Tolkien was a young man in his early twenties when he first began to envision his great legendarium, and had just taken his first steps into the world of The Silmarillion when war took him to France,” said Jennifer Hart, HarperCollins Senior Vice President and Associate Publisher, in a statement. Unlike his narrative novels, which take place during Middle-earth’s Third Age, the book explores the history and myths of the First and Second Ages. Originally his son published The Silmarillion posthumously after his father’s death. It is the first fully illustrated edition of Tolkien’s 1977 book. HarperCollins announced this brand-new version of The Silmarillion. And anyone interested in knowing more about the world of The Rings of Power may want to consider this beautiful copy of The Silmarillion, which is now available to purchase. For the first time ever, The Silmarillion is getting a new fully illustrated edition with paintings and drawings done by Tolkien himself. But the show isn’t the only format that brings that period to life.

It’s a time that predates The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. And Amazon’s expensive foray into the realm of orcs, wizards, and elves introduced viewers to the world’s Second Age.

(Also the 2021 Hardcover illustrated edition is superior to the 2004 one, so if your goal is to have the nicest copy just skip that edition.Middle-earth recently arrived on Prime Video. It is now nearly ten years after you've asked this question, but if you still haven't made your decision by now, I'll say that the hardcover edition is a nicer book, but otherwise is effectively the same thing and so if you just want to read it for cheap you'll be fine with the paperback. 16 color illustrations from Ted Nasmith are included.The Map of Beleriand and the Lands to the North is printed in its original black and white and spread over the final pages.45 color illustrations from Ted Nasmith are includedĢ008 HarperCollins paperback illustrated edition.(In the first impression of this edition it was a fold-out, but I'm assuming if you're buying it now, you're getting the later impressions.) The Map of Beleriand and the Lands to the North is colored by H.E.The second is the 2008 HarperCollins paperback illustrated edition.īoth of these use the 2nd edition text, include the new forward by Christopher Tolkien (quoting from Tolkien's Letter to Milton Waldman), and are illustrated by Ted Nasmith.Ģ004 HarperCollins hardcover illustrated edition The first book that you linked is the 2004 HarperCollins hardcover illustrated edition.

The main differences between the two editions are the type of binding and the number of illustrations.

The silmarillion paperback