The Great Tales of Middle-Earth: The Children of Hurin, Beren and Luthien, and the Fall of Gondolin

The Great Tales of Middle-earth is a beautiful boxed set of the most recently published novels of Middle-earth: Children of Hurin, Beren and Luthien, and The Fall of Gondolin, packaged together for the first time. Completing Christopher Tolkien's lifelong achievement as the editor and curator of his father J.R.R. Tolkien's manuscripts, The Great Tales features handsome color plates and maps by famed illustrator Alan Lee.

A gorgeous box set, The Great Tales presents the three final novels of Middle-Earth together for the first time: The Children of Hurin, Beren and Luthien, and The Fall of Gondolin

The Children of Hurin was the first complete book by J.R.R.Tolkien since the 1977 publication of The Silmarillion. Six thousand years before the One Ring is destroyed, Middle-earth lies under the shadow of the Dark Lord Morgoth. The greatest warriors among elves and men have perished, and all is in darkness and despair. But a deadly new leader rises, Turin, son of Hurin, and with his grim band of outlaws begins to turn the tide in the war for Middle-earth -- awaiting the day he confronts his destiny and the deadly curse laid upon him.

Beren and Luthien was, or became, an essential element in the evolution of The Silmarillion, the myths and legends of the First Age of the World conceived by J.R.R. Tolkien. Essential to the story, and never changed, is the fate that shadowed the love of Beren and Luthien: for Beren was a mortal man, but Luthien was an immortal elf. Her father, a great elvish lord, in deep opposition to Beren, imposed on him an impossible task that he must perform before he might wed Luthien. This is the kernel of the legend; and it leads to the supremely heroic attempt of Beren and Luthien together to rob the greatest of all evil beings, Melkor, called Morgoth, the Black Enemy, of a Silmaril.

The Fall of Gondolin completes the set and tells the story of the destruction of the legendary city of Gondolin at the hands of evil Morgoth in retaliation against Ulmo, the Lord of the Waters, who favors man. At core is the tale of Tuor, cousin of Turin, his wife, Idril, daughter of Turgon, king of Gondolin, and their child, Earendel, who became great in Gondolin, but had to flee the blazing wreckage of his home when Morgoth attacked. Each hardcover volume includes color plates and black and white maps by famed, award-winning illustrator Alan Lee.

J.R.R. TOLKIEN (1892-1973) is the creator of Middle-earth and author of such classic and extraordinary works of fiction as The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. His books have been translated into more than fifty languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide. CHRISTOPHER TOLKIEN (1924-2020) was the third son of J.R.R. Tolkien. Appointed by Tolkien to be his literary executor, he devoted himself to the editing and publication of unpublished writings, notably The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, and The History of Middle-earth. ALAN LEE was born in Middlesex in 1947. His illustrated books include Faeries (with Brian Froud), Castles and Merlin Dreams , and the three 'Great Tales' of Middle-earth: The Children of Hurin , Beren and Luthien , and The Fall of Gondolin . He has worked on such prestigious films as Erik the Viking (Terry Gilliam), Legend (Ridley Scott), and the acclaimed NBC miniseries Merlin . He is best known, however, for his work on the books The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings , and now the film versions.

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