Help: Tolkien Deluxe Edition Collection Possibilities?

15 Jun, 2008
2008-6-15 12:23:15 AM UTC

Hi, I have a few questions that I have regarding two different deluxe editions that were recently released by Harper Collins:

A) The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, The History of Middle Earth Vol. I, II, III -> These are the ones originally priced at 100 pounds each

B) The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, The Children of Hurin -> These are the ones originally priced at 60 pounds each, and were also available as the Tolkien Deluxe Edition Collection of 500 copies

So here are my tough questions:

1) Can we assume that deluxe edition A is complete, meaning The Children of Hurin (and Tales from the Perilous Realm) will probably not be released as deluxe edition A?

2) Is the following link of Tales from the Perilous Realm deluxe edition B?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tales-Perilou ... collsguid-21&linkCode=osi

3) Is Tales of the Perilous Realm related to the original four books for it to be released as deluxe edition B?

4) History of Middle Earth Vol. I, II, III originally started getting released since 1983, meaning it's like the 25th anniversary right now, and they are definitely related to the original four books, so are there any plans for them to be released as deluxe edition B?

5) What about other books from Tolkien that are related to the original four books for them to be released as deluxe edition B in the future?

I know I'm asking quite a few questions at once, but I'm sure there are other people wondering about these just as much as I am, so any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

Urulókë

15 Jun, 2008
2008-6-15 6:03:06 AM UTC

Hi Jay,

an interesting article on the Tales From the Perilous Realm with insider information can be found at The Tolkien Library here:

Tales_from_the_Perilous_Realm on TolkienLibrary.com

In it Pieter mentions that it is still quite uncertain if the Deluxe edition will ever get made.

For your questions:

1) Can we assume that deluxe edition A is complete, meaning The Children of Hurin (and Tales from the Perilous Realm) will probably not be released as deluxe edition A?

Yes (in my mind). There is no known plan to go back to the leather/india paper format to match newer titles to this.

2) Is the following link of Tales from the Perilous Realm deluxe edition B?

If it gets made, it should be. Note that there is no guarantee that it will match the exact size and format of previous editions. Even for your "type A" some of the books were different heights, so they don't look quite right next to each other on the shelf.

3) Is Tales of the Perilous Realm related to the original four books for it to be released as deluxe edition B?

Not quite sure what you mean? HarperCollins does Deluxe editions of titles that they think will sell enough copies to make it worth while. If they think this book will sell a lot of deluxe copies, they'll make it.

4) History of Middle Earth Vol. I, II, III originally started getting released since 1983, meaning it's like the 25th anniversary right now, and they are definitely related to the original four books, so are there any plans for them to be released as deluxe edition B?

Not that I know of. They have been released in original HC, paperback, the three india paper/black slipcase edition, then a boxed set of the three volume set in black dustjackets, then the same 3 hardcovers in different colors as individual volumes. I'd say the deluxe market is pretty tapped out for these books, but you never know.

5) What about other books from Tolkien that are related to the original four books for them to be released as deluxe edition B in the future?

I believe HarperCollins has said that there is not enough market for Unfinished Tales to be put out in a deluxe edition, but I can't find a source for this memory. Beyond that, since The Children of Húrin did quite well, I would not doubt if someone said that Christopher was working on another polished version of something from his father's legendarium.

Jay

15 Jun, 2008
2008-6-15 7:43:02 AM UTC

Hi Rowns,

Thanks for your quick answers, it's helping me a lot.

Not quite sure what you mean? HarperCollins does Deluxe editions of titles that they think will sell enough copies to make it worth while. If they think this book will sell a lot of deluxe copies, they'll make it.

I guess I'm trying to figure out what books are closely related to each other that you have to read them all to fully understand everything. For example, to read The Lord of the Rings, you really have to read The Hobbit first. Then you can read The Silmarillion to get a better understanding, and if you want even more, you can read The History of Middle Earth Vol. I, II, III.

The two books that I'm not sure are closely related to the above books are The Children of Hurin & The Tales from the Perilous Realm, so are they related enough or not? And since you mentioned it, what about Unfinished Tales, is that closely related to the above books too?

It's good to realize that what you said is probably right on the money, Harper Collins does deluxe editions of titles that will sell enough, whether they are really related to each other or not, and I will most likely collect all their deluxe editions. I'm just trying to see which version is better, A or B:

Version A are six books that are very very closely related to each other.
Version B are obviously missing The History of Middle Earth Vol. I, II, III (which is why I guess I'm hoping for them to release these in this format sometime in the future) but have The Children of Hurin instead (which again I'm wondering if it's related enough to the original six books, as well as The Tales from the Perilous Realm & Unfinished Tales).

Mithrennaith
Just can't stay away

21 Jun, 2008
2008-6-21 3:33:05 AM UTC

The Unfinished Tales is best regarded as volume 0 of The History of Middle-earth (or volume 13, depending on your point of view). The Children of Húrin is actually the expansion of one chapter from The Silmarillion, most of its material having already appeared in Unfinished Tales or History 10&11. So they're both closely related.

Perilous Realm is not closely related. It contains 'fairy stories' not set in M-e. But they're still related to Tolkien's philosophic concept of mythology and fairy stories that is also behind M-e.

Help: Tolkien Deluxe Edition Collection Possibilities?

On This Day

Calendar

Recent Posts