable to attend any signing events. However, Alan Lee will be signing copies of the book in the UK and further details of these events will be available here.

I suppose it is possible that they are wrong, but they have certainly been an excellent source of information thus far, and I see no reason why they would say this so emphatically if it wasn't true.

[Old_Tom_Bombadil]

Oh, I thought both Lee and CT were appearing in NYC to sign copies, but the copies are pre-signed I take it? I did see CT's grand nephew Royd (Michael's grandson) in Pasadena a few years ago.

P.S. I read that they decreased the limit to 2 per customer to cut down on folks buying them to resell at a profit.