"For
the first time ever, a very special edition of the classic masterpiece,
illustrated throughout in colour by the author himself and with the
complete text printed in two colours.
Since it was first published in 1954, The Lord of the Rings
has been a book people have treasured. Steeped in unrivalled magic and
otherworldliness, its sweeping fantasy and epic adventure has touched
the hearts of young and old alike. Over 150 million copies of its many
editions have been sold around the world, and occasional collectors’
editions become prized and valuable items of publishing.
This
one-volume hardback edition contains the complete text, fully corrected
and reset, which is printed in red and black and features, for the very
first time, thirty colour illustrations, maps and sketches drawn by
Tolkien himself as he composed this epic work. These include the pages
from the Book of Mazarbul, marvellous facsimiles created by Tolkien to
accompany the famous ‘Bridge of Khazad-dum’ chapter. Also appearing are
two removable fold-out maps drawn by Christopher Tolkien revealing all
the detail of Middle-earth.
Sympathetically packaged to reflect
the classic look of the first edition, this new edition of the
bestselling hardback will prove irresistible to collectors and new fans
alike." (harpercollins.co.uk)
"John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born
on the 3rd January, 1892 at Bloemfontein in the Orange Free State, but
at the age of four he and his brother were taken back to England by
their mother. After his father’s death the family moved to Sarehole, on
the south-eastern edge of Birmingham. Tolkien spent a happy childhood in
the countryside and his sensibility to the rural landscape can clearly
be seen in his writing and his pictures.
His mother died when he
was only twelve and both he and his brother were made wards of the local
priest and sent to King Edward’s School, Birmingham, where Tolkien
shone in his classical work. After completing a First in English at
Oxford, Tolkien married Edith Bratt. He was also commissioned in the
Lancashire Fusiliers and fought in the battle of the Somme. After the
war, he obtained a post on the ‘New English Dictionary’ and began to
write the mythological and legendary cycle which he originally called
‘The Book of Lost Tales’ but which eventually became known as ‘The
Silmarillion’.
In 1920 Tolkien was appointed Reader in English
Language at the University of Leeds which was the beginning of a
distinguished academic career culminating with his election as Rawlinson
and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford. Meanwhile Tolkien
wrote for his children and told them the story of ‘The Hobbit’. It was
his publisher, Stanley Unwin, who asked for a sequel to ‘The Hobbit’ and
gradually Tolkien wrote ‘The Lord of the Rings’, a huge story that took
twelve years to complete and which was not published until Tolkien was
approaching retirement. After retirement Tolkien and his wife lived near
Oxford, but then moved to Bournemouth. Tolkien returned to Oxford after
his wife’s death in 1971. He died on 2 September 1973 leaving ‘The
Silmarillion’ to be edited for publication by his son, Christopher." (harpercollins.co.uk)