Texts by J.R.R.Tolkien

Since the works of J.R.R.Tolkien are protected by copyright law, the texts here are encrypted. They are not for public use!

Most famous books

The Hobbit (1937)	A classical 'fairy-tale' for children. Afterwards Tolkien reached an opinion that the fairy-story 'is really an adult genre', not for children, and regretted the childish style and tone of this tale.
The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955)	A sequel of The Hobbit, also a fairy-tale, but it was written now for adults. Tolkien became a world-famous writer mainly thanks to this book.
The Silmarillion (1977)	Tolkien created his own mythology, the legends about the 'imaginary historical period' during all his life. He often refers to these legends in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings - that's the prehistory of these stories. He didn't manage to prepare these legends for publication during his life and most of them were published posthumously by his son, Christopher Tolkien.

Minor works

J.R.R. Tolkien died in 1973 - so practically all the posthumous editions, based on Tolkien's papers, were compiled by his son, Christopher Tolkien.

Books about Middle-earth

Middle-earth is the name by which the world portrayed in The Lord of the Rings and Tolkien's other works is often called.

The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (1962)	A small collection of hobbit poems with a preface.
The Road Goes Ever On(1967)	A collection of the poems from The Lord of the Rings set to music by Donald Swann (music for piano and guitar are enclosed). Notes and translations enclosed in the end of the book are of special interest.
Nomenclature of the The Lord of the Rings (1975, 2005)	Tolkien's instructions for translators. Unfortunately, these instructions are mostly for translators to German and related languages. Here you can learn the etymology of many names. It was published in the book A Tolkien Compass (1975) and (the expanded version) in the The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion(2005).
Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien (1979)	The first collection of Tolkien's pictures with comments by Christopher Tolkien. Practically all the pictures are devoted to Middle-earth.
Unfinished Tales(1980)	That is the first work of Christopher Tolkien's project to publish his father's drafts and unfinished works containing information not included into principal books.
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (1981)	The collection of Tolkien's letters. Mostly they are concerned with Middle-earth and the works of Tolkien that describe it.
The History of Middle-earth Series (1983-1996)	The collection of Tolkien's drafts and unfinished texts with comments by Christopher Tolkien. 12 volumes.
A chart of Quenya noun declensions by J.R.R.Tolkien from Vinyar Tengwar N.28 (1993)
Turin Prose Fragment (1995)	An Analysis of a Rúmilian Document by Arden R. Smith. Published in Vinyar Tengwar, no. 37.
The Gnomish Lexicon (1995)	One of two earliest Elvish dictionaries. Published in Parma Eldalamberon, No. 11.
Osanwe-kenta (1998)	The essay subtitled Enquiry into the Communication of Thought.Edited with introduction, glossaries, and additional notes by Carl F. Hostetter. Published in Vinyar Tengwar, no. 39.
Appendix D to Quendi and Eldar (1998)	The appendix to the essay Quendi and Eldar excluded from publication in The War of the Jewels. Edited with introduction, glossaries, and additional notes by Carl F. Hostetter. Published in Vinyar Tengwar, no. 39.
Some notes by J.R.R.Tolkien from Vinyar Tengwar N.41 (2000)	Edited with notes by Carl F.Hostetter
"The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor" by J.R.R.Tolkien from Vinyar Tengwar N.42 (2001)	Edited with notes by Christopher Tolkien and Carl F.Hostetter
New quotes from The Hunt for the Ring (2005)	Published in The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull.
New quotes from Unfinished Index (2005)	Published in The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull.
New quotes from Lord of the Rings time-schemes (2005)	Published in The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull.

Non-Middle-earth texts

The Dragon's Visit	Humorous poem
The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun (1945)
Tree and Leaf (1964)	A collection that consists of two works - an essay On Fairy-Stories (1947) and tale-parable Leaf by Niggle (1945). The second edition, issued in 1988, also contains the poem Mythopoeia.
Farmer Giles of Ham(1949)	The humourous tale.
The Homecoming of Beorthnoth Beorhthelm's Son(1953)	A fragment of an epic poem (about the Battle of Maldon) and extensive comments concerning Old English poetry.
Smith of Wootton Major (1967)	Very good tale. One may say, a parable. Tolkien's notes and comments added.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, Sir Orfeo (1975)	Tolkien's translations of medieval poems.
The Father Christmas Letters(1976)	The Christmas letters that Tolkien wrote (and illustrated) for his children on behalf of Father Christmas.
Mr. Bliss (1982)	The humourous tale of adventures of gentleman Mr. Bliss.
Finn and Hengest (1982)	The academic study of two interrelated episodes in Anglo-Saxon poems.
The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays (1983) (some of the essays)	A collection of different Tolkien essays, mostly not connected directly with Middle-earth.
Roverandom (1998)	The tale of a little dog who is magically transformed into a toy and has many fantastic adventures.