Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth

London: George Allen & Unwin, 1980 Edited with introduction, commentary, index, and maps (map of Númenor and folding map of Middle-earth) by Christopher Tolkien. First edition, first printing. Publisher's maroon cloth, with spine lettered in gilt, and red topstain; in its original brown dust jacket, with Númenórean helmet drawing by J.R.R. Tolkien to front panel, and front panel and spine lettered in white and blue. About fine book, with some spotting to top edge, and folding map coming unglued from book but holding; fine unclipped dust jacket. Overall, a very fresh copy. Unfinished Tales is "a collection of narratives ranging in time from the Elder Days of Middle-earth to the end of the War of the Ring" (dust jacket blurb). Specifically, the book contains tales like "Of Tuor and His Coming to Gondolin," "Narn i Hîn Húrin," "Aldarion and Erendis," "The Disaster of the Gladden Fields," "Cirion and Eorl and the Friendship of Gondor and Rohan," and "The Hunt for the Ring," among others. Christopher Tolkien presents his father's stories unmodified, with the exception of some name changes (Tolkien had a habit of trying out different names for a character in the same draft). The success of Unfinished Tales inspired Christopher Tolkien to dive deeper into his father's legendarium and compile the ambitious 12-volume History of Middle-earth (1983 - 1996). . First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Dust Jacket Included. (Inventory #: JRRT028)