History of Middle-earth

Includes Beren and Luthien, Turin and the Dragon, and full narratives of the Necklace of the Dwarves and the Fall of Gondolin. Also includes commentary and poems associated with each tale.

The Lays of Beleriand are epic stories in verse form of the Elder days of Middle-earth. Contained herein is The Lay of the Children of Hurin, which tell the tale of Turin Son of Hurin and Glorund the Dragon. The Lay of Leithian tells of Thingol, of the meeting of Beren and Luthien, and of the battle between Fiingolfin and Morgoth. Together these Lays form an important backdrop to The Silmarillion, and illuminate some of the oldest tales of Middle-earth....

This fifth volume of The History of Middle-earth, edited by Christopher Tolkien, completes the presentation of the whole compass of his writing on those themes up to that time. Later forms of the Annuals of Valinor and the Annals of Berleriand had been composed, The Silmarillion was nearing completion in a greatly amplified version, and a new map had been made; the myth of the Music of the Ainur had become a separate work; and the legend of the Downfall...

Christopher Tolkien chronicles his father's creation of the novel "The Lord of the Rings," presenting early drafts and showing how the cast of characters grew after the first stage of writing. Also discusses Tolkien's changing map of Middle-earth, and the runic alphabets