L'ENCYCLOPEDIE DU SEIGNEUR DES ANNEAUX

This encyclopaedia offers a unique behind-the-scenes look at a work that is no less colossal – one of the greatest classics of the 20th century – and provides detailed accounts of all its key figures, locations, objects and events. As erudite and thorough as it is easy to read, it covers the entire chronology of its creation, from Tolkien’s doubts about his publisher’s commission to its literary success, via the numerous revisions that shaped the story we know today.

In particular, you will learn how Trotteur, a hobbit with a minor role, eventually transformed into Aragorn, the heir of Isildur, and discover Tolkien’s various sources of inspiration. Beyond this fascinating literary archaeology, the book serves as a veritable grimoire of Middle-earth. Every character, from Galadriel to Gollum, reveals their most intimate secrets; every people, from the Ents to the Rohirrim, shares their ancestral traditions; every place, from Lothlórien to the depths of Moria, unfolds its mysterious geography. Enriched by the author’s unpublished manuscripts and correspondence, this scholarly work sheds new light on the Elvish languages, the complex genealogies and the millennia-old chronologies that underpin the epic.

An essential coffee-table book for all those who wish to unravel the mysteries of this modern mythology and understand the secret workings of an extraordinary creative mind.