The Return of the Shadow: History of the Lord of the Rings #1 (History of Middle-Earth #6)


In this sixth volume of The History of Middle-earth the story reaches The Lord of the Rings. In The Return of the Shadow (an abandoned title for the first volume) Christopher Tolkien describes, with full citation of the earliest notes, outline plans, and narrative drafts, the intricate evolution of The Fellowship of the Ring and the gradual emergence of the conceptions that transformed what J.R.R. Tolkien for long believed would be a far shorter book, 'a sequel to The Hobbit'. The enlargement of Bilbo's 'magic ring' into the supremely potent and dangerous Ruling Ring of the Dark Lord is traced and the precise moment is seen when, in an astonishing and unforeseen leap in the earliest narrative, a Black Rider first rode into the Shire, his significance still unknown. The character of the hobbit called Trotter (afterwards Strider or Aragorn) is developed while his indentity remains an absolute puzzle, and the suspicion only very slowly becomes certainty that he must after all be a Man. The hobbits, Frodo's companions, undergo intricate permutations of name and personality, and other major figures appear in strange modes: a sinister Treebeard, in league with the Enemy, a ferocious and malevolent Farmer Maggot.

The story in this book ends at the point where J.R.R. Tolkien halted in the story for a long time, as the Company of the Ring, still lacking Legolas and Gimli, stood before the tomb of Balin in the Mines of Moria. The Return of the Shadow is illustrated with reproductions of the first maps and notable pages from the earliest manuscripts.

Author(s): J. R. R. Tolkien  

ISBN 10: 061808357X
ISBN 13: 9780618083572
Pages: 512
Format: Paperback
Publication: September 2000
Edition: 1ST HOUGHT
Find this book on Amazon

Related YouTube Videos (add a video)

Add the YouTube URL below and submit:

To add a YouTube video, please copy the video's URL on YouTube and submit by clicking "Add".
The URL should look something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXQdBuuanI8
How to copy the videos URL from YouTube

No video yet, want to add one?

Related Articles (add an article)

Add an article URL below and submit:

To add an article, please paste the article's URL and submit by clicking "Add".
Below is an example of a valid URL:
How to copy and paste a webpage URL

No article found, do you know any related to this book?

Other books by J. R. R. Tolkien

1. "The History of Middle-Earth: ""the Lost Road"" and Other Writings Part 5" Hardcover (1991/11/04)
2. "The Lord of the Rings: ""The Fellowship of the Ring"", ""The Two Towers"", ""The Return of the King"" (BBC Radio Collection)" (2002/10/07)
3. 1990 J. R. R. Tolkein Calendar Paperback (8/9/1989)
4. 2009 Tolkien Wall Calendar Calendar (8/5/2008)
5. 2012 Tolkien Wall Calendar Calendar (8/16/2011)
6. A Middle English Vocabulary Paperback (January 2012)
7. A Tolkien Treasury Paperback (10/23/2012)
8. Adventures of Tom Bombadil Hardcover (1978/10/01)
9. An Hobad, No Anonn Agus AR Ais Aris Paperback (March 2013)
10. Appendices et index: Le Seigneur des anneaux #4 (Lord of the Rings Appendices and Indexes) Paperback (9/8/1992)
11. Arbol Y Hoja - Tapa Dura (Tree & Leaf) Hardcover (7/28/1995)
12. Arnor : The Land (January 1997)
13. Beowulf Hardcover (1936)
14. Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics Book (January 1978)
15. Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics
16. Bilbo le Hobbit Paperback (1998/01/01)
17. Bilbo, le Hobbit Paperback (1998/12/31)

Report an error with this book