onthetrail - That’s such a sweet anecdote. I find it so lovely when I hear how “Tolkien” has been passed down from one generation to the next. ?

@Eorl wrote:
onthetrail - That’s such a sweet anecdote. I find it so lovely when I hear how “Tolkien” has been passed down from one generation to the next. ?

Thank you @Eorl. I honestly owe him much for introducing me to Tolkien and many other great writers. He never saw age as a barrier to reading so I maybe read some stuff that other parents would deem unsuitable but it set me up for a lifetime of reading. We read The Hobbit together when he was very ill and wheelchair bound so it was something I remember so vividly after he had been in a coma and in hospital for much of my early childhood. I was hooked from those now famous opening lines and read The Lord of the Rings soon after, it took me the best part of 1989 to read it, I was 8 after all. I didn't understand much of it that first read but I have read it every year since. Middle-earth was an escape for me, a place of shelter from some harsh times for a little boy so I have much to be thankful for in finding Tolkien and Middle-earth.

Ara wrote:

Hi everyone! I'm new here

I'm just about to make an order for this edition but there are some things I'm still thinking about.
To be honest I've never read LOTR in english, as my mother language is spanish, so I've been wanting to get my hands on a nice english edition for a while already.

For what I've been reading on the last months, the 60th anniversary illustrated edition and the anniversary boxed set (with the reader's companion) seemed to be the best options in text quality, as they have the latest corrected version and such. The 1st one seems too impractical though and I just found out the most recent prints of the 2nd one have been lacking in printing quality.

So now I've turned my eyes to this illustrated 4 books edition which in therms of quality seems the best option but now I'm wondering about the text, like which version is it and such. Do you have any opinions/knowledge on this?

Hi Ara, welcome! I'm new here as well. I've been lurking for the longest time and finally decided to join the party!

Personally I would definitely recommend getting an English version of the books. I always believe that books should be read in author's native language if possible. The translations, no matter how good, quite often miss the soul. I have read the books in Polish and English and the latter is much better!

This edition is simply gorgeous and looks stunning on a bookcase.

I'd like to add that the 60th anniversary slipcased edition (the complete novel as one book) is essentially the exact same thing as the new illustrated set - it's just a difference between 1 book or 3 (well, 4 actually, with the fourth being The Hobbit.)

To have started reading LOTR at the age of 8 and not set it aside is commendable ??

Love this edition but noticed one error on the map of Rohan, Gondor and Mordor appearing in The Return of the King that appears to be novel. Cirith Ungol is misspelled as Kirith Ungol. That error does not appear in the 2014 one volume illustrated edition.

In Hammond and Scull's The Lord of the Rings A Reader's Companion this is briefly mentioned on page lxiv. Christopher thought no-one would pronounce the "C" words correctly and spelled them with a "K" on the map that he drew. My 1st edition Return of the King maps (by Christopher) all have Kirith Ungol.

Interestingly, I checked my 50th anniversary editions, US and UK, as a brief spot-check. The US edition has Cirith Ungol, the UK has Kirith Ungol. Stephen Raw's redrawn maps (with the cooperation of Christopher Tolkien) for the UK paperbacks, has Cirith Ungol. The map you have pictured in your post is the original Christopher drawing, it looks to me.

I really need to get a copy of this edition, I just have been resisting due to the inordinate amount of shipping cost...

I now feel the urge to look at a whole variety of these maps and see what else is different between them.

Oh, and welcome Gloinson to the site! Always good to have new voices here.

Thanks so much, Urulókë! I should have done more homework before posting! It really is a wonderful edition, and I’d recommend obtaining a set if you can. I ordered mine through Blackwell’s.

Gloinson wrote:

Love this edition but noticed one error on the map of Rohan, Gondor and Mordor appearing in The Return of the King that appears to be novel. Cirith Ungol is misspelled as Kirith Ungol. That error does not appear in the 2014 one volume illustrated edition.

Checked my copy of The Return of the King (from The Lord of the Rings 60th anniversary edition boxed set) and on that map it's spelt "Cirith Ungol."

My printings of the books in that set are:
The Fellowship of the Ring: 9 (ironic)
The Two Towers: 8
The Return of the King: 8
Companion: 3

I purchased that set in the fall of 2015, in celebration of The Return of the King’s publication anniversary.

If you want me to check anything else in my editions, let me know