The Treason of Isengard: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part Two
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- Author：J.R.R. Tolkien
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Summary
The Treason of Isengard continues the account of the creation of The Lord of the Rings started in the earlier volume， The Return of the Shadow。
It traces the great expansion of the tale into new lands and peoples south and east of the Misty Mountains: the emergence of Lothlórien， of Ents， of the Riders of Rohan， and of Saruman the White in the fortress of Isengard。
In brief outlines and pencilled drafts dashed down on scraps of paper are seen the first entry of Galadriel， the earliest ideas of the history of Gondor， and the original meeting of Aragorn and Éowyn， its significance destined to be wholly transformed。
The book also contains a full account of the original map which was to be the basis of the emerging geography of Middle-earth; and an appendix examines the Runic alphabets， with illustrations of the forms and an analysis of the Runes used in the Book of Mazarbul found beside Balin's tomb in Moria。
It traces the great expansion of the tale into new lands and peoples south and east of the Misty Mountains: the emergence of Lothlórien， of Ents， of the Riders of Rohan， and of Saruman the White in the fortress of Isengard。
In brief outlines and pencilled drafts dashed down on scraps of paper are seen the first entry of Galadriel， the earliest ideas of the history of Gondor， and the original meeting of Aragorn and Éowyn， its significance destined to be wholly transformed。
The book also contains a full account of the original map which was to be the basis of the emerging geography of Middle-earth; and an appendix examines the Runic alphabets， with illustrations of the forms and an analysis of the Runes used in the Book of Mazarbul found beside Balin's tomb in Moria。
Reviews
Linda ~ they got the mustard out！ ~
，
Picking up where the last one ended （yet another revision of the chapters up to the Mines of Moria， this goes through yet more revisions and returns to previously abandoned ideas， the most interesting being Hamilcar Bolger， aka Ham， and his adventures first as an abductee of the Nazgul and then as a traveling companion to Gandalf。 Just the thought of the Nazgul riding around the countryside with Ham is humorous to me - until you realize that they'd just kill him upon discovering he doesn't have Picking up where the last one ended （yet another revision of the chapters up to the Mines of Moria， this goes through yet more revisions and returns to previously abandoned ideas， the most interesting being Hamilcar Bolger， aka Ham， and his adventures first as an abductee of the Nazgul and then as a traveling companion to Gandalf。 Just the thought of the Nazgul riding around the countryside with Ham is humorous to me - until you realize that they'd just kill him upon discovering he doesn't have the ring。 Tolkien came to the same conclusion and finally cut him from the quest。 :（ （But he'll survive in Fatty Bolger， as the hobbit who stayed behind。）It was interesting to see that Tolkien thought he could wrap up this story more quickly than actually happened。 His preliminary outline of Frodo and Sam's journey cut right to Cirith Ungol and he clearly had no idea how to get them out of that situation。 There's no hint of the passage of the Dead Marshes， and certainly no hint of Faramir。 Heck， he just barely came up with Denethor。Seeing the Rohan side of things was interesting too。 Treebeard is finally determined not to be evil， Saruman was theorized to be the balrog for a hot minute， Wormtongue's just a dude in Théoden's court， Théoden momentarily had a daughter who was just as quickly overlooked and discarded， poor thing， among other things。 The outlines and discarded ideas and storylines in these histories are a treasure trove for AU fanfics。Sadly， a lot of the earliest writing of the Rohan chapters was "lost" due to Tolkien's habit during this time to erase the penciled draft and write over it in ink。 It was interesting to see things like the actual Mariner song that should have been in the published LOTR but was misplaced at the time of submission， and the various little mistakes that never got edited out of the book， and not all of them are easily remedied， such as what exactly was Shadowfax up to between Weathertop/Rivendell and him showing up in Rohan three months later， since it obviously wouldn't have taken him that long to get there。 （I decided he found Bill the Pony wandering around after being released outside Moria and escorted him to Bree。 :D Before that？ I don't know。 Probably just enjoying his freedom， lol。）This ends with the King of the Golden Hall， and a rough outline of the Frodo and Sam chapters up to the escape from Cirith Ungol， and Tolkien realizing he'd need to split the storylines and move Frodo and Sam's half to after everyone else's parts。 。。。more
Ancillar
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skimmednote "Appendix on Runes" at end skimmednote "Appendix on Runes" at end 。。。more
Martti
，
Seriously， what's with renaming everyone every other draft？ Hamilcar Bolger， Faramond Took， Peregrin Boffin， Folco Boffin， Odo， Drogo， Frodo， Bingo。 The Land of Ond， Ondor， Gondor。 Trotter。 In the Fourth iteration of the narrative Gandalf is held captive by a Giant Treebeard。 And a lot of messing around with all the place names。 No idea why not just stick with first one？HOME7 still deals in large parts with rewritings of the Fellowship and maybe dips into Two Towers a bit as well， but it clearly Seriously， what's with renaming everyone every other draft？ Hamilcar Bolger， Faramond Took， Peregrin Boffin， Folco Boffin， Odo， Drogo， Frodo， Bingo。 The Land of Ond， Ondor， Gondor。 Trotter。 In the Fourth iteration of the narrative Gandalf is held captive by a Giant Treebeard。 And a lot of messing around with all the place names。 No idea why not just stick with first one？HOME7 still deals in large parts with rewritings of the Fellowship and maybe dips into Two Towers a bit as well， but it clearly was a massive long process。 One can just admire the grit， or despair on the perfectionism。This history of LOTR is still a set of paradoxes - mind-numbingly boring and fascinating at the same time。 。。。more
Mitch Milam
，
If the next book opens with yet another return to the Shire， then I will cackle for a full 23 minutes before lighting myself on fire。 Real talk: This was interesting and informative just like the last book， but the narrative is starting to resemble the published text more and more with each passing chapter which means it's not nearly as amusing and wild anymore lol。 I'd much rather read the final published form。 If the next book opens with yet another return to the Shire， then I will cackle for a full 23 minutes before lighting myself on fire。 Real talk: This was interesting and informative just like the last book， but the narrative is starting to resemble the published text more and more with each passing chapter which means it's not nearly as amusing and wild anymore lol。 I'd much rather read the final published form。 。。。more
Matias Cerizola
，
La Traición De Isengard。- J。R。R。 Tolkien"Regresaré a ti y te volveré a buscar， regresaré a ti y te confortaré， y te encontraré en la lluvia。 Juntos caminaremos por la tierra y recogeremos la semilla y el fruto y viajaremos a una isla donde los dos podamos vivir de nuevo。"La Traición De Isengard es el segundo volumen de la Historia De El Señor De Los Anillos， una serie de libros editados por Christopher Tolkien donde se muestra la evolución a través de los años de la escritura d La Traición De Isengard。- J。R。R。 Tolkien"Regresaré a ti y te volveré a buscar， regresaré a ti y te confortaré， y te encontraré en la lluvia。 Juntos caminaremos por la tierra y recogeremos la semilla y el fruto y viajaremos a una isla donde los dos podamos vivir de nuevo。"La Traición De Isengard es el segundo volumen de la Historia De El Señor De Los Anillos， una serie de libros editados por Christopher Tolkien donde se muestra la evolución a través de los años de la escritura de esta monumental obra。En esta etapa de la escritura de ESDLA， año 1942， tenemos otro cambio en Trotter， ya está cerca de ser el Aragorn que todos conocemos， se reescribe parte del viaje de Hobbiton a Bree， Hamilcar Bolger （luego Fredegar） tiene una participación mayor， tiene las primeras apariciones Saramund （luego Saruman）， vemos la evolución del Concilio de Elrond mediante varias versiones， tenemos el primer contacto con Galadriel， una versión un tanto distinta de la muerte de Boromir， un borrador escrito sobre otro borrador describiendo a los Jinetes de Rohan y （entre otros muchos más temas） la historia de la escritura de Barbol y el primer mapa hecho por Tolkien de ESDLA。 También resulta muy interesante el capítulo final dedicado a las Runas que se leen la tumba de Balin en Moría。Cómo en el caso del libro anterior de la serie， El Retorno De La Sombra， esta no es una lectura para iniciarse en El Señor De Los Anillos o en la Tierra Media， sin dudas estos libros están pensados para quien tenga bien presente la historia finalmente publicada y poder así apreciar mejor el tremendo trabajo de escritura que hizo nuestro querido Profesor。 🤘🤘🤘Libro leído para la LC #tokienreadalong2019 。。。more
Noelle
，
Compared to The Return of the Shadow， this book just doesn't measure up。 Much less fun trivia， more first draft paragraphs。 Also， it frequently refers directly to the text of The Two Towers， as if it expects the reader to have he Two Towers available for reference at all times。 This book was still interesting in showing how close Tolkien's prose is in his rough drafts to the final form， and in how uniquely he develops plot。 Also， as someone who enjoyed reading LOTR more than the Silmarillion， it Compared to The Return of the Shadow， this book just doesn't measure up。 Much less fun trivia， more first draft paragraphs。 Also， it frequently refers directly to the text of The Two Towers， as if it expects the reader to have he Two Towers available for reference at all times。 This book was still interesting in showing how close Tolkien's prose is in his rough drafts to the final form， and in how uniquely he develops plot。 Also， as someone who enjoyed reading LOTR more than the Silmarillion， it's bizarre that I now found myself wishing for the planned out complexity of the First Age storylines。 You can tell Tolkien's passion was really in those stories。 。。。more
Allison Taylor-Ohar
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I did not enjoy the chapter on maps but the rest was very interesting！
Michael Joosten
，
This was one of the volumes of The History of Middle-earth that my local library didn't have when I was a teen， so it has always been a volume of minor fascination to me as a gap in the deeper-set foundations of my Tolkien knowledge， but it's just possible that the reason for this is that I have at forgotten this book a few times。 Though having just reread it， I am currently of the mindset that this is the volume where The Lord of the Rings as we know it really took shape。。。 This was one of the volumes of The History of Middle-earth that my local library didn't have when I was a teen， so it has always been a volume of minor fascination to me as a gap in the deeper-set foundations of my Tolkien knowledge， but it's just possible that the reason for this is that I have at forgotten this book a few times。 Though having just reread it， I am currently of the mindset that this is the volume where The Lord of the Rings as we know it really took shape。。。 。。。more
Ben Duerksen
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An amazing piece of scholarship， the second volume in a series which chronicles the writing and many revisions of the LoTR trilogy。 This second book in the series mostly covers from the start of the Two Towers through to Gandalf’s arrival in Rohan， though there’s some additional coverage on the evolution of Gandalf’s battle in Moria， as well as overall conceptions that would later be applied to earlier phases of writing。 The book additionally includes a chapter on the evolving geography of Middl An amazing piece of scholarship， the second volume in a series which chronicles the writing and many revisions of the LoTR trilogy。 This second book in the series mostly covers from the start of the Two Towers through to Gandalf’s arrival in Rohan， though there’s some additional coverage on the evolution of Gandalf’s battle in Moria， as well as overall conceptions that would later be applied to earlier phases of writing。 The book additionally includes a chapter on the evolving geography of Middle Earth， for those interested in Tolkien’s maps。 I found the writing in this volume more confusing than the first， likely because the various drafts and revisions covered in the book were less well delineated than earlier chapters。 It’s stunning to discover just how fluid Tolkien’s process was， with concepts and names constantly in flux yet here and there with entire chunks that were hardly changed from first draft to publication。 。。。more
Jenna （Falling Letters）
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The first part of this one took me awhile to get through because it's mostly rewriting the passages from HoME Vol。 6。 I even skipped a chapter about maps。。。。。。 But by the end of the volume， we're in Rohan and that's one of my favourite parts。 The first part of this one took me awhile to get through because it's mostly rewriting the passages from HoME Vol。 6。 I even skipped a chapter about maps。。。。。。 But by the end of the volume， we're in Rohan and that's one of my favourite parts。 。。。more
samantha l。 frederick
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4。5
Richard
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Although not quite as exciting as the first part of Christopher Tolkien's account of the evolution of The Lord of the Rings， reviewed here， this is still a fascinating read for the Tolkien aficionado。 The reason for the "not quite" can be found not in the quality or detail of its scholarship （which is as meticulous as ever）， nor in any lack of substantial variation from the book as eventually published （there is plenty）， but emerges as a direct consequence of J。R。R。 Tolkien's writing process。 Th Although not quite as exciting as the first part of Christopher Tolkien's account of the evolution of The Lord of the Rings， reviewed here， this is still a fascinating read for the Tolkien aficionado。 The reason for the "not quite" can be found not in the quality or detail of its scholarship （which is as meticulous as ever）， nor in any lack of substantial variation from the book as eventually published （there is plenty）， but emerges as a direct consequence of J。R。R。 Tolkien's writing process。 The first 180+ pages of this volume are devoted to tracing， as Christopher makes clear， his father's attempts to resolve the "intractable problems" that had emerged during the drafts that make up The Return of the Shadow。 This means that the beginning of this book has to go over a lot of the ground of its predecessor before it can move forward; and for the reader who is hoping to see the story move from 3， to 4， to 5 （numbers arbitrary）， a return to 1。1， 1。2， and 1。3 can be a little frustrating。 Once this point is reached， though， with Tolkien senior eventually able to move on from Moria， to Lorien， to Rohan， there is plenty of fresh material to enjoy。 This ranges from early plot lines （Boromir's projected return to Minas Tirith）， to extended sequences of narrative that would end up changing quite radically （such as the early versions of Frodo and Sam's passage through Kirith Ungol and escape from Minas Morgul）， and also includes glimpses of radical changes that Tolkien considered only momentarily （such as having Gandalf face Saruman， instead of a Balrog， in Moria）， as well as absences （no Arwen or Faramir， as yet） and characters who lived for a few brief lines or pages， before vanishing （such as Idis， the daughter of Theoden， who appears beside Eowyn for a while， silent and overshadowed by her， until she is gone forever）。 Like the first volume， there is also plenty of detail on chronology and geography， and here for the first time an exhaustive examination of Tolkien's early maps， runes， and the evolution of some of the poems in the text。 Much of this can be safely skipped or skimmed; and indeed doing so， according to the reader's interest， might be the best way to make the most of an enjoyable but sometimes formidable book。 。。。more
Nathan Albright
，
The Treason Of Isengard （The History Of The Lord Of the Rings: Part Two）， by J。R。R。 TolkienIt is remarkable just how little of this book has to do with the Treason of Isengard。 Although I am very familiar with the writings of J。R。R。 Tolkien， I have to say that I was unaware that there was so big an interest in the manuscript history of his Lord of the Rings to make it worth making a giant series that relies on the fact that readers are not only aware of the Lord of the Rings itself but are int The Treason Of Isengard （The History Of The Lord Of the Rings: Part Two）， by J。R。R。 TolkienIt is remarkable just how little of this book has to do with the Treason of Isengard。 Although I am very familiar with the writings of J。R。R。 Tolkien， I have to say that I was unaware that there was so big an interest in the manuscript history of his Lord of the Rings to make it worth making a giant series that relies on the fact that readers are not only aware of the Lord of the Rings itself but are interested in seeing large amounts of variants that reveal the painstaking process by which that epic came into being。 And let it be understood that this book is by no means the only such book in the series--it is the second of three that I have read and it manages to cover some of the same ground that the first book had gone over showing the fourth and fifth （！） efforts that Tolkien made to get through some of the beginning chapters of the Fellowship of the Ring。 This sort of book is a clear example of a secondary work， one whose existence depends on the excellence and worth of a previous work， but such works are not bad ones。This book consists of twenty-six chapters featuring manuscripts and various comments by the Tolkiens on material that ranges from the beginning of Fellowship of the Ring to the beginning of The Two Towers。 The material includes a discussion of Galdalf's delay （1）， the fourth phase of the introduction to Fellowship （2，3）， more discussion about Gandalf and Saruman （4）， Bilbo's song at Rivendell （5）， the council of Elrond （6，7）， the movement of the ring to the south （8）， the mines of Moria （9，10）， the story as foreseen from that point （11）， ， Lothlorien （12）， and Galadriel （13）， and the farewell to Lorien （14）。 There are chapters on the first map of the LotR （15）， the story as foreseen from Lorien （16）， the great river （17）， the breaking of the fellowship （18）， the departure of Boromir （19）， the riders of Rohan （20）， the Uruk-hai （21）， Treeberad （22）， some miscellaneous notes （23）， the white rider （24）， the story foreseen from Fangorn （25）， and the king of the golden hall （26）， a well as an appendix on runes and an index。 All told， this material takes up more than 400 pages， some of it turning in itself in the way that snakes are sometimes shown to have devoured their own tails， but not in a bad way。It is hard to recommend this book to someone who is not a huge fan of Lord of the Rings。 While the original publishers of Tolkien's works wondered how big of an audience would be interested in the Hobbit and then Lord of the Rings and thought that they may lose money on it， the existence of this book not only proves that Lord of the Rings has a huge enough audience to support other books being written about it but that there is an audience that event wants to read the manuscripts that demonstrate the painfully slow process by which Tolkien's story that was originally going to be a simple and straightforward story of the destruction of the one ring as a sequel to the Hobbit became a sprawling epic that hinted at still more sprawling epic stories involved in his legendarium。 I found this book interesting， but at the same time I wonder if this sort of book is really a good one to enjoy very often， since like laws and sausages I would prefer not to know how my novels are made from endless and frustrating edits that add length and complexity to originally simple and straightforward plans， especially since Tolkien and I write in very different ways。 。。。more
Thijs
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An amazing work in which you really see LoTR 'post Moria' take shape。 Take for instance the instance of Galadriel， in the space of a few pages she went from non-existence to one of the most powerful beings in Middle-earth with a completely flashed out background and Elven Ring， which also solidified the way they had been created。On the other hand you have the subtle and complicated history of other subject， and the significants of certain lines from LoTR which take on soo much more of a backgrou An amazing work in which you really see LoTR 'post Moria' take shape。 Take for instance the instance of Galadriel， in the space of a few pages she went from non-existence to one of the most powerful beings in Middle-earth with a completely flashed out background and Elven Ring， which also solidified the way they had been created。On the other hand you have the subtle and complicated history of other subject， and the significants of certain lines from LoTR which take on soo much more of a background。 Simply amazing！I read the Lord of the Rings beforehand， but really I should read it when I finish this series。 。。。more
Warren Dunn
，
A little slow， making me wonder if I am getting tired of reading these drafts， or if the drafting of the Lord of the Rings is less interesting than that of The Silmarillion。 Much of the problem with this part of the series， I think， comes from the fact that Tolkien actually finished The Lord of the Rings， compared to the complete rewrites of The Silmarillion， which was only published after his death。 So much of the book is Christopher Tolkien listing only differences， instead of actually giving A little slow， making me wonder if I am getting tired of reading these drafts， or if the drafting of the Lord of the Rings is less interesting than that of The Silmarillion。 Much of the problem with this part of the series， I think， comes from the fact that Tolkien actually finished The Lord of the Rings， compared to the complete rewrites of The Silmarillion， which was only published after his death。 So much of the book is Christopher Tolkien listing only differences， instead of actually giving full drafts。 Doing the latter is out of the question， as we would get so many repetitive drafts of nearly the same thing that the readers certainly wouldn't be able to tell the difference。http://ossuslibrary。tripod。com/Bk_Fan。。。 。。。more
Nonethousand Oberrhein
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From Rivendell to RohanIt is undeniable that what pushes a reader to go through several versions of the same narrative goes beyond the simple curiosity。 There is a sort of affectionate awe in discovering how， layer after layer the personality of known characters are shaped， structured and anchored deep into the legendarium that defined a genre in the XXth century。 We readers are not here for the pretty story anymore， but to feel the blood and bones of a myth being born。Here below my reviews to t From Rivendell to RohanIt is undeniable that what pushes a reader to go through several versions of the same narrative goes beyond the simple curiosity。 There is a sort of affectionate awe in discovering how， layer after layer the personality of known characters are shaped， structured and anchored deep into the legendarium that defined a genre in the XXth century。 We readers are not here for the pretty story anymore， but to feel the blood and bones of a myth being born。Here below my reviews to the previous volumes of the History of Middle-earth:Vol。1: Sit down and listen Vol。2: Heroics of a young authorVol。3: The poet of Middle-earthVol。4: Sketches and Annals of the First AgeVol。5: A glimpse of NúmenorVol。6: When Trotter led the way 。。。more
Sarah Zama
，
Absolutely fantastic！While the first book in the History of the Lord of the Rings gave us a glimpse of what the story might have been （if WWII hadn't happened， in my opinion）， in this second volume we see characters and situations getting nearer to the story we know。 I was surprised of how slowly some things moved and morphed。 Aragorn is a clear example。 I thought there must be a time when Tolkien realised who he was。。。 but there isn't。 The character changes very slowly， imperceptibly， almost， a Absolutely fantastic！While the first book in the History of the Lord of the Rings gave us a glimpse of what the story might have been （if WWII hadn't happened， in my opinion）， in this second volume we see characters and situations getting nearer to the story we know。 I was surprised of how slowly some things moved and morphed。 Aragorn is a clear example。 I thought there must be a time when Tolkien realised who he was。。。 but there isn't。 The character changes very slowly， imperceptibly， almost， and at the beginning of The Two Towers he is still Trotter， Arwen hasn’t appeared yet and Tolkien planned to have him marry Eowyn！The tone of the story changes clearly， too。 After Tolkien paused for almost one year when WWII broke out， the story – which moves on from Rivendell – takes up a darker tone， although I was surprised to discover that the depth of the final work is still quite far。 Can't wait to read on！ 。。。more
Melissa
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As always with this series I find Christopher’s dedication and determination to compile all of this immensely interesting and thank him for the hours and hours of work it must have entailed， and the insight to how a great writer crafts his stories is invaluable and sadly with the advent of modern word processing， something we are unlikely to see laid out in this way ever again。
Michael Pryor
，
Insightful， illuminating， fascinating。
Brian
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Another collection of manuscripts showing the development of The Lord of the Rings， which proved just as helpful to me in understanding the mind of this highly influential author。 Again， this is only for the die-hards but there's a lot of people who fit that category， and I predict soon that we'll get lots of interpretations of Tolkien that will be absolute bunk， so let's note some stuff。 First off， I noticed that the way Tolkien writes， it is as though he thought of it as his duty not to invent Another collection of manuscripts showing the development of The Lord of the Rings， which proved just as helpful to me in understanding the mind of this highly influential author。 Again， this is only for the die-hards but there's a lot of people who fit that category， and I predict soon that we'll get lots of interpretations of Tolkien that will be absolute bunk， so let's note some stuff。 First off， I noticed that the way Tolkien writes， it is as though he thought of it as his duty not to invent the world of Middle Earth so much as to discover it。 This is one of the reasons the book has such weight: it feels like Tolkien thought the world had to be a certain way， whether he wanted it to be that way or not， and that has a huge impact。 It certainly makes things weird， but I think it explains the uncompromising nature of the project。Second， the most fascinating thing about this book is the fact that Tolkien clearly didn't know where he was going。 While many people highlight his perfectionism， pointing out that he wouldn't just copy and paste， and would always start over， this is only half the truth: Tolkien really did lean heavily on what he had already written and that's evident here。 Some of the funnest portions are the bits where， after having decided that Boromir should try to take the ring from Frodo， he ponders （in the manuscripts） completely different outcomes。 This shows that Tolkien was not at all sure where things would go， and thus any interpretation of the book that presupposes some grand platonic scheme in Tolkien's mind before he wrote the books must be discounted。 It also shows， in my opinion， that Tolkien was more plot centered than character centered。Here's some of the juiciest bits: before they got to Lothlorien， Tolkien intended for Sam to find Gollum and enlist his help in finding the fleeing Frodo。 At that point Gollum leads them to Mordor where black riders arrive， turned into demonic eagles。 Frodo and Sam reach the crack， Gollum takes the ring， but Sam grabs Gollum and dies with him in the gulf。 The idea of multiple spiders is also thought of at this point， as is the idea of Sam temporarily bearing the ring。 Also， when the ring is destroyed， wouldn't this have been cool: "Frodo standing on side of Fire Mountain holds up sword。 He now commands Ringwraiths and bids them be gone。 They fall to earth and vanish like wisps of smoke with a terrible wail。" （210）。 At the same time， Merry and Pippin meet Fangorn （no orc attack）， Legolas and Gimli get lost and are captured by Saruman， and Aragorn and Boromir go to Minas Tirith and when Denethor is killed， the men elect Aragorn， forcing Boromir to go to Saruman for help。 In some versions of this， Legolas and Gimli lose heart and head north， only to meet Gandalf。 Gandalf used mithril to escape Moria。 Saruman AND Sauron attack Minas Tirith at the same time， and Treebeard breaks the siege of Minas Tirith。 Tolkien even speculates on killing Boromir （through Aragorn） Pippin！ Saruman is dressed in a mud-colored robe and told to beg for a day's digging。At this point， Lothlorien is written， and at one point Galadriel and Celeborne have white hair。 Frodo， I think， sees the vision at first alone， and then Sam is added。 Gimli gets a green stone from Galadriel， rather than Aragorn！ However， the story is otherwise the same as in the final version。 After this， we get another outlining。 As usual， Tolkien plans to have Aragorn and Boromir go to Minas Tirith together， where they come into conflict。 More importantly， Tolkien starts writing the ending of Frodo and Sam's adventures。 After some brief dialogue with Gollum's meeting with Sam and the two tracking down Frodo， he writes bits and pieces of Frodo's coma because of spider stings （there are still multiple spiders） and his capture after Sam takes the ring。 Gollum leads the orcs to Frodo's body and is tasked with hunting down Sam。 Sam's rescue of Frodo from Cirith Ungol is actually fairly close （though this time Frodo uses the ring to escape and they kill an orc to get his armor for the visible Sam）。 Frodo is separated from Sam in Mordor。At this point however， Tolkien decides upon a less dramatic breaking of the fellowship in which Boromir is killed， Merry and Pippin captured by orcs， and the three hunters pursue them。 Much stronger than Legolas and Gimli going across the plain。 When Pippin and Merry meet Treebeard， he talks about Tom Bombadil。 When Gandlaf returns， Tolkien ponders making Saruman the balrog。The first draft of the arrival at Rohan has no Wormtongue， and Theoden is just grouchy and reluctant to help Gandalf， not under enchantment as in the final version。 Eowyn， of course， is destined to marry Aragorn at this point。So， again， a special thanks to Christopher Tolkien for being such a good scholar。 I really do hope that these books are referenced as people write and interpret Tolkien。 。。。more
♣Edso ♣Y♣
，
The plot absolutely engaging。
Jon
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@TolkienKC completed a concurrent group read of The Treason of Isengard and the fist half of the first book of The Two Towers in September of 2019。 Check the Tolkien Society of Kansas City Facebook page for details。
Michael Reilly
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The fascinating evolution of Tolkien's characters and events continues in this second part of The History of The Lord of the Rings。 The emergence of important elements， and the subsequent reshaping of the overall adventure is always interesting to read， and is highly informative of Tolkien's ongoing search for relevance and meaning in the unfolding – and expanding – storyline。Christopher Tolkien provides solid reasoning and informed opinion on various issues and alterations， and gives us an insi The fascinating evolution of Tolkien's characters and events continues in this second part of The History of The Lord of the Rings。 The emergence of important elements， and the subsequent reshaping of the overall adventure is always interesting to read， and is highly informative of Tolkien's ongoing search for relevance and meaning in the unfolding – and expanding – storyline。Christopher Tolkien provides solid reasoning and informed opinion on various issues and alterations， and gives us an insight into his father's writing processes and general thinking by determining when text or notes were most likely written， and how the timeline of events was continuously updated as new developments impacted on chapters already conceived。Although this series of books is full of detailed discussion and repeated examinations of material already covered， I've not found myself bored or confused by either the tone or the content at any point so far。 There is great intrigue in the way that Tolkien constructs TLotR – its complex history， overlapping subplots and broad themes – with many important parts of the final story only appearing at the time of writing without preparation or earlier consideration。 This 'behind the scenes' access never fails to appeal， especially with Christopher's personal connection， which significantly adds to the authenticity。 。。。more
D-day
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Volume 7 of The History Of Middle Earth series， with the usual disclaimer that this series is for Tolkien enthusiasts only。 Last installment the story had reached the Mines Of Moria。 However as was his way， Tolkien began rewriting the story again from the beginning。 A key problem is- why was Gandalf not with Frodo when Frodo left the shire？ Obviously something must have prevented Gandalf from this most important task-Enter Saruman。 The writing then proceeds from Rivendell to the Mines of Moria o Volume 7 of The History Of Middle Earth series， with the usual disclaimer that this series is for Tolkien enthusiasts only。 Last installment the story had reached the Mines Of Moria。 However as was his way， Tolkien began rewriting the story again from the beginning。 A key problem is- why was Gandalf not with Frodo when Frodo left the shire？ Obviously something must have prevented Gandalf from this most important task-Enter Saruman。 The writing then proceeds from Rivendell to the Mines of Moria once again， although it took Tolkien some time to finally decide on the final complement of the Fellowship of the Ring。 Interestingly the character of Galadriel almost springs out of thin air- interesting in that Tolkien would subsequently amend the Silmarillion to include her character's backstory。 Then （after many re-writes） the story proceeds to the breaking of the Fellowship and the Death of Boromir。 Tolkien already had a pretty clear idea of Frodo and Sam's subsequent adventures， but the story for the rest was still in embryonic form。 Here enters the Riders of Rohan， as well as the Ents。Also included is a discussion of the first map of The Lord of the Rings 。。。more
Erik Waiss
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Bingo is dead！ Long live Frodo！
Emily
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This one didn't make as much progress through the text as the previous volume （Return of the Shadow）。 There is a whole chapter on the various permutations of Tolkien's maps of the LOTR world， and even an appendix on runic writing。The most fascinating thing to me is the way Tolkien wrote。 Sometimes he planned， sometimes he "pantsed。" （If you participate in NaNoWriMo， you'll know what that means。） Some texts would be in nearly the final form the first time， others would be re-written numerous time This one didn't make as much progress through the text as the previous volume （Return of the Shadow）。 There is a whole chapter on the various permutations of Tolkien's maps of the LOTR world， and even an appendix on runic writing。The most fascinating thing to me is the way Tolkien wrote。 Sometimes he planned， sometimes he "pantsed。" （If you participate in NaNoWriMo， you'll know what that means。） Some texts would be in nearly the final form the first time， others would be re-written numerous times。 Often he would stop in the middle of a thought and start another one without stopping to cross out the previous bit。 As Tolkien was writing during WWII， and there was a paper shortage， Tolkien also was very thrifty and creative with his paper usage， often writing on the backs of meeting memos or calendar pages or student examination papers。 There was even a reference to writing between the lines of these examination papers。Much props to C。 Tolkien for being able to sort it out！ 。。。more
Mafalda Fernandes
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4。5*
Elo
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A really good companion if you love Tolkien and want to discover his writing process when he write his masterpiece。 If not， I’d advice you to leave this be。It is really interesting to see many alternative on how the story could have gone。 Reading this， you start to understand how much work and thinking Tolkien put into his work。As a regular Tolkien fan， you know it already but reading here all the alternatives （and yet not all of them are even here） about the story， quotes or the multiple names A really good companion if you love Tolkien and want to discover his writing process when he write his masterpiece。 If not， I’d advice you to leave this be。It is really interesting to see many alternative on how the story could have gone。 Reading this， you start to understand how much work and thinking Tolkien put into his work。As a regular Tolkien fan， you know it already but reading here all the alternatives （and yet not all of them are even here） about the story， quotes or the multiple names in several drafts， that Christopher Tolkien presents to us。 Many excerpts written in now fading pencil draft， crossed sentences on many supports。Christopher Tolkien underlines the main differences， with all of his father’s source material at hands， between the drafts and the final version。You’ll discover that Aragorn had many names， Theoden had a daughter for a little while， an analysis of the evolution of the maps and other tidbits of alternative what-ifs which are really neat to know。This book is really for people who want to dig even more into Tolkien’s world and love to read more academic oriented works as it’s very complete with many notes。 。。。more
Regitze
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A fascinating look into the creation of some of the most memorable characters from Lord of the Rings， especially Saruman and Treebeard。 Also interesting to note how the story keeps changing and changing， plots gets devised and discarded， characters disappear and reappear and every time they stop somewhere new， everything changes into several possibilities。 What a web of stories。
Max
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