Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Book of Interest: The Fall of Arthur


I read "The Once and Future King" by T.H. White a few years ago and I loved it. So when I saw this online I knew I had to read it. I didn't even know J.R.R. Tolkien wrote a book about King Arthur. It's not available until the end of May.

Here's another book that will be going on my wish list.

Book: The Fall of Arthur by J.R.R. Tolkien with edits by Christopher Tolkien

Book Description:

The world first publication of a previously unknown work by J.R.R. Tolkien, which tells the extraordinary story of the final days of England’s legendary hero, King Arthur.

The Fall of Arthur recounts in verse the last campaign of King Arthur who, even as he stands at the threshold of Mirkwood is summoned back to Britain by news of the treachery of Mordred. Already weakened in spirit by Guinevere's infidelity with the now-exiled Lancelot, Arthur must rouse his knights to battle one last time against Mordred's rebels and foreign mercenaries.

Powerful, passionate and filled with vivid imagery, The Fall of Arthur reveals Tolkien's gift for storytelling at its brilliant best. Originally composed by J.R.R. Tolkien in the 1930s, this work was set aside for The Hobbit and has lain untouched for 80 years.

Now it has been edited for publication by Tolkien's son, Christopher, who contributes three illuminating essays that explore the literary world of King Arthur, reveal the deeper meaning of the verses and the painstaking work that his father applied to bring it to a finished form, and the intriguing links between The Fall of Arthur and his greatest creation, Middle-earth.


No comments: