J. R. R. Tolkien, The History of Middle-earth

Jason Fisher (Independent Scholar - North America)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Gina Lyle (University of Glasgow), Graham MacPhee (University of Manchester), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1983 - 1996

Places

South Africa (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Fantasy

Resources

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It is no exaggeration to say that much more of J.R.R. Tolkien's work has appeared since his death than was ever published while he was alive. After the publication of

Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth

in 1980 — itself the third posthumous collection of Tolkien's writings to reach the public — his son and literary executor, Christopher Tolkien, proposed “an unflinchingly scholarly treatment” (Unwin “Early Days” 5) of the vast amount of unpublished and often unfinished material Tolkien left behind, aimed at guiding “the serious pilgrim […] along all the paths, and variants, and blind ends of his father's creation” (ibid.). This treatment was originally planned for four volumes, but the scope of the work quickly exceeded this conservative estimate. By 1990, some…

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2147 words

Citation: Fisher, Jason. "The History of Middle-earth". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 11 February 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=21928, accessed 18 April 2024.]

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