New Tolkien Novel to Hit the Stands

Fans of Middle-Earth now have something to look forward too. 4 years after the completion of the mega-successful Lord of the Rings trilogy series of movies and 30 years after JRR Tolkien's last published book, the Silmarillion, was published, a new Tolkien novel exploring the mythology of Middle Earth is set to be released in hardback in April of 2007.

The novel, entitled The Children of Hurin, was first begun by the author in 1918. Although left uncompleted upon Tolkien's death in 1971 his son, Christopher Tolkien, who also edited the posthumously published Silmarillion, has spent 30 years painstakingly compiling the novel based on the copious notes the beloved author left behind.

Fans of Tolkien will be familiar with the basics of the story which revolves around Turin, son of Hurin. Elements of the story of Turin have played parts in the Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales and the History of Middle Earth, all compiled and edited by Christopher Tolkien. The story takes place much earlier than the events described in the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings: in fact in The Children of Hurin hobbits do not yet exist at all.

In a public statement Christopher Tolkien said of the new novel, "It has seemed to me for a long time that there was a good case for presenting my father's long version of the legend of The Children of Hurin as an independent work, between its own covers." According to the official Tolkien Estate web site the story is one of three "Great Tales" which played a major part of the saga of Middle Earth: "Beren & Luthien," "The Fall of Gondolin" and "The Children of Hurin," none of which were completed by the author before his death.

While some basics of the story are already known and have been published in fragmented and heavily edited forms, specifics of the new novel are being held closely secret by publishers Harper-Collins and the Tolkien Estate, which owns rights for the work.

According to the Tolkien Estate it was the wish of JRR Tolkien that his Christopher Tolkien, his third son, would become the executor of his literary legacy, including volumes of unpublished work. This has included Christopher Tolkien's editing of the Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales as well as the 12 volume History of Middle Earth which includes the Book of Lost Tales, exploring the development of Middle Earth. The Children of Hurin, however, will be the first released fully developed novel since the publication of The Silmarillion.

The new novel is expected to become a major bestseller. The Tolkien Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to spreading interest in the works of JRR Tolkien, has stated that the story of The Children of Hurin would make an excellent movie, although it is unlikely the Tolkien Estate will allow such a movie to be made. They were unhappy with the recent trilogy directed by Peter Jackson and believe that JRR Tolkien's works should be allowed to speak for themselves.