The Return of the Shadow: The History of The Lord of the Rings, Part One
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- Create Date：2021-07-26 09:55:20
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：J.R.R. Tolkien
- ISBN：0261102249
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Summary
The Return of the Shadow is the first part of the history of the creation of The Lord of the Rings， a fascinating study of Tolkien's great masterpiece， from its inception to the end of the first volume， The Fellowship of the Ring。
In The Return of the Shadow （the abandoned title of the first volume of The Lord of the Rings） we see how Bilbo's 'magic' ring evolved into the supremely dangerous Ruling Ring of the Dark Lord; and the precise， and astonishingly unforeseen， moment when a Black Rider first rode into the Shire。 The character of the hobbit called Trotter （afterwards Strider or Aragorn） is developed， though his true identity seems to be an insoluble problem。 Frodo's companions undergo many changes of name and personality; and other major figures appear in unfamiliar guises: a sinister Treebeard， in league with the Enemy， and a ferocious， malevolent Farmer Maggot。
The book comes complete with reproductions of the first maps and facsimile pages from the earliest manuscripts。
In The Return of the Shadow （the abandoned title of the first volume of The Lord of the Rings） we see how Bilbo's 'magic' ring evolved into the supremely dangerous Ruling Ring of the Dark Lord; and the precise， and astonishingly unforeseen， moment when a Black Rider first rode into the Shire。 The character of the hobbit called Trotter （afterwards Strider or Aragorn） is developed， though his true identity seems to be an insoluble problem。 Frodo's companions undergo many changes of name and personality; and other major figures appear in unfamiliar guises: a sinister Treebeard， in league with the Enemy， and a ferocious， malevolent Farmer Maggot。
The book comes complete with reproductions of the first maps and facsimile pages from the earliest manuscripts。
Reviews
Beth Chaisson
，
It's not an easy read。 I would say it's for someone who is either interested in becoming a writer or wants to learn more about the history of Middle Earth in great depth。 It's not an easy read。 I would say it's for someone who is either interested in becoming a writer or wants to learn more about the history of Middle Earth in great depth。 。。。more
Linda ~ they got the mustard out！ ~
，
Reading these are like watching an author at work， all the various starts and stops and restarts， and the doubts。 I remembered things like Bingo Baggins （the precursor of Frodo Baggins） and of course， how could I forget Trotter， the hobbit ranger who later would morph into Aragorn， heir to the throne of Gondor？ There are so many ways this story could have gone differently， from Bilbo being married to Treebeard being evil to the Rohirrim in league with Sauron。 There were no Pippin or Merry or Sam Reading these are like watching an author at work， all the various starts and stops and restarts， and the doubts。 I remembered things like Bingo Baggins （the precursor of Frodo Baggins） and of course， how could I forget Trotter， the hobbit ranger who later would morph into Aragorn， heir to the throne of Gondor？ There are so many ways this story could have gone differently， from Bilbo being married to Treebeard being evil to the Rohirrim in league with Sauron。 There were no Pippin or Merry or Sam， the ring was just a magical trinket， and Tom Bombadil was always a whackadoodle。 It seems so obvious to us now that of course the LOTR couldn't be any other way， but of course it wasn't so obvious to Tolkien when he started writing it。 He didn't even know what it would be about， what the conflict would be or who the protagonist would be。 And even after the first book of the first volume came to be nearly identical to the published FOTR （barring some minor details here and there）， Tolkien then went back and tried to start all over again， returning to rejected starts and ideas。 But even when chapters written will be largely rewritten， the main elements were always there， even when he didn't know quite what they meant。 Truly， it's a joy to "watch" a genius at work creating a masterpiece。 。。。more
Kimberley
，
somewhere around a 3。5 for this one。 lots of very interesting things in this one， particularly love the fact that frodo was almost called bingo baggins
Bil Thompson
，
More great insight into the story that would become the Lord of the Rings。 It's not for everyone but I find it fascinating to see ideas appear and develop as Tolkien grapples with what the story will become。 More great insight into the story that would become the Lord of the Rings。 It's not for everyone but I find it fascinating to see ideas appear and develop as Tolkien grapples with what the story will become。 。。。more
Ancillar
，
skimmed。 not sure i have a good grasp of why this book （a succession of forensically annotated drafts for the first part of the Lord of the Rings， through the fellowship's arrival at Moria） didn't grab me at all the way the earlier （just as obsessively arranged and annotated） studies of the Silmarillion material did。i think it's because i feel LoTR is more of a complete masterpiece， and decomposition does it a disservice （in terms of preserving its ability to create an emotional impact for me）， skimmed。 not sure i have a good grasp of why this book （a succession of forensically annotated drafts for the first part of the Lord of the Rings， through the fellowship's arrival at Moria） didn't grab me at all the way the earlier （just as obsessively arranged and annotated） studies of the Silmarillion material did。i think it's because i feel LoTR is more of a complete masterpiece， and decomposition does it a disservice （in terms of preserving its ability to create an emotional impact for me）， whereas the published Silmarillion （while surely an all-time favorite of mine） feels like it invites investigation of what else might've been in there， had Tolkien lived long enough to finish it to his satisfaction， and the detective work is part of getting the whole story。part of it is probably also down to Frodo and Strider originally being named Bingo and Trotter， respectively。 see what i mean about dulling the magic？ I'm not saying "Frodo" was ever an inspired character name， but at least we were spared having to read about the grand quest of Bingo Bolger-Baggins。 。。。more
Martti
，
What a weird thing to read。 A paradox of a book - mind-numbingly boring and fascinating at the same time。 It's a unique look into the genesis of a legendary narrative。 These days a writer writes and deletes in a word processor， losing all the detours， but at 1930s you would write by hand on a paper。 If you were a perfectionist with an OCD like Tolkien， then you would keep all of your drafts so your son can trace all the iterations。 It feels very personal。 Are we even supposed to see these iterat What a weird thing to read。 A paradox of a book - mind-numbingly boring and fascinating at the same time。 It's a unique look into the genesis of a legendary narrative。 These days a writer writes and deletes in a word processor， losing all the detours， but at 1930s you would write by hand on a paper。 If you were a perfectionist with an OCD like Tolkien， then you would keep all of your drafts so your son can trace all the iterations。 It feels very personal。 Are we even supposed to see these iterations？ Yet another paradox to tackle。We get a glimpse of Tolkien's method。 Turns out mr Worldbuilder was actually just discovering the story piece by piece。 Or as he writes himself:"I met a lot of things on the way that astonished me。 Tom Bombadil I knew already; but I had never been to Bree。 Strider sitting in the corner at the inn was a shock， and I had no more idea who he was than had Frodo。 The Mines of Moria had been a mere name; and of Lothlorien no word had reached my mortal ears till I came there。 Far away I knew there were the Horselords on the confines of an ancient Kingdom of Men， but Fangorn Forest was an unforeseen adventure。 I had never heard of the House of Eorl nor of the Stewards of Gondor。 Most disquieting of all， Saruman had never been revealed to me， and I was as mystified as Frodo at Gandalf's failure to appear on September 22。-- J。R。R。 Tolkien， in a letter to W。 H。 Auden， 7 June 1955"Much was there from the get-go in a recognizable form， but the biggest shock for me was the mess with names。 We had Bilbo， but the main character of the story was supposed to be his son and then nephew Bingo along with Odo and Frodo Took traveling to Marmaduke Brandybuck。 The latter turned into Meriadoc without much fanfare or explanation。 In Bree they picked up another ranger-hobbit called Trotter。 At some point Bree was supposed to be only full of hobbits。 The fellowship didn't have a dwarf or an elf。The Return of the Shadow was the original name Tolkien wanted for the first volume of LOTR when it became clear the publishers wanted three separate volumes， but in fact this compilation by Christopher Tolkien only gets half way into the iterations and the mess will continue in The Treason of Isengard。 。。。more
Cher
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 It was highly fascinating to read about how the first part of Fellowship of the Ring evolved over time。 There were quite a lot of changes in some regards！Some of the names were utterly ridiculous and I am glad that Tolkien changed them。 Imagine reading about Bingo Bolger-Baggins instead of Frodo Baggins？ I couldn't get that children's song about the dog out of my head seeing that name。 Additionally， when I read about Marmaduke， I think of a comic book character。 The name Folco was kept but releg It was highly fascinating to read about how the first part of Fellowship of the Ring evolved over time。 There were quite a lot of changes in some regards！Some of the names were utterly ridiculous and I am glad that Tolkien changed them。 Imagine reading about Bingo Bolger-Baggins instead of Frodo Baggins？ I couldn't get that children's song about the dog out of my head seeing that name。 Additionally， when I read about Marmaduke， I think of a comic book character。 The name Folco was kept but relegated to an extremely minor character， Folco Boffin， that only ever gets explored more deeply in fanfiction on Stories of Arda。 Perhaps the biggest change was the origin of Strider/Aragorn， who was once known as a hobbit named Peregrin "Perry" Boffin， also known as Trotter， that left the Shire to seek out adventure because of Bilbo's influence and wound up joining the Rangers， and a strongly noted characteristic is his wooden shoes （possibly wooden feet）。 He at one point was captured and tortured by the Nazgul while pursuing Gollum， I can only assume for information about the One Ring， which is why he had the wooden feet。 Though the name Trotter sounds kind of ridiculous， the hobbit's story actually was kind of compelling， and I got vibes that Tolkien was using it as a means of touching on traumas caused by war。 Of course， Aragorn was an extremely well-done reluctant leader and missing heir， but I still would've enjoyed a story about Trotter as an ordinary hobbit in extraordinary circumstances。 。。。more
Jonathan Grant
，
Gah！ I hit "set to today" on date started accidentally。 This volume stops when we get to Moria， near Balin's tomb。 Strider is still a hobbit named Trotter with wooden shoes。 I really enjoyed reading this and seeing how the story developed， but it was - it's quite difficult to read big portions at a time because Christopher Tolkien will show you a piece of writing， there'll be notes about it and he'll talk a bit about where the story is and what his father was thinking at this point。 But it's ver Gah！ I hit "set to today" on date started accidentally。 This volume stops when we get to Moria， near Balin's tomb。 Strider is still a hobbit named Trotter with wooden shoes。 I really enjoyed reading this and seeing how the story developed， but it was - it's quite difficult to read big portions at a time because Christopher Tolkien will show you a piece of writing， there'll be notes about it and he'll talk a bit about where the story is and what his father was thinking at this point。 But it's very disjointed， I think because Tolkien's process was very disjointed。 He kept on starting and stopping and restarting and rewriting。 Anyway， still fascinating to read。 Definitely want to read the rest this year。 At some point。 。。。more
Anttoni
，
As meticulously done as the pervious volumes。 In contrast to those volumes however， "The Return of the shadow" is made not only to Tolkien enthusiastics but to the truly mad。 The previous volumes contained interesting tidbits of information and deepened the understanding and the appreciation of Middle-earth。 The present volume does not attain such a level of insight but presents the evolution of "Lord of the Rings" from the very bare bones， gradually putting a more refined shape on top that basi As meticulously done as the pervious volumes。 In contrast to those volumes however， "The Return of the shadow" is made not only to Tolkien enthusiastics but to the truly mad。 The previous volumes contained interesting tidbits of information and deepened the understanding and the appreciation of Middle-earth。 The present volume does not attain such a level of insight but presents the evolution of "Lord of the Rings" from the very bare bones， gradually putting a more refined shape on top that basic form。 As such， a lot of this book contains going over the same small piece of the story with perhaps the names of the persons changed or some element of the story placed in a different setting and then moving on to the next small piece。 The problem is， these primal forms and elements did not make it to the final version of LotR for a reason， mainly because they are way more inferior compared to the finished story。 Nevertheless， "The Return of the Shadow" is not a bad book de facto， if one can stomach the repetition and has a very severe case of scholarly interest in the development of book length story。 。。。more
Noelle
，
I ate this book up。 Full of incredibly interesting details regarding development of Lord of the Rings。 Also once you reach this point in HoME I have to admit it's nice to not be reading another First Age story again。 I ate this book up。 Full of incredibly interesting details regarding development of Lord of the Rings。 Also once you reach this point in HoME I have to admit it's nice to not be reading another First Age story again。 。。。more
John
，
1） One must be a total LOTR / Tolkien nerd to enjoy this book。 This story is really a text that delves into the creation of the story of Frodo and the Ring。 2） Do NOT expect this to be a stand along story about how Sauron returned to Middle Earth or anything about Melkor or Sauroman。 This is basically a deep look into what JRR T was thinking about when creating the stories。That said， as a total LOTR/ Tolkien nerd， I enjoyed watching the evolution of one of the greatest stories ever written！
Mitch Milam
，
3。5/5This book， probably more than any other HoMe book thus far， really looks at Tolkien's creative process and the amount of work that had to be done before LOTR achieved its final form。 From that perspective， this is a very interesting and satisfying entry for this series。 However， it doesn't change the fact that most of the book is dedicated to showing a far worse version of LOTR， which at times got pretty grating。 I'd still take the most boring parts of this book over anything in "The Lost R 3。5/5This book， probably more than any other HoMe book thus far， really looks at Tolkien's creative process and the amount of work that had to be done before LOTR achieved its final form。 From that perspective， this is a very interesting and satisfying entry for this series。 However， it doesn't change the fact that most of the book is dedicated to showing a far worse version of LOTR， which at times got pretty grating。 I'd still take the most boring parts of this book over anything in "The Lost Road and Other Writings" though。 。。。more
Matias Cerizola
，
El Retorno De La Sombra。- J。R。R。 Tolkien"Decía a menudo que sólo había un Camino en todas las tierras， que era como un río caudaloso: nacía en el umbral de todas las puertas， y todos los senderos eran ríos tributarios"Primer volúmen de La Historia De El Señor De Los Anillos。 En este libro Christopher Tolkien nos describe el proceso de concepción y escritura de ESDLA y como fue evolucionando la historia desde el primer borrador， o primer etapa， hasta la tercer etapa de escritura。 Esta entre El Retorno De La Sombra。- J。R。R。 Tolkien"Decía a menudo que sólo había un Camino en todas las tierras， que era como un río caudaloso: nacía en el umbral de todas las puertas， y todos los senderos eran ríos tributarios"Primer volúmen de La Historia De El Señor De Los Anillos。 En este libro Christopher Tolkien nos describe el proceso de concepción y escritura de ESDLA y como fue evolucionando la historia desde el primer borrador， o primer etapa， hasta la tercer etapa de escritura。 Esta entrega incluye el viaje desde la Comarca hasta las minas de Moria。El Retorno De La Sombra no es un libro fácil y hay que saber de antemano a lo que uno va a enfrentarse para no tener decepciones。 En esta lectura encontramos distintos borradores y manuscritos de los primeros capítulos de la historia que fue haciendo John y se los iba mostrando a sus editores。 El libro está dividido en etapas de escritura y en cada etapa se van repitiendo los capítulos con modificaciones y ampliaciones， de acuerdo a cómo iba cambiando el desarrollo de la historia。 Por ejemplo， el personaje principal es Bingo （que luego se transforma en Frodo）， Aragorn/Strider es Trotter， Legolas y Gimli no son de la partida todavía y un sinfín de diferencias más。 Como así también hay muchos pequeños detalles o frases que están desde el primer borrador y se mantuvieron hasta la obra finalmente publicada。 Cada capítulo luego es analizado y comparado con el finalmente publicado que conocemos todos。 También resulta interesante el análisis de la negativa de Tolkien a escribir una continuación de El Hobbit， sentía que esa historia tenía un final que no admitía continuación alguna。 Por suerte para nosotros no fué así。。。Una obra que recomiendo para los muy fanáticos de ESDLA （como este humilde servidor） o para quien quiera conocer el proceso de escritura de uno de los grandes autores del siglo pasado。🤘🤘🤘🤘#tolkienreadalong2019 。。。more
Emily
，
OK so here's the thing about these books。 They show Tolkien's works *in progress*， as deciphered and organized by his son Christopher。 So while it's really neat to see the evolution of the writing， it's not like reading a story。 This is for people who are really interested in LOTR， Tolkien， and/or the craft of writing。 It's an incredibly detailed look "under the hood" as it was， showing the evolution and craft of the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring ， and ends in the Mines of Moria。 Bein OK so here's the thing about these books。 They show Tolkien's works *in progress*， as deciphered and organized by his son Christopher。 So while it's really neat to see the evolution of the writing， it's not like reading a story。 This is for people who are really interested in LOTR， Tolkien， and/or the craft of writing。 It's an incredibly detailed look "under the hood" as it was， showing the evolution and craft of the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring ， and ends in the Mines of Moria。 Being a Tolkien nerd， I really enjoyed this， but I know not everyone will！To remember: this is part of a 10 part "History of Middle Earth" series。 If you aren't interested in the "rest" of Middle Earth and just want LOTR， then you want: The Return of the Shadow， The Treason of Isengard， The War of the Ring， and Sauron Defeated 。 。。。more
Dylan Erwin
，
This was my first foray into Christopher’s History of Middle-earth series， and DANG。 I’m aware this book， and what it seeks to accomplish， might not be everyone’s cup of tea; but， for those like me—the LotR-obsessed—being able to read early drafts of these chapters is a wonderful experience， indeed。
Heather
，
Quite fascinating account of the evolution of the first part of LOTR。 However， I don't recommend it for anyone who is only familiar with the movie version; you have to know the original book inside out and back to front to fully appreciate this work。 Quite fascinating account of the evolution of the first part of LOTR。 However， I don't recommend it for anyone who is only familiar with the movie version; you have to know the original book inside out and back to front to fully appreciate this work。 。。。more
Rebecca
，
A fascinating read！ It was very interesting to read about the development of the Fellowship of the Ring。 I loved seeing early drafts and watching the emergence of beloved characters。
Ben Duerksen
，
An amazingly insightful read， and the result of what was obviously an exhaustingly thorough research journey into the writing of the trilogy。 It’s truly amazing to see just how the characters and various concepts and plots in the series， which feel so natural and “right” in the final product， evolved or came into existence over multiple attempts that all pulled on different threads at different times to construct their narratives。 This first book （or 6th， if you include the whole histories）， cov An amazingly insightful read， and the result of what was obviously an exhaustingly thorough research journey into the writing of the trilogy。 It’s truly amazing to see just how the characters and various concepts and plots in the series， which feel so natural and “right” in the final product， evolved or came into existence over multiple attempts that all pulled on different threads at different times to construct their narratives。 This first book （or 6th， if you include the whole histories）， covers the writing of what would become The Fellowship of the Ring， and as a result we get a glimpse into just how directionless the initial manuscripts were。 It’s also tragic to think， reading some of the ideas Tolkien initially fleshed our fairly completely， how different and inferior the series could have turned out， and yet each of those failed versions holds either language or concepts that form the foundation of the work we now know and cherish。 It’s interesting to see the genesis points of important plots and characters， or narrative moments Tolkien knew he was going to include that actually made the cut even when everything around them didn’t。 It’s an eye opening experience to see Tolkien’s mind and writing at work， and the book gave me a deeper appreciation for and understanding of many different elements of FoTR。 The book itself is written in somewhat archaic and academic language， though fans of Tolkien likely won’t be bothered， and some of the passages are somewhat hard to follow if only because the underlying information is hard to make sense of。 I appreciate Chris Tolkien’s attention to detail even when it occasionally delves into minutiae， and his incites into the timelines and literary decisions J。R。R。 made really elevate this “behind-the-scenes” look at how the series came to be。 。。。more
Michael Joosten
，
You can't really evaluate The History of Middle-earth books as you would fiction， because despite the vast tracks of pure fiction they contain， the books themselves are non-fiction: the populo-scholarly presentation of how J。R。R。 Tolkien created The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings。The Return of the Shadow， the sixth volume and the first one looking at the LotR's history was one of the first I read （maybe THE first， though I no longer know which of six my local library had was first in my You can't really evaluate The History of Middle-earth books as you would fiction， because despite the vast tracks of pure fiction they contain， the books themselves are non-fiction: the populo-scholarly presentation of how J。R。R。 Tolkien created The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings。The Return of the Shadow， the sixth volume and the first one looking at the LotR's history was one of the first I read （maybe THE first， though I no longer know which of six my local library had was first in my withdrawals）。 It is the most interesting of the LotR volumes， to my reading anyway， because--dealing with its earliest drafts--it's naturally the one that shows the most glimpses into an alternate universe。As I grow older， I am amazed more and more at Tolkien's sheer laboriousness。 To handwrite a single draft （my usual process for fiction） is enough of an effort， but Tolkien wrote out multiple drafts， starting over and copying things from scratch。 No less amazing is the labour of unravelling his son went through pulling apart these papers and turning them into readable books--though not books I would recommend for a layman。 You have to WANT to know how the sausage is made to be guided here。 But， if you do， it is thoroughly worthwhile。 。。。more
Diego Corodones
，
Este no es un libro sobre la tierra media。 Te revela los borradores y los cambios de idea en los capítulos claves del señor de los anillos
Nathan Albright
，
If someone is a would-be writer of a fantasy epic in the same way that J。R。R。 Tolkien was， this book is the sort of volume that is likely to give one hope。 It can be a bit intimidating for some readers to tackle Tolkien's writing in its finished form， and then to wonder at how much more he could have written had he been a more fluent writer in the same way that his friend C。S。 Lewis was。 Yet for precisely that reason this book can serve as encouragement to those who have as hard a time as Tolk If someone is a would-be writer of a fantasy epic in the same way that J。R。R。 Tolkien was， this book is the sort of volume that is likely to give one hope。 It can be a bit intimidating for some readers to tackle Tolkien's writing in its finished form， and then to wonder at how much more he could have written had he been a more fluent writer in the same way that his friend C。S。 Lewis was。 Yet for precisely that reason this book can serve as encouragement to those who have as hard a time as Tolkien did in writing books。 This book gives somewhat painstaking evidence of the way that Tolkien began and re-started his novel over and over again， changing the name of his characters multiple times and how they were related to each other and only gradually coming to realize the cosmic importance of the work to the Middle Earth that he had already started to write about in fragments and stories。 Given how many times that Tolkien started over and over again and fussed over the relative chronology and character names and back stories， it is remarkable that he managed to write so much at all。This book is more than 450 pages and is divided into several parts。 The first half of the book or so consists of thirteen chapters that give the first pass that Tolkien had for the story， beginning with the party （1）， moving along to the initial journey of the hobbits （2）， to a discussion of the relationship between Gollum and the ring （3）， to Buckland （4）， the old forest （5） and meeting Tom Bombadil （6） as well as the barrow-wight （7） and the arrival at Bree （8）。 There are chapters about the journey to Weathertop （9） and the attack there （10） as well as the trip to the Ford （11）， the journey to Rivendell （12）， and some queries and alterations up to that point （13）。 After this comes a second phase where Hobbin is returned to （14）， some ancient history is dealt with （15）， delays are introduced （16）， a shortcut to mushrooms is provided （17）， and the journey from Buckland is covered again （18）。 The third phase then looks at the journey to Bree again （19）， what happens at the Prancing Pony Inn （20）， the journeys to Weathertop and Rivendell revisited （21）， and more uncertainties and projections。 The book then ends with a discussion about what happens in the house of Elrond （23）， the movement of the ring south （24）， and the first pass at the Mines of Moria （25） along with some illustrations。Admittedly， this sort of book is not an easy one to read if one is looking for a continuous narrative。 That said， few people are likely to read a book like this for that purpose， since those who read the book will almost certainly have read the Lord of the Rings one or a few times and are curious as to how it was that Tolkien came up with the story over time and thought and reworking his ideas。 Again， the Lord of the Rings did not come fully armed from Tolkien's imagination。 The story started out seeming straightforward for him and then it became more complicated and tied into a larger and larger series of myths involving the decline of the Elves and the conflict between cosmic good and evil and earlier eras of history。 Of course， Tolkien had a lot in his head and so it makes sense that a ranger would eventually become a king with several different names depending on who he was talking to， or how many of the characters are known by various names depending on who is talking to or about them， and it is interesting to see Treebeard begin as a villain before moving to a more heroic role as a brave and powerful tree。 。。。more
samantha l。 frederick
，
4。5
Richard
，
Like the previous five volumes of The History of Middle-earth， this book is either incredibly fascinating or immensely dull; or perhaps both。 If you haven't read and enjoyed those installments， not to mention all of the independently-published works of Tolkien's legendarium， including The Lord of the Rings at least four or five times， then The Return of the Shadow will probably be a puzzle， a shock， and ultimately a disappointment。 Tolkien's writing process （begin draft- rewrite - rewrite more - Like the previous five volumes of The History of Middle-earth， this book is either incredibly fascinating or immensely dull; or perhaps both。 If you haven't read and enjoyed those installments， not to mention all of the independently-published works of Tolkien's legendarium， including The Lord of the Rings at least four or five times， then The Return of the Shadow will probably be a puzzle， a shock， and ultimately a disappointment。 Tolkien's writing process （begin draft- rewrite - rewrite more - undo some of the rewrites - abandon draft - wait - go back and start the whole thing afresh from the beginning [repeat multiple times]） means that whereas some authors may end up with a couple of alternate endings to a novel， the pre-publication The Lord of the Rings exists in seemingly hundreds of branching or overlapping versions。 Tolkien famously wrote that his tale "grew in the telling" and this volume details part （although not yet all） of the telling as far as the end of "A Journey in the Dark" in the final version。 As such， it contains both elements that remained almost unchanged until the end， and some that were altered extensively， as well as germs of ideas that never came to pass， or were used in a different form entirely。 Some will be fully accounted for later （Trotter/Peregrin becoming Strider/Aragorn， for example）， and some will remain forever unknown （How did the Ringwraiths capture Odo Bolger at Weathertop？ What did they do with him after that？ How did he turn up at Rivendell before ceasing to exist altogether？）。 If you are an Ultra-Platinum member of Club Tolkien， this is all tremendously interesting; and even if not， the book is also a great insight into the process behind a novel， with its writer both creating， and having to solve problems of his own creation。 As throughout his editorial work on his father's manuscripts， Christopher Tolkien's attention to detail is painstaking in the extreme。 There's more here on the emerging geography of Middle-earth， the ever-mutating genealogy of the hobbits， and the phases of the moon at every stage of their journeys （in all their incarnations） than anyone really needs—and can be skipped or skimmed without qualm， I think。 Christopher also appears， here and there， as an influence on the evolution of the tale itself， as an early audience for the book with opinions on its progress。This section of the History， dealing with The Lord of the Rings， contains three more volumes。 I'm looking forward to reading them all。 。。。more
Thijs
，
After 10 different versions of the Silmarillion， it's finally time to take a look at the development of the LoTR！And I love it。 It's very fascinating to see how some parts of the story were present from the first while others were changed a dozen times。Especially the character of Burin I liked and it was very interesting to see Trotter as a hobbit。 After 10 different versions of the Silmarillion， it's finally time to take a look at the development of the LoTR！And I love it。 It's very fascinating to see how some parts of the story were present from the first while others were changed a dozen times。Especially the character of Burin I liked and it was very interesting to see Trotter as a hobbit。 。。。more
Taylor Simpson
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'[In writing The Lord of the Rings，] I met a lot of things along the way that astonished me。'-J。 R。 R。 Tolkien， letter to W。 H。 Auden， 1955There are very few things I love more in my life than Tolkien's work; only a few come to mind at the moment:- God- A couple of friends- My dog- Maybe eating。。。and that's abou- OH！ Oh， yeah - my wife！ Yeah， definitely my wife， too！The point is， I would be interested in studying a grocery list Tolkien wrote if one was available - I love this man's work more tha '[In writing The Lord of the Rings，] I met a lot of things along the way that astonished me。'-J。 R。 R。 Tolkien， letter to W。 H。 Auden， 1955There are very few things I love more in my life than Tolkien's work; only a few come to mind at the moment:- God- A couple of friends- My dog- Maybe eating。。。and that's abou- OH！ Oh， yeah - my wife！ Yeah， definitely my wife， too！The point is， I would be interested in studying a grocery list Tolkien wrote if one was available - I love this man's work more than a person probably should and I'm not ashamed of that。 I'm one of the people that go in about an inch-wide for things I enjoy， but I basically dive into the center of the Earth for my level of interest in those things （i。e。 my interests are 'an inch wide and miles deep' - just wanted to clarify）。 With Tolkien's work， I busted through the mantle a few years ago and I feel like I'm about halfway through the outer core; things are getting hot and my drill is kind of melting， and - this is a stupid analogy， but you get the idea。 I wouldn't say I 'live and breathe Tolkien' （mainly because it is metaphysically impossible to gain physical sustenance from an abstract collection of stories and writings）， but his work is a mainstay in my life and my appreciation for it continues to wax instead of wane as the years go by。There really isn't any telling how many times I've read Tolkien's main body of work in the past seven years （since I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings for the first time） - it's not some kind of astronomical number; I read other books， too - but I'll just say I'm pretty familiar with the primary books。 （Bear with me on this， I'll get to the review of the current book in a just a second。。。） I have read the first book in A Song of Ice and Fire （A Game of Thrones） and might one day， eventually， at some point， get around to finishing the series （if Martin ever does， himself）。 I don't nay-say or poo-poo fans of Martin or his writing， but I just wouldn't consider myself a fan of his work。 However， I do find myself envious of Martin fans in this way: their author is still among the living and has the （narrow， admittedly） hope of more work coming out from him at some point。 For followers （and zealots） of Tolkien， like myself， that ship left the Grey Havens long ago。After Tolkien's death in 1973， the role of the 'Steward of Gondor'， so to speak， fell to Tolkien's youngest son， Christopher John Reuel Tolkien （CJR）， who recently past away during the early parts of the year this is being written in （2020）。 In brief summary， CJR is the hero Tolkien fans didn't deserve but should literally thank God for。CJR was very close with his father and was one of the first and biggest fans of his father's work as it was being developed （his father consulting CJR's opinion for most of the development of The Lord of the Rings， actually）。 After his father's death， CJR became the literary executor （which is a dope sounding title） of his father's work and took up the mantle of Middle-earth for essentially the next 50 years。 In this role， he made it his life's duty to divulge as much of his father's unpublished work to the public audience as possible。 If it were not for CJR， we would not have the Old Testament-esque work called The Silmarillion or the treasure trove of answers found in Unfinished Tales。Now we come to the relevance of all this to the current book in question: The Return of the Shadow （RotS）。A review of this book is pretty straightforward for me: it's exactly what Tolkien-worshippers crave， and it does what it sets out to do perfectly。 I just felt there was some needed background information to cover for the outsiders that might be interested in this review， but would probably never read the book itself （i。e。 people with a *healthy* respect for Tolkien that don't go in for these kinds of books）。So， for those wondering: What exactly is this book？ It's not a new story， or prequel， or sequel to any of Tolkien's work; it's also not an original story by CJR set in Middle-earth - literally 100% of the readers of this review have stopped reading at this point， or much farther up - it is something maybe less interesting to some who want the kinds of things just listed， but which might be more valuable than those things to the people who have genuinely fallen in love with Tolkien's already-established work。RotS is the sixth volume in CJR's series called The History of Middle-earth （HoMe） - a 12-volume series in which he presents and analyzes the development and evolution of his father's work through tedious and scrupulous study of pages upon pages of notes， slips of paper， and typescripts of outlines， drafts， and re-drafts of what would later emerge to become some of the most famous works of fantasy fiction ever written。 The first five volumes of HoMe cover the early development of Tolkien's The Silmarillion， and the sixth volume - this one - begins a study of the evolution of The Lord of Rings from a small sequel to The Hobbit into a monster of a story containing things that surprised even the author （see the quote at the head of this review）。Without revealing too much， or going on too much longer， I'll say this this book is not hiding much up its sleeve: it is literally a guy putting notes and outlines of a book in order that he's not even sure of the order sometimes。 This volume lays out three 'phases' of his father's work on The Lord of the Rings （from what he can tell） and gives as much of the original writing from his father's notes as he can without being overly redundant。 For instance， Tolkien wrote something like six drafts of the first chapter of The Lord of the Rings， with tons of small edits and revisions done at different times written on， over， beside， and around the original writing。 Many times， a manuscript will have been hastily written in pencil - thus illegible， even if it wasn't faded through years of storage - and then also hastily written over in ink， sometimes following the original draft， sometimes altering it slightly， and sometimes going in an entirely different direction altogether。 CJR includes a few scans of his father's original manuscripts and it really is just an incredible mess at some points。 Needless to say， he had his work cut out for him。A handful of original ideas and directions for the story， for those interested， include:- Frodo originally being named 'Bingo' （like， for a long time， through many iterations of the story）- Aragorn originally being named 'Trotter'， and being a hobbit （literally through the draft at which this volume ends; Tolkien seems to have been ready to introduce Aragorn as a Man around this point in its development） - oh， and he also wears wooden shoes。。。- Gandalf is originally held up in his travels， not by Saruman （who isn't named once at this point of development）， but by Treebeard， who is not an Ent， but is rather an enormous， evil giant- Gimli and Legolas are not originally part of the Fellowship （although Boromir is）While there are some pretty wild suggestions and concepts for where Tolkien had thought to take the story at certain points， what's even more impressive is that， sometimes， the original drafts he wrote for certain parts of the story carry over almost word-for-word into the final version of The Lord of the Rings - when you got it， you got it， sometimes。Okay; I'll stop here。This hasn't been so much a review， as much as it's been a rant from me about the book， but I think that reveals both my predilection towards Middle-earth and the nature of this kind of book。 It's more of a literary textbook in a way than some kind of book you read to give a review of。 You honestly get the impression you're almost leaning over Tolkien's shoulder as he wrote these things at some points。 CJR refrains from giving a lot of unnecessary commentary and opinions about things and really just keeps the focus on his father and his work。 I really appreciated that - it's exactly what I was looking for。If you're interested in learning more about how The Lord of the Rings came to be by almost literally watching it happen through ~460 pages-worth of notes， fragments of drafts， and sketches of outlines， then RotS is perfect for you。 The best part about it might be that it's part one of four！ The drafts and notes end about where Gandalf and the Company encounter the Balrog， so there is much more to cover in the next few volumes of the HoMe series and I can't wait to dig into those。Five stars， unflinchingly。 。。。more
Warren Dunn
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This book is not for those who easily get bored。 It contains at least five versions of the first chapter of the Lord of the Rings， and three versions of the rest of the journey until the hobbits reach Rivendell。http://ossuslibrary。tripod。com/Bk_Fan。。。 This book is not for those who easily get bored。 It contains at least five versions of the first chapter of the Lord of the Rings， and three versions of the rest of the journey until the hobbits reach Rivendell。http://ossuslibrary。tripod。com/Bk_Fan。。。 。。。more
Brian Cubbage
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This volume， the sixth of the "History of Middle-Earth" series containing J。R。R。 Tolkien's previously unpublished literary remains edited by Tolkien's son Christopher， chronicles Tolkien's first drafts of a sequel to The Hobbit or There and Back Again that ultimately became The Fellowship of the Ring， the first part of The Lord of the Rings。 Christopher Tolkien here presents edited selections of his father's drafts and notes from 1938 to early 1940 that show how the story that would become The L This volume， the sixth of the "History of Middle-Earth" series containing J。R。R。 Tolkien's previously unpublished literary remains edited by Tolkien's son Christopher， chronicles Tolkien's first drafts of a sequel to The Hobbit or There and Back Again that ultimately became The Fellowship of the Ring， the first part of The Lord of the Rings。 Christopher Tolkien here presents edited selections of his father's drafts and notes from 1938 to early 1940 that show how the story that would become The Lord of the Rings took shape。 The most remarkable thing about reading the texts assembled in this volume is just how many central elements from the plot of The Fellowship of the Ring， and beyond， captured Tolkien's imagination from the start and survived vast changes in the cast of characters and expansion of Tolkien's invented universe。 For instance: Bilbo always leaves the Shire after a massive birthday party; some relation of his always leaves the Shire to retrace his steps; there are always Black Riders; and there is from early on a Council of Elrond。And yet so much of the story as we now know it only gets grafted on later。 The character we now know as Frodo Baggins spends the majority of these drafts with the name "Bingo Baggins" or "Bingo Bolger-Baggins，" and his relationship to Bilbo wavers between nephew and biological son。 The hobbits who accompany Bingo/Frodo on the Ring Quest undergo wide changes in name， number， and characterization。 Tolkien only came up with the idea of the One Ring， and its identity with Bilbo's ring from The Hobbit， midway through the period described in this book， although when he does come up with it， it is very similar to the concept in the published books。 The character who came to be Strider/Aragorn， Ranger of the North， hidden heir of Isildur and rightful king of Gondor， was for the virtual entirety of this period not a man at all。 Instead， he is a hobbit named "Trotter" who disappeared from the Shire when very young and became a Ranger。 On a related point， the wider geopolitics of Middle Earth outside of the Shire， Rivendell， the Dwarves， and "the Enemy" Sauron is largely missing; there is no mention of Saruman and the betrayal of Isengard， one mention of Rohan and the speculation that it is in league with "the Enemy，" and Gondor itself （here called the kingdom of Ond） is just a brave kingdom to the south represented by the irascible Boromir。 Most shockingly， Treebeard is in league with The Enemy and in one version of the story captures and imprisons Gandalf， in effect taking over the unavoidable delay in Gandalf's getting to Rivendell that is later caused by Saruman。Although this book is billed as a work by J。R。R。 Tolkien， it seems much fairer to call this a lengthy scholarly essay by Christopher Tolkien in which edited manuscripts of his father's serve as exhibits。 The ratio of J。R。R。 Tolkien's drafts and notes in this volume to Christopher Tolkien's editorial notes and discussion is， by my estimate， about 60% to 40%。 As Christopher Tolkien's contributions freely admit， this volume does not present edited full texts of every draft of the material discussed in here; if it had， it would have been a very long， very repetitious volume， and would have only been of interest to actual scholars of Tolkien engaged in detailed textual criticism。 Christopher Tolkien instead exercises his editorial and scholarly judgment in presenting lengthy sections and excerpts that illustrate the evolution of J。R。R。's main conceptions。 As such， the "narrative" that develops here is shaped largely by Christopher's editorial judgment and conclusions regarding the archival materials。 Obviously I have no independent basis on which to gainsay his choices and scholarly conclusions， and really no stake in doing so， either。 It's just worth observing that， in form and execution， the reader ought to consider this book a secondary source on Tolkien that just happens to be heavily annotated with original texts that are， to my knowledge， unavailable elsewhere。If you are looking for expanded context， or backstory， for The Lord of the Rings， this is not the book for you。 （You should， if you haven't already， read The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth for that。） As stated above， this book focuses on early versions of stories with which the Lord of the Rings fan is already familiar。 I am personally left underwhelmed by the texts themselves， but also impressed with the flexibility and energy with which Tolkien subsequently adapted this material into a far grander narrative。 。。。more
Lorianne Reuser
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You can’t exactly write a review or give a star rating to a book that is more a reference text。 But if I could give all the stars in the world to Christopher Tolkien， who has spent his life making order out of the chaos of his fathers notes 。。。 then I would！ I didn’t so much read this book as check in about elements I was curious about， but the chance to see a master craftsman fiddle and edit - to see how much changed from first draft to finished product - is incredibly inspiring to any artist。
Sarah Zama
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I’m enjoying The History of Middle-earth in general， but this first volume about the creation of The Lord of the Rings is particularly outstanding。 I loved reading of how the book was created， because in a way it’s a story in itself。 Tolkien wasn’t particularly keen on the writing a sequel to The Hobbit， but accepted to do it。 He wrote the first chapter three times before he found any traction and in this first volume of the four dedicated to The Lord of the Rings we can read the first three dra I’m enjoying The History of Middle-earth in general， but this first volume about the creation of The Lord of the Rings is particularly outstanding。 I loved reading of how the book was created， because in a way it’s a story in itself。 Tolkien wasn’t particularly keen on the writing a sequel to The Hobbit， but accepted to do it。 He wrote the first chapter three times before he found any traction and in this first volume of the four dedicated to The Lord of the Rings we can read the first three drafts - the later one reaching Moria - that he wrote before braking out for a long time after WWII broke out。 I loved seeing all the evolutions， meeting characters that never made it to the final cut， particularly the hobbit ranger Trotter （who will ultimately evolve into Aragorn）， Bingo Baggings who was the main character for the first couple of drafts， though I’ll admit I had a soft spot for taciturn， brooding Frodo Took。 I absolutely loved reading the notes that Tolkien wrote， and which went every time I bit further， as he envision the story and how it evolved。 It’s like watching the story take shape under my very eyes。 I loved the part of notes where Tolkien explored the nature of the One Ring， because it was like seeing his ideas move， chang and finally find a familiar form。 I was excited to see Sam appear for the first time in the second draft。 It’s such a different story from the one we know， but also so strangely familiar。 I loved it！ 。。。more
Nonethousand Oberrhein
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