Middle-earth

Library

Unfinished Tales

A gathering of longer and alternate accounts spanning the First, Second and Third Ages, arranged with editorial commentary.

Supplementary writingsFrom posthumously published works, notes, drafts or appendices.
Author
J.R.R. Tolkien (edited by Christopher Tolkien)
Published
1980
Format
Collection

Synopsis

Unfinished Tales is exactly what its title says: a collection of narratives Tolkien began and never finished, here connected and explained by Christopher Tolkien. It ranges from “Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin” in the First Age, through the founding of Númenor, the story of Aldarion and Erendis and the history of Galadriel and Celeborn, to Third Age pieces such as the disaster of the Gladden Fields, the quest of Erebor told alongside the hunt for the Ring, and the desperate ride to the Black Gate. Because the editor prints competing drafts side by side and comments on them, the volume is both a story collection and a window into how the legendarium was made.

Setting

Beleriand, Númenor, Eregion and the Wilderland of the Second and Third Ages, with glimpses back to the Elder Days.

Themes

  • incompleteness and the plurality of versions
  • the histories behind the histories
  • fidelity and betrayal
  • the many hands of tradition

Where to go next

Publication note

Publication note

Published posthumously in 1980 by Christopher Tolkien. It marks his first sustained effort to annotate his father’s drafts, paving the way for the twelve-volume History of Middle-earth.

Sources

  • Unfinished Tales · 1980

    Expanded and alternative accounts of the First, Second and Third Ages.