Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
William Morrow (2017), Edition: Illustrated, 288 pages
Description
Fantasy. Fiction. Romance. HTML: The New York Times Bestseller J.R.R. Tolkien's Beren And L�thien is one of the three 'Great Tales' of the Elder Days. The epic tale of Beren and L�thien became an essential element in the evolution of The Silmarillion, the myths and legends of Tolkien's First Age of the World. Always key to the story is the fate that shadowed their love: Beren was a mortal man, L�thien an immortal Elf. Her father, a great Elvish lord, imposed on Beren an impossible task before he might wed L�thien: to rob the greatest of all evil beings, Melkor, of a Silmaril. Painstakingly restored from Tolkien's manuscripts and presented for the first time as a continuous and standalone story, Beren and L�thien reunites fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Men, along with the rich landscape and creatures unique to Tolkien's Middle-earth. Christopher Tolkien tells the story in his father's own words by giving its original form as well as prose and verse passages from later texts that illustrate the narrative as it changed. "A good introduction to LOTR fans nervous about taking on The Silmarillion, and also gives longtime fans a fascinating look at the Tolkiens' myth-making process."�EntertainmentWeekly.com "With eloquence and diligence and care, the son reconstructs and retraces the father's journey, pursuing the tale through draft after draft as Tolkien pursued his vision of Middle-earth."�NPR.org.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member meandmybooks
You'll want to take my comments on this one with more than a grain of salt, as I have trouble being objective when it comes to Tolkien, and the story of Beren and Luthien hits me in a soft spot (my younger brother's middle name is Beren, and my sister's is Lorien -- Tolkien was big in my family).
”Folk seem to have just landed in them, usually – their paths were laid out that way, as you put it. But I expect they had lots of chances, like us, of turning back, only they didn't. And if they had, we shouldn't know, because they'd have been forgotten. We hear about those as just went on – and not all to a good end, mind you; at least not to what folk inside a story and not outside it call a good end.”
Beren and Luthien's story, for which we get here a couple choices of endings, was foundational in Tolkien's mythology, echoing aspects of his own life, and within his works in the romance of Aragorn and Arwen. As Christopher Tolkien reminds us,
”my father called it 'the chief of the stories of the Silmarillion', and he said of Beren that he is 'the outlawed mortal who succeeds (with the help of Luthien, a mere maiden even if an elf of royalty) where all the armies and warriors have failed: he penetrates the stronghold of the Enemy and wrests one of the Silmarilli from the Iron Crown. Thus he wins the hand of Luthien and the first marriage of mortal and immortal is achieved.”
Tolkien apparently began work on the story in 1917, and continued playing with it at least until some point in the 1930's, so there were several versions, as well as additions to both ends of the story, and snippets to be (maybe) inserted at various places. Christopher Tolkien, this book's editor/compiler does a really excellent job of organizing this material so that even readers who are not familiar with the entire mythology of which the story of Beren and Luthien is a part won't feel lost. Or, at least, very lost.
The story is presented, mainly, in two works, these being supplemented by additions and variations from other pieces. The first is the earlier form, and is in prose, and the second, broken into sections, is in verse. Both have their charms. I'll admit a preference for the earlier prose version, which is shorter, has little or no swooning, and is, at a few points, laugh-out-loud funny. I was having a little trouble staying focused on the poetic version until I started reading it out loud, with proper dramatic feeling, to my dog. Boy did that help! And my dog, who claims that there are far too few works of epic poetry with dog heroes, loved it! If I set the book aside for a bit he'd start poking me with his sweet wet nose and asking, hopefully, “Isn't it time to get back to the exciting adventures of Huan the Wonderdog?” And, really, he's not exaggerating. Huan may only get second billing on the marquee (well, his picture's on the cover, anyway), but he is the awesomest. Not only is he an amazing warrior, but he's better at planning missions than any of the men or elves he works with, and he has an expert knowledge of healing herbs! Like Aragorn, except tougher, fluffier, and you can ride on his back.
As I said, the prose version, The Tale of Tinuviel, comes from The Book of Lost Tales, and is loads of fun. Luthien Tinuviel is very fine heroine – brave, resourceful, etc. – and Beren is no slouch. Though of course it's not primarily humorous, there are some really funny bits, and little of that excessively “high” tone which sometimes leads the more hobbit-like of readers to feel drowsy. Initially this had something of the feel of Norse myth to me, but once I got farther in I decided it might have hints of the Kalevala, a Finnish story. We have giant magical cats and dogs, monstrous wolves... Wait. I just have to say, that Telvido, Prince of the Cats, who disappears in the longer, poetic version is too great a villain to miss. I wish he were on the book cover too.
The longer, though incomplete, version of the story is from “The Lay of Leithian.” This is, as I said, Tolkien in his high-toned, archaic style (which sometimes feels a little over the top, but then you come across an amazing word like “quook,” which is, deliciously, the past tense of “quake” and is just what you want to rhyme with “shook,” when you are describing an earthquake, and you forgive him all his excesses). Tolkien never finished any of this stuff to his satisfaction, so it seems unfair to pick much about rhymes and word choices he certainly would have improved upon, given enough time, and the story itself is really grand. Huan the Wonderdog is great in The Tale of Tinuviel, but here he is revealed in all his brilliance. Really, you'll love him. And Luthien and Beren are just as brave and loving and noble as you could ask for. There are romantic vistas, gloomy swamps, dank dungeons, true love, and tragic deaths – the works. Also beautiful colored plates and generous numbers of line drawings. I enjoyed the book very much.
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This is one of the stories that Sam Gamgee might have been referring to when he and Frodo are traveling to Mount Doom and Sam talks about the adventures in the great legends,”Folk seem to have just landed in them, usually – their paths were laid out that way, as you put it. But I expect they had lots of chances, like us, of turning back, only they didn't. And if they had, we shouldn't know, because they'd have been forgotten. We hear about those as just went on – and not all to a good end, mind you; at least not to what folk inside a story and not outside it call a good end.”
Beren and Luthien's story, for which we get here a couple choices of endings, was foundational in Tolkien's mythology, echoing aspects of his own life, and within his works in the romance of Aragorn and Arwen. As Christopher Tolkien reminds us,
”my father called it 'the chief of the stories of the Silmarillion', and he said of Beren that he is 'the outlawed mortal who succeeds (with the help of Luthien, a mere maiden even if an elf of royalty) where all the armies and warriors have failed: he penetrates the stronghold of the Enemy and wrests one of the Silmarilli from the Iron Crown. Thus he wins the hand of Luthien and the first marriage of mortal and immortal is achieved.”
Tolkien apparently began work on the story in 1917, and continued playing with it at least until some point in the 1930's, so there were several versions, as well as additions to both ends of the story, and snippets to be (maybe) inserted at various places. Christopher Tolkien, this book's editor/compiler does a really excellent job of organizing this material so that even readers who are not familiar with the entire mythology of which the story of Beren and Luthien is a part won't feel lost. Or, at least, very lost.
The story is presented, mainly, in two works, these being supplemented by additions and variations from other pieces. The first is the earlier form, and is in prose, and the second, broken into sections, is in verse. Both have their charms. I'll admit a preference for the earlier prose version, which is shorter, has little or no swooning, and is, at a few points, laugh-out-loud funny. I was having a little trouble staying focused on the poetic version until I started reading it out loud, with proper dramatic feeling, to my dog. Boy did that help! And my dog, who claims that there are far too few works of epic poetry with dog heroes, loved it! If I set the book aside for a bit he'd start poking me with his sweet wet nose and asking, hopefully, “Isn't it time to get back to the exciting adventures of Huan the Wonderdog?” And, really, he's not exaggerating. Huan may only get second billing on the marquee (well, his picture's on the cover, anyway), but he is the awesomest. Not only is he an amazing warrior, but he's better at planning missions than any of the men or elves he works with, and he has an expert knowledge of healing herbs! Like Aragorn, except tougher, fluffier, and you can ride on his back.
As I said, the prose version, The Tale of Tinuviel, comes from The Book of Lost Tales, and is loads of fun. Luthien Tinuviel is very fine heroine – brave, resourceful, etc. – and Beren is no slouch. Though of course it's not primarily humorous, there are some really funny bits, and little of that excessively “high” tone which sometimes leads the more hobbit-like of readers to feel drowsy. Initially this had something of the feel of Norse myth to me, but once I got farther in I decided it might have hints of the Kalevala, a Finnish story. We have giant magical cats and dogs, monstrous wolves... Wait. I just have to say, that Telvido, Prince of the Cats, who disappears in the longer, poetic version is too great a villain to miss. I wish he were on the book cover too.
The longer, though incomplete, version of the story is from “The Lay of Leithian.” This is, as I said, Tolkien in his high-toned, archaic style (which sometimes feels a little over the top, but then you come across an amazing word like “quook,” which is, deliciously, the past tense of “quake” and is just what you want to rhyme with “shook,” when you are describing an earthquake, and you forgive him all his excesses). Tolkien never finished any of this stuff to his satisfaction, so it seems unfair to pick much about rhymes and word choices he certainly would have improved upon, given enough time, and the story itself is really grand. Huan the Wonderdog is great in The Tale of Tinuviel, but here he is revealed in all his brilliance. Really, you'll love him. And Luthien and Beren are just as brave and loving and noble as you could ask for. There are romantic vistas, gloomy swamps, dank dungeons, true love, and tragic deaths – the works. Also beautiful colored plates and generous numbers of line drawings. I enjoyed the book very much.
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LibraryThing member BenKline
While fascinating to see how Tolkien developed his mythos.... this is a bit of a slog, especially compared to some of the other esoteric "Tales of" or other posthumous pieces of Middle-Earth/Tolkien lore (like Return of the Shadow, Children of Huren, etc.). This is very much a precursor to The
The actual story parts are interesting and enjoyable. The preambles and stuff, not-so-much.
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Simarillion (which I have yet to read), and from all accounts, its a bit like reading a Latin textbook.... with names thrown about, and with two names per person, or conflicting names and places, etc. The actual story parts are interesting and enjoyable. The preambles and stuff, not-so-much.
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LibraryThing member majackson
Beren and Lúthien, J. R. R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien, 2017
Christopher, son of JRR writes that this will probably be his last effort at editing his father's works...he's 92 as of the publication of this book. Wikipedia says "Tolkien followed in his father's footsteps, becoming a
This book gathers together the various references to, and versions of, Beren and Lúthien and presents them—a prose version and a poetic version—with explanatory side-notes. These two versions tell the same story, but with interesting variations in some details as a result of the hit-and-miss attention that Tolkien paid to the works at different times over the years (with the interruption of WWII).
Additionally, some of the intriguing references to other characters in the story get fleshed out by inclusion of other tales and other histories dealing with the same time frame of the main story. For example, the references to the history of Huan, the wolfhound that saves the heroes many times over; and Beren's forebears; and the results of the terrible oath that is taken by the sons of the creator of the Silmarils.
As much as possible Christopher tries to tie everything into neat packages, but is ultimately defeated by the fact, not just that JRR changed names and heritages of his characters during his life but that he actually stopped working on many of the stories, for various reasons over the many years. It's to Christopher's credit that he doesn't try to fabricate endings, but leaves them as stories, the knowledge of which, has passed from the memory of man.
As I said, the fact that Christopher seems to have assumed some of the writing style of his father makes it difficult at times to determine which comments are his and which are the stories themselves. (The book is actually printed with the explanatory comments indented from the stories themselves, so it IS possible to tell which is which.) But if, like me, you get caught up in the narrative you may not readily notice this.
As a warning, let it be noted that these are not fairy tales for children—they deal with some pretty horrific evils. Fortunately the tortures are not described in gruesome detail, but they are described: e.g. to get information from the elves Morgoth has captured he has his wolves kill and eat them, one by one, in front of the others, until someone should talk.
Christopher, son of JRR writes that this will probably be his last effort at editing his father's works...he's 92 as of the publication of this book. Wikipedia says "Tolkien followed in his father's footsteps, becoming a
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lecturer and tutor in English Language at New College, Oxford, from 1964 to 1975" thus indicating that he shared much of his father's love for English and its history. In fact, he's so well steeped in the mythology and style of his father's works that his annotations read like an extract from the stories themselves.This book gathers together the various references to, and versions of, Beren and Lúthien and presents them—a prose version and a poetic version—with explanatory side-notes. These two versions tell the same story, but with interesting variations in some details as a result of the hit-and-miss attention that Tolkien paid to the works at different times over the years (with the interruption of WWII).
Additionally, some of the intriguing references to other characters in the story get fleshed out by inclusion of other tales and other histories dealing with the same time frame of the main story. For example, the references to the history of Huan, the wolfhound that saves the heroes many times over; and Beren's forebears; and the results of the terrible oath that is taken by the sons of the creator of the Silmarils.
As much as possible Christopher tries to tie everything into neat packages, but is ultimately defeated by the fact, not just that JRR changed names and heritages of his characters during his life but that he actually stopped working on many of the stories, for various reasons over the many years. It's to Christopher's credit that he doesn't try to fabricate endings, but leaves them as stories, the knowledge of which, has passed from the memory of man.
As I said, the fact that Christopher seems to have assumed some of the writing style of his father makes it difficult at times to determine which comments are his and which are the stories themselves. (The book is actually printed with the explanatory comments indented from the stories themselves, so it IS possible to tell which is which.) But if, like me, you get caught up in the narrative you may not readily notice this.
As a warning, let it be noted that these are not fairy tales for children—they deal with some pretty horrific evils. Fortunately the tortures are not described in gruesome detail, but they are described: e.g. to get information from the elves Morgoth has captured he has his wolves kill and eat them, one by one, in front of the others, until someone should talk.
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LibraryThing member N.W.Moors
I'm among the readers who were disappointed with this book. The actual story of Beren and Luthien is only a small portion of the book. I enjoyed it very much though I felt it was more a story for children in the mode of The Hobbit. Most of the book is filled with scraps of other notations made by
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JRR Tolkien and the usual addendum you find in Tolkien books. I expected something more like The Silmarillion or The Children of Hurin. Also, I'm past the point in my life where I want to write in Dwarvish or runes so deciphering the bits of notations to tie them back to past stories doesn't interest me. Show Less
LibraryThing member adam.currey
For dedicated lovers of Tolkien, this book fills in some of the older lore. For everyone else, it my not hold a great deal of interest. If you've read nothing more than The Lord Of The Rings and you want more, I might suggest The Silmarillon or even The Fall Of Gondolin first, then circle back to
As with all the more recent Tolkien books edited by Christopher Tolkien, this one gives over a lot of pages for the preface and numerous explanations and explorations of the history of the work - the various versions and revisions, and why and when Tolkien wrote them. This may not appeal to everyone.
A significant amount of this book is also in poetry form, which isn't for me personally but I'm happy to skim over it.
If you're a dedicated Tolkien fan, you'll love it - just don't buy it expecting a single 260-page story.
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this one.As with all the more recent Tolkien books edited by Christopher Tolkien, this one gives over a lot of pages for the preface and numerous explanations and explorations of the history of the work - the various versions and revisions, and why and when Tolkien wrote them. This may not appeal to everyone.
A significant amount of this book is also in poetry form, which isn't for me personally but I'm happy to skim over it.
If you're a dedicated Tolkien fan, you'll love it - just don't buy it expecting a single 260-page story.
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LibraryThing member Karlstar
This is a collection of all of the versions of the story of Luthien and Beren that have been publishes or haven't been published before. They are collected by Christopher Tolkien from his father's notes. Included are 4 versions of the tale, written and revised by J. R. R. Tolkien into the version
The tale of Beren and Luthien is referred to in the Lord of the Rings when Strider tells the story to the Hobbits. Its likely the Hobbits knew the story anyway and also clear that Aragorn tells the tale because his story is the 3rd union of Elves and Men, where Beren and Luthien were the first. A tragic tale of love and heroism, clearly Aragorn hopes to emulate Beren - but with a happier ending.
This story also includes some great non-human characters - Tevoldo, Lord of Cats and Huan, Captain of Dogs. How can you beat that?
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that appears in The Silmarillion. Also included are notes on how the tale developed over time, with fascinating quotes on Tolkien's work. The tale of Beren and Luthien is referred to in the Lord of the Rings when Strider tells the story to the Hobbits. Its likely the Hobbits knew the story anyway and also clear that Aragorn tells the tale because his story is the 3rd union of Elves and Men, where Beren and Luthien were the first. A tragic tale of love and heroism, clearly Aragorn hopes to emulate Beren - but with a happier ending.
This story also includes some great non-human characters - Tevoldo, Lord of Cats and Huan, Captain of Dogs. How can you beat that?
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LibraryThing member CaptainBookamir
Christopher Tolkien has done an excellent job of compiling the Beren and Luthien material into a cohesive tale. Organised more according to chronology of the tale, rather than in the order that the separate bits were written, there is a definite sense of travelling through the lives and deeds of
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Beren and Luthien (and its consequences), whilst still getting a good idea of how the tale evolved from one form to another. To be sure, to my mind, the tale of Beren and Luthien is one of the best and certainly one of my favourite tales from the legendarium, which doesn't hurt in the least. Alan Lee's illustrations are as stunning as they get, with many pencil drawings interspersed as well as several full-coloured plates. Show Less
LibraryThing member DarthDeverell
In Beren and Lúthien Christopher Tolkien explores the evolution of his father's story of The Tale of Beren and Lúthien from the original The Lay of Leithian through the Tale of Tinúviel to its final form, which appeared as chapter XIX of The Silmarillion. Unlike The Children of Húrin, in which
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Christopher Tolkien expanded Chapter XXI of J.R.R. Tolkien's Quenta Silmarillion into a full novel, this work primarily examines how the ideas of Beren, once an elf and later a man, and Lúthien, once called Tinúviel, crystallized. The overall effect is something that will primarily appeal to Tolkien scholars, although the story itself and Tolkien's use of verse are enjoyable to casual readers. Christopher Tolkien fills in background as necessary, such as the significance of the Silmarils and why Beren must steal one from Morgoth. The longest self-contained portion of this book comes from The Lay of Leithian and reads like the epic poem J.R.R. Tolkien intended. Alan Lee, who did the art for The Children of Húrin, continues to capture visually the tone of Tolkien's text. Lee's portrayal of Tinúviel confronting Tevildo, a giant cat in Melko's (Melkor) castle, is delightful all on its own, making it a pity that Tevildo did not continue into later of Tolkien's drafts. Fans of The Silmarillion will enjoy this, but should not expect a coherent narrative. Show Less
LibraryThing member hobbitprincess
The story of Beren and Luthien is explored through the different editing done by Tolkien, as compiled by his son Christopher. It was interesting to see how the story progressed and changed through time. I knew the basic story from my reading of other Tolkien books, but I found the telling of this
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tale particularly good in this book. If you're a Tolkien fan, you will want to add this to your collection. Show Less
LibraryThing member feeroberts64
Beren and Lúthien by J.R.R. Tolkien is one of the Tales of the Elder Days as touched upon in The Silmarillion.
Beren and Lúthien is another story that finally has seen the light of day. I loved reading this tale and learning more about other characters in Tolkien's world. In addition, the poems
I highly recommend anyone who loves Tolkien's work to read this. You will not be disappointed.
Beren and Lúthien is another story that finally has seen the light of day. I loved reading this tale and learning more about other characters in Tolkien's world. In addition, the poems
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were beautiful with beautiful prose. I had not realized what an amazing poet Tolkien was. This was an added treat for me.I highly recommend anyone who loves Tolkien's work to read this. You will not be disappointed.
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LibraryThing member Andy_DiMartino
I think this is Christopher's finest job in putting together his father's works in a cohesive, easily understandable format. I have struggled with the Histories and The Lost Tales but this book pulled me right through it. Thank you Mr Tolkien!!!
LibraryThing member quinton.baran
A very interesting story (or more accurately stories) of Beren and Luthien, many of them told in beautiful verse form. J.R.R. Tolkien never lived to publish this or many of his stories, but thankfully his son Christopher has perused many documents and salvaged these stories.
None of the material is
I think I especially enjoyed this book having read The Simarillion before, as well as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (many time respectively). Note that this story is quite different from The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings, but these stories have root in the story of Beren and Luthien.
None of the material is
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new, as Christopher confesses early in the book, but it is compiled into a conceive manner, focusing on this topic, which was one of the central themes of the 1st age, covered in The Simarillion and other compilations. I think I especially enjoyed this book having read The Simarillion before, as well as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (many time respectively). Note that this story is quite different from The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings, but these stories have root in the story of Beren and Luthien.
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LibraryThing member DanJlaf
Excellent look back at earlier times in tolkiens universe.
Awards
Mythopoeic Awards (Finalist — Inklings Studies — 2018)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2017-06-01
Physical description
288 p.; 8.25 inches
ISBN
1328791823 / 9781328791825