THE J. R. R. TOLKIEN COMPANION AND GUIDE: Boxed Set (12.09.06)

Can you feel the excitement in the air? Some of us for sure do count the days. All started what now seems ages ago... in twenty days from now we will finally see the publication of The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide, written by Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond. This book set has been announced several times now (over the last few years) and has grown in size, now HarperCollins mentions an impressive 1999 pages.

Why all this excitement? Let us start with telling about the authors: Christina Scull is the former librarian of Sir John Soane’s Museum, London. She is the author of "The Soane Hogarths" (1991), edits the journal "The Tolkien Collector", and frequently writes and speaks about Tolkien. Wayne G. Hammond is a librarian at the Chapin Library of Rare Books at Williams College, Massachusetts. He is the author of "The Graphic Artof C.B. Falls" (1892), "J.R.R. Tolkien:A Descriptive Bibliography" (1993), and regular notes on Tolkien in the journal "Mythlore". Next to this we know them from other important books like J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist & Illustrator, Roverandom, Farmer Giles of Ham 50th anniversary edition, the new expanded index of The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings 1954-2004: Scholarship in Honor of Richard E. Blackwelder, and the masterpiece Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion (sometimes confused with the books that will come out now).

What is even more important is what will be found inside the book set. The stunning two-volume slipcased set will contain the most comprehensive in-depth companion to Tolkien’s life and works ever published, including synopses of all his writings, and a Tolkien gazetteer, who’s who and chronology. This book will bring the answers to so many questions and will give us so much new information and will correct so many wrong facts about Tolkien that it will become the new (and only) standard work about J.R.R. Tolkien.

It will be the definitive handbook to one of the most popular authors of the 20th century. Tolkien's progress is traced from his birth in South Africa in 1892, to the battlefields of France and the lecture-halls of Leeds and Oxford, to his success as the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, until his death in 1973. His many academic and literary achievements, his public reception, and his enduring fame are examined in detail.

So one thing is left to me to say... pre-order a copy now! While a long work for Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond will be finished, it is our turn now to start reading and see the result. For sure we will ever be gratefull to the authors!

Summary:

• The ultimate Tolkien companion, written by the woman and man Christopher Tolkien himself reckons to be the greatest living Tolkien scholars. • J. R. R. Tolkien's masterwork was voted Book of the Century in major polls. • Worldwide sales of ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’ stand at over 150 millioncopies in 40 languages. • The perfect gift for any Tolkien fan.

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