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Taken from a post to the alt.fantasy newsgroup
WorldFAQ:
J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth
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1]. Quick Reference
Tolkien's Middle-earth is set in our world's past in an
imaginary time about 6000 years ago. Includes some
anacronistic technology and culture. The primary sources
are J.R.R. Tolkien's books THE HOBBIT, THE LORD OF THE
RINGS, and THE SILMARILLION.
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2]. Printed Sources Bibliography
These are the books I have which I use for my own personal
researches. There are numerous printings and editions. Wayne G.
Hammond published J.R.R. TOLKIEN: A DESCRIPTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY from
St. Paul's Bibliographies and Oak Knoll Books in 1993. His
knowledge of what was printed when and where by far exceeds my
own.
The ISBNs given below are only good for the United States. I
have one UK book, THE PEOPLES OF MIDDLE-EARTH, for which the ISBN
is 0-261-10337-7. I provide these references only so people can
check my citations when and where I provide them, if they have
access to these same editions.
Also, the fact that I own hardbacks is no gaurantee that the
hardback editions are still available.
Unless I can note otherwise (more than likely under Wayne
Hammond's gentle corrective hand), UK versions are assumed to be
published by HarperCollins. Older imprints would be under the
names of Allen & Unwin or Unwin Hyman.
THE ANNOTATED HOBBIT (American Edition), ed. by Douglas A.
Anderson, Doubleday Book Club Edition, 1988. The original
American edition was published by Houghton Mifflin Company. THE
HOBBIT by J.R.R. TOLKIEN has been available in both paperback and
hardback rather continuously through the years.
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, ed. by Douglas A. Anderson, Houghton
Mifflin Company, 1987/1993, ISBN 0-395-48931-8. Also available
in paperback. These books are not considered an official
edition. I use the term "ed." because Anderson submitted some
corrections for the text of this and the two following volumes,
as well as a "Note on the text". The reference is thus intended
only to distinguish between this printing and any others by
Houghton Mifflin Company.
THE TWO TOWERS, ed. by Douglas A. Anderson, Houghton Mifflin
Company, 1987/1993, ISBN 0-395-48933-4. Also available in
paperback.
THE RETURN OF THE KING, ed. by Douglas A. Anderson, Houghton
Mifflin Company, 1987/1993, ISBN 0-395-48930-X. Also available
in paperback.
THE SILMARILLION, ed. by Christopher Tolkien, Houghton Mifflin
Company, 1977, ISBN 0-395-25730-1. Also available in paperback.
UNFINISHED TALES, ed. by Christopher Tolkien, Houghton Mifflin
Company, 1980, ISBN 0-395-29917-9. Also available in paperback.
THE ROAD GOES EVER ON, Donald Swann (with notes by J.R.R.
Tolkien), Ballantine, 1967. Reprinted in 1978. Now out of print
(except in the German edition).
THE TOLKIEN READER, Ballantine, 1966, ISBN 345-24831-175. This
is a reprint of THE ADVENTURES OF TOM BOMBADIL, FARMER GILES OF
HAM, and TREE AND LEAF.
THE ADVENTURES OF TOM BOMBADIL. I don't have a copy. I've seen
it in hardback and, I think, in paperback.
POEMS AND STORIES BY J.R.R. TOLKIEN contains all of the material
in THE TOLKIEN READER except for Peter S. Beagle's introduction.
Also contains SMITH OF WOOTEN MAJOR and the full-page illustrations
for FARMER GILES OF HAM. This was published by Houghton Mifflin
Company in the US.
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3]. Audio/Visual Adaptations
"The Hobbit", Rankin/Bass, 1977. Animated television production.
"The Return Of The King", Rankin/Bass. Animated television
production.
"The Lord Of The Rings, Part One", Ralph Bakshi, 1980. Animated
cinematic production.
A new movie is supposedly in the works in New Zealand, directed
by Peter Jackson ("The Frighteners", et. al.). Miramax was
going to fund the movie but the project fell through. As of
this writing, there is a rumor circulating that Jackson has
found a new source of funding.
LOTR and THE HOBBIT have been recorded on tape. The BBC version
of LOTR is the most popular, I believe.
Tolkien also recorded some of his work in the 1960s. I haven't
heard that the album has been rereleased on any medium.
The following information was provided by other Tolkien fans:
From Robert Teague:
------------------
Poems and Songs of Middle-earth read by Tolkien, sung
by Donald Swann
J.R.R. Tolkien reads and sings his THE HOBBIT and The
Fellowship of the Ring
Of the Darkening of Valinor and Of the Flight of the
Noldor read by C.J.R. Tolkien
Of Beren and Luthien read by C.J.R.Tolkien
All are by Caedmon. (I thought I had a fifth one, but
it's not with the others. I'll have to look a little
more closely.)
And in fact, shortly after posting the above, I found
it: an album from The Two Towers and Return of the
King.
From Chad Ryan Thomas:
---------------------
Leonard Rosenman's superb soundtrack to Bakshi's dismal
movie has been reissued on CD by Intrada Film Music
Treasury Series, catalog # FMT 8003D. It cost me about
$8 (US) more than a normal CD, but it was worth it.
From Paul Poulton:
-----------------
In about 1975 Nicol Williamson recorded The Hobbit on
LP. It consists of four vinyl records of about an hour
each and was as "an ARGO recording, released for its
members in Australia by World Record Club". The story
itself is largely intact but has been edidted down
from the estimated 8 LPs they thought it would take.
Williamson also does all the voice charcterisations and
does them remarkably well.
Johan de Meij wrote "Symphony No. 1: The Lord of the Rings".
Movements include "Gandalf: The Wizard", "Lothlorien: The
Elvenwood", "Gollum: Smeagol", "Journey in the Dark", and
"Hobbits".
Glass Hammer produced "Journey of the Dunadan" on CD, a tribute
to Tolkien focusing on Aragorn's perspective in the LOTR story.
It's just been reissued (well, coming out in April, 1997) by
Sound Resources. Send email to audio111@aol.com (Audio111) for
information.
Various rock artists have included references to Tolkien in their
songs, including Led Zeppelin and Rush.
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4]. Related Materials Bibliography
TOLKIEN: A BIOGRAPHY, Humphrey Carpenter, Ballantine, 1978, ISBN
0-345-27256-0. Currently out of print in the US. Also available
in paperback in the UK.
THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO MIDDLE-EARTH, Robert Foster, Del Rey, 1978,
ISBN 0-345-27520-9. Also available in paperback. Hardback may
no longer be in print.
THE LETTERS OF J.R.R. TOLKIEN, ed. by Humphrey Carpenter,
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1981. ISBN 0-395-31555-7. Out of
print in the US. Available from HarperCollins in whatever
countries it publishes in (including Canada and the UK).
A new edition is due out later this year or in 1999 (with
an improved, more extensive index).
THE ROAD TO MIDDLE-EARTH, re-issued, HarperCollins, 1998.
This is a critical book by Tom Shippey that has been well
received by many Tolkien fans. No details yet on its
availability in the US.
Of the following books, I have seen volumes I through V in trade
paperback form (large paperback sizes) in the US. Reports now
indicate that all twelve volumes have been published in
paperback form at least in the UK (by HarperCollins).
THE HISTORY OF MIDDLE-EARTH, ed. by Christopher Tolkien,
-- Vol. I, The Book Of Lost Tales, Part One, Houghton Mifflin
Company, 1984, ISBN 0-395-35439-0.
-- Vol. II, The Book Of Lost Tales, Part Two, Houghton Mifflin
Company, 1984, ISBN 0-395-36614-3.
-- Vol. III, The Lays Of Beleriand, Houghton Mifflin Company,
1985, ISBN 0-395-39429-5.
-- Vol. IV, The Shaping Of Middle-earth, Houghton Mifflin
Company, 1986, ISBN 0-395-42501-8.
-- Vol. V, The Lost Road And Other Writings, Houghton Mifflin
Company, 1987, ISBN 0-395-45519-7.
-- Vol. VI, The Return Of The Shadow, Houghton Mifflin Company,
1988, ISBN 0-395-49863-5.
-- Vol. VII, The Treason Of Isengard, Houghton Mifflin Company,
1989, ISBN 0-395-51562-9.
-- Vol. VIII, The War Of The Ring, Houghton Mifflin Company,
1990, ISBN 0-395-56008-X.
-- Vol. IX, Sauron Defeated, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992,
ISBN 0-395-60649-7.
-- Vol. X, Morgoth's Ring, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1993, ISBN
0-395-68092-1.
-- Vol. XI, The War Of The Jewels, Houghton Mifflin Company,
1994, ISBN 0-395-71041-3.
-- Vol. XII, The Peoples Of Middle-earth, Houghton Mifflin
Company, 1996, ISBN 0-395-82760-4.
MR. BAGGINS (working title), possibly to be published as BILBO
BAGGINS, THE HISTORY OF THE HOBBIT. Work in progress, begun
by the late Taum Santoski, now under the care of John Rateliff.
This book promises to be a full treatment of the sources of
THE HOBBIT similar to THE HISTORY OF MIDDLE-EARTH.
There are yet other books concerning Middle-earth, too many to
list here. Some are critical commentaries, some deal more with
Tolkien and his life or philosophy, some purport to be reference
works, etc.
BORED OF THE RINGS: A PARODY OF J.R.R. TOLKIEN'S THE LORD OF THE
RINGS, Henry N. Beard and Douglas C. Kenney, New American Library,
1969. ISBN 0-451-007054-2.
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5]. Online References
A) News Groups
alt.fan.tolkien
alt.fantasy
rec.arts.books.tolkien
B) Mailing/Discussion Lists
See the SiteList FAQ.
C) Web sites
http://hamster.wibble.org/tolkien.html
This is a comprehensive list of Tolkien-related
Web sites and online media. This is the URL
for the Tolkien Sitelist FAQ.
Also take a look at TALK ABOUT J.R.R. TOLLKIEN
AND MIDDLE-EARTH: A GUIDE TO TOLKIEN DISCUSSION
ON THE WEB
http://www.xenite.org/talk/tolkien.htm
LOTR/HOBBIT MOVIE FACT/RUMOR ROUNDUP
http://www.xenite.org/faqs/lotr_movie.htm
The Tolkien Society
http://www.tolkiensociety.org/
D) Online services
THE WHITE COUNCIL: DISCUSSION AND FAQS FOR FANS
OF TOLKIEN AND THE INKLINGS
http://www.xenite.org/boards/tolkien/jt_board.htm
This is a web-based messaging board with no special
software requirements. It contains an index to
other sites with FAQs or FAQ-like formats in several
languages.
E) IRC
Tolkien (no details)
Middle-earth (no details)
F) Comprehensive lists of resources
Tolkien: Frequently Asked Questions (2 parts), posted
every 28 days to alt.fan.tolkien,
rec.arts.books.tolkien, rec.answers, alt.answers,
news.answers. Maintained by William D.B. Loos
<loos@hudce.harvard.edu>.
Tolkien: Less Frequently Asked Questions, posted every
28 days to alt.fan.tolkien, rec.arts.books.tolkien,
rec.answers, alt.answers, news.answers. Maintained by
William D.B. Loos <loos@hudce.harvard.edu>.
Tolkien SiteList FAQ, posted every 7 days to
alt.fan.tolkien, rec.arts.books.tolkien. Maintained by
Mark Lowes <SiteList@flyhmstr.demon.co.uk>. Requests
for copies may be sent to an autoresponder at
sitelistfaq@flyhmstr.demon.co.uk.
Tolkien Movie FAQ, posted infrequently to
alt.fan.tolkien, rec.arts.books.tolkien.
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6]. Description
Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age of the Sun is but a
remnant of an older, mythical world which at one time
included lost Numenor (Atlantis) and Valinor (the realm of
the Valar and Eldar). The three regions of Middle-earth
portrayed with the most detail are Eriador, Rhovanion, and
Gondor. The races of Middle-earth include Men, Elves, Ents,
Dwarves, Hobbits, Orcs, Trolls, and Dragons.
Eriador lies on the northwest coast of the old world. It
was formerly dominated by a great kingdom called Arnor, but
through the millenia was depopulated by wars and plague
until only a few enclaves of Elves, Dwarves, Men, and
Hobbits remain. Outside the enclaves wild creatures wander
and are hunted by Rangers, the last descendants of the ancient
kings and their people.
Rhovanion lies east of Eriador beyond the Misty Mountains.
It is home to Dwarves, Elves, Men, and perhaps even a few
Hobbits. In a great forest called Mirkwood a mighty kingdom
of Wood-elves defies evil creatures and maintains a bulwark
behind which some tribes of Men survive. The Dwarves of
Durin's folk wander from home to home in the mountains,
harrassed by Sauron, the ancient Enemy, who maintains a
stronghold in southern Mirkwood called Dol Guldur.
Gondor lies in the south. It was a sister realm to Arnor
and grew to be quite large, encompassing many lands at the
height of its power. Its eastern lands have fallen away,
and Sauron has reinhabited Mordor, his eastern land that for
long was watched over by Gondor. And Gondor's northern
lands are now inhabited by the Rohirrim, a tribe of Northmen
from Rhovanion who are allied with Gondor.
Beyond Rhovanion lies Rhun, the East, wild lands where nations
of Men and Dwarves have fallen under Sauron's shadow. He uses
nations to weaken and threaten the western realms wherever
possible. Beyond the mountains bordering Rhovanion's northern
marches lies a great waste and a small land, the Withered
Heath, where the ancient dragons hid and bred.
Beyond Gondor and Mordor lie the lands of Harad, called Near
Harad and Far Harad. The Numenoreans, ancestors of the
Dunedain of Arnor and Gondor, settled these lands but turned
to evil and most if not all of their enclaves were absorbed
by other peoples.
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7]. Maintainer Information
FAQ owner: Michael Martinez <Michael@xenite.org>
Last Updated: August 23, 1998
Contributions to this FAQ were made by:
Richard Crawshaw <richard@crowswood.demon.co.uk>
Nick Cuce' <dcuce@astro.ocis.temple.edu>
Martial Dufour <bdufo01@students.bbk.ac.uk>
Joshua Dyal <j-dyal@geocities.com>
Wayne G. Hammond <Wayne.G.Hammond@williams.edu>
William Cloud Hicklin <solicitr@gamewood.net>
Kashamoo <Kashamoo@aol.com>
Robert B. Marks <4rbm2@qlink.queensu.ca>
Paul Poulson <baralier@mpx.com.au>
Roscinante <rosc@fbn.ppp.cyberenet.net>
Robert Teague <rteague@bellsouth.net>
Chad Ryan Thomas <crthomas@indiana.edu>
Jonathan Dresner <jdresner@husc.harvard.edu>
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