An unpublished JRR Tolkien book, which the author described as the "first real story" set in Middle Earth, is set to be published for the first time.
The Fall of Gondolin, which depicts the sacking of the city of Morgoth by the Dark Lord, was originally started by the author in 1917 before he went onto publish
Lord of the Rings trilogy and then
The Hobbit.
It will be published by the late author's son, Christopher, who edited and released another of his father's works -
Beren and Luthien - last year, and is expected to shed further light on the history and mythology of Middle Earth.
The news has been welcomed by the
Tolkien Society, who have described the new book as "the Holy Grail of Tolkien texts".
The society's chair, Shaun Gunner, said:
We never dared to dream that we would see this published. The Fall of Gondolin is, to many in the Tolkien community, the Holy Grail of Tolkien texts as one of Tolkien’s three Great Tales alongside The Children of Húrin and Beren and Lúthien. This beautiful story captures the rise and fall of a great Elven kingdom, taking place millennia before the events of The Lord of the Rings. This book brings all the existing work together in one place to present the story in full.
The new book will be published by Harper Collins on August 30.
