The tales of The Silmarillion were the inspiration of J.R.R. Tolkien's imaginative writing; he worked on the book throughout his life but never brought it to a final form. Long preceding in its origins The Lord of the Rings, it is the story of the First Age of Tolkien's world, the ancient drama to which characters in The Lord of the Rings look back and in which some of them, such as Elrond and Galadriel, took part. The title Silmarillion is shortened from Quenta Silmarillion, "The History of the Silmarils," the three great jewels created by Fëanor, most gifted of the Elves, in which he imprisoned the light of the Two Trees that illumined Valinor, the land of the gods. When Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, destroyed the Trees, that light lived on only in the Silmarils; Morgoth seized them and set them in his crown, guarded in the impenetrable fortress of Angband in the north of Middle-earth. This is the history of the rebellion of Fëanor and his people against the gods, their exile in Middle-earth, and their war, hopeless despite all the heroism of Elves and Men, against the great Enemy. The book includes several other, shorter works besides The Silmarillion. Preceding it are "Ainulindalë," the myth of Creation, and "Valaquenta," in which the nature and powers of each of the gods is set forth. After The Silmarillion is "Akallabêth," the story of the downfall of the great island kingdom of Númenor at the end of the Second Age; completing the volume is "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age," in which the events of The Lord of the Rings are treated in the manner of The Silmarillion. The revised and corrected "second edition" text and, by way of introduction, a letter written by J.R.R. Tolkien in 1951, which provides a brilliant exposition of his conception of the earlier Ages are also included. Serious efforts have been made to make all of the elements in this book accessable to readers who use braille, audio and print. Before the body of the book begins there is a 5 page insert with a list of accented words and a simple key enabling braille readers to distinguish the acute, umlaut and circumflex accents. As accented words are encountered, readers can refer to this list to identify the specific accents they contain. The five geneaological charts and the chart illustrating the divisions of the two major groups of Elves have been described. The notes on pronunciation, Index of Names and Appendix have been included and carefully formatted.
Copyright:
1977
Book Details
Book Quality:
Excellent
Book Size:
392 Pages
ISBN-13:
9780618391110
Publisher:
N/A
Date of Addition:
11/20/07
Copyrighted By:
The J.R.R. Tolkien Copyright Trust and C. R. Tolkien
