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Houghton Mifflin Harcourt To Publish J.R.R. Tolkien’s Final Middle-Earth Writings In 2021

Nature of Middle Earth

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books & Media will publish The Nature of Middle-earth, a previously unseen collection of writings by J.R.R. Tolkien, in the U.S. on June 24, 2021. Presented for the first time in one volume and edited by Carl F. Hostetter, the writings will transport readers back to the world of The SilmarillionUnfinished Tales, and The Lord of the Rings.

Deb Brody, HMH’s VP and Publisher, says: “It is well known that J.R.R. Tolkien published The Hobbit in 1937 and The Lord of the Rings in 1954–5. What may be less known is that he continued to write about Middle-earth in the decades that followed, right up until the years before his death in 1973.

“For him, Middle-earth was part of an entire world to be explored, and the writings in The Nature of Middle-earth reveal the journeys that he took as he sought to better understand his unique creation. From sweeping themes as profound as Elvish immortality and reincarnation, and the Powers of the Valar, to the more earth-bound subjects of the lands and beasts of Númenor, the geography of the Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor, and even who had beards!

“This new collection is a veritable treasure-trove offering readers a chance to peer over Professor Tolkien’s shoulder at the very moment of discovery: and on every page, Middle-earth is once again brought to extraordinary life.”

The Hobbit was first published in 1937 and The Lord of the Rings in 19545. Each has since gone on to become a beloved classic of literature, and an international bestseller in more than 70 languages, collectively selling more than 150,000,000 copies worldwide. 

The Nature of Middle-earth will be published subsequently in several languages by numerous Tolkien publishers worldwide.