Catherine McIlwaine

Both a loving tribute to, and excellent collection of essays concerning, Christopher Tolkien -- and his unmatched legacy as executor, collator (and in many ways collaborator), of his father’s extensive literary works.

Filled with personal recollections of Professor Tolkien, the humble and diligently dedidicated son, and his unique relationship with his father and his many family and friends, as well as (for me, even after 55 years of reading works by and more about J. R. R. Tolkien) show more revealing new, fresh, and rewarding insights into the life and family and tales of Tolkien.

This volume includes numerous photographs, illustrations (both B&W and marvelous color), as well as color scanned copies of pages ofTolkien's handwritten pages and maps that I have never before seen.

For the Tolkien reader who enjoys peering behind the curtain to see the humanity of the mighty wizard.

Per the listing:
This collection of essays, family stories, and archival documents sheds new light on Christopher Tolkien’s contributions to the Tolkien legendarium.

Over more than four decades, J. R. R. Tolkien’s son and literary executor Christopher Tolkien completed some twenty-four volumes of his father’s work, much more than his father had succeeded in publishing during his own lifetime. Thanks to Christopher’s extraordinary publishing efforts and scholarship, readers today can survey and understand the vast landscape of Tolkien’s legendarium.

The Great Tales Never End sheds new light on J. R. R. Tolkien’s work and the debt owed to Christopher by the many Tolkien scholars who were privileged to work with him. Essays by world-renowned scholars and Tolkien family reminiscences offer unique insights into the publication process. What was Tolkien’s intended ending for The Lord of the Rings, and did it leave echoes in the stripped-down version that was actually published? What was the audience’s response to the first-ever adaptation of The Lord of the Rings—a radio dramatization that has now been deleted forever from the BBC’s archives?

The book is illustrated with color reproductions of J. R. R. Tolkien’s manuscripts, maps, drawings, and letters, as well as photographs of Christopher Tolkien and extracts from his works. Many of these documents have never been seen before, making this volume essential reading for Tolkien scholars, readers, and fans.

See also: Review of "The Great Tales Never End: Essays in Memory of Christopher Tolkien" | Silmarillion Writers' Guild https://share.google/Bu1D9g0eSOkZdDRWl show less

Fantastic collection of photographs and artwork related to Tolkien and Middle-Earth. Love it.

Short edition, including many Tolkien original maps and watercolors. A treasure.

Tolkien, Christopher