Book Notes

In the fall of 2008, there appeared an expanded version of the omnibus of Tolkien's shorter works, Tales from the Perilous Realm, which was originally published in 1997. It now includes Roverandom, Farmer Giles of Ham, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, Smith of Wootton Major, "Leaf by Niggle," and, as an appendix, "On Fairy-stories." There are illustrations and an "Afterword" by Alan Lee, and an "Introduction" by Tom Shippey. The UK edition, published in hardcover by HarperCollins (Price £18.99 ISBN 9780007257546) is taller than the US edition from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (Price $28.00 ISBN 9780547154114), and the colored illustration by Alan Lee on the endpapers appears only in the UK edition.

Tolkien's Gedling 1914: The Birth of a Legend, by Andrew H. Morton and John Hayes, is a slim trade paperback publication from Brewin Books. It primarily concerns Tolkien's Aunt Jane and her Phoenix Farm in Gedling, near Nottingham, which Tolkien visited in September 1914, when he wrote the poem about Earendel that was the germ of his invented mythology. Price £9.95 ISBN 9781858584232.

In early 2009, ADC Publications released Black & White Ogre Country: The Lost Tales of Hilary Tolkien, edited by Angela Gardner and illustrated by Jef Murray. This small hardcover reproduces the sketchy tales from a notebook by Tolkien's brother, Hilary Arthur Reuel Tolkien (1894-1976), relating to their childhood. The short sketches are augmented by numerous illustrations, and the book closes with "A Brief Biography of Hilary Tolkien," which includes family photographs and letters. Price £9.95 ISBN 9780955190018.

The Ring Goes Ever On: Proceedings of the Tolkien 2005 Conference: 50 Years of "The Lord of the Rings," edited by Sarah Wells, appeared near the end of 2008 in two very large trade paperback volumes, sold as a set and published by The Tolkien Society. These volumes collect nearly one hundred papers presented at the conference held at Aston University, Birmingham, 11th-15th August 2005. A full review will appear in the next volume of Tolkien Studies. Ordering information, including prices with various shipping options, can be found at <www.tolkiensociety.org>.

Two collections of criticism related primarily to Peter Jackson's films of The Lord of the Rings are worth noting here. Martin Barker and Ernest Mathijs co-edited Watching "The Lord of the Rings": Tolkien's World Audiences, published in trade paperback in late 2007 by Peter Lang. Price $32.95 ISBN 9780820463964. Adam Lam and Nataliya Oryshchuk co-edited How We Became Middle-earth: A Collection of Essays on "The Lord of the Rings," a trade paperback also issued in late 2007, from Walking Tree Publishers. Price $28.00 ISBN 9783905703078.