Written before The Hobbit, a Norse tale from the grandmaster of fantasy. Pre-order – out May 5, 2009.
What it’s about – from the cover
The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún is a previously unpublished work by J.R.R. Tolkien, written while Tolkien was Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford during the 1920s and ‘30s, before he wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It makes available for the first time Tolkien’s extensive retelling in English narrative verse of the epic Norse tales of Sigurd the Völsung and The Fall of the Niflungs. It includes an introduction by J.R.R. Tolkien, drawn from one of his own lectures on Norse literature, with commentary and notes on the poems by Christopher Tolkien.
The author
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, The Silmarillion, and The Children of Húrin. His books have been translated into more than forty languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.
[...] The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun – J.R.R. Tolkien [...]
According to the Telegraph, the new Tolkien book is already one of Britain’s most pre-ordered titles, stating that fans of Tolkien’s book will seek clues to the characters and events in his later novels, “The Hobbit” and “Lord of the Rings”. The new Tolkien book is however something ‘completely different’, but nonetheless incredibly fascinating.
In the introduction of the book, Christopher Tolkien dates this work to the earlier 30s, so just before he wrote “The Hobbit” and while he was professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford. The text was hidden away for many years but will be released worldwide on Tuesday, 5th of May 2009, by the writer’s reclusive 84-year-old son Christopher, who has edited the book from his home in France.
The new book consists of two closely associated poems, to which Tolkien gave the titles “The New Lay of the Volsungs” and “The New Lay of Gudrun”, based on the legends of Völsung and Nibelung. The two poems are written in modern English fitted to the Old Norse metre, and now appear for the first time as “The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun.”
Read the rest of the review here: http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/press/884-Review_The_Legend_of_Sigurd_and_Gudrun.php
The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun Release Party is an online event to celebrate the publication of The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun, the new book by J.R.R. Tolkien, first released worldwide on Tuesday 5th of May 2009. It will be released in the UK by Tolkien publisher HarperCollins and in the US by Houghton Mifflin.
The release event will take place online on May the 5th, 2009 and is being organized by TolkienLibrary.com. Here is all info:
http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/press/882-Legend_of_Sigurd_and_Gudrun_Release_Event.php
Next to chatting and celebrating the release of the new Tolkien book there will be giveaways and a Q&A with special guest Tom Shippey.
[...] today – The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun by J.R.R. Tolkein 5 05 2009 The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun by J.R.R. Tolkein is released today, May 5, 2009. See our review [...]