The Return of the Shadow by Tolkien, J. R. R - 1988

Hardback. Very Good.

London: Unwin Hyman. Very Good in Very Good dust jacket. 1988. 2nd impression. Hardcover. 0044401620 . Edges and endpapers lightly foxed, top edge more so. Light red ink line to bottom edge. Ink stamp to rear endpaper. Jacket foxed on verso, 2 small closed tears at folds ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 480 pages .

VGC. Unwin Hyman, 1988. Second reprint. Black hardback (gilt lettering to the spine, small nicks and light shelf wear on the edges of the cover) with Dj (small tear, chips, nicks and scratches on the edges of the front Dj cover), both in VGC. Illustrated with b/w drawings, colour map. Nice and clean pages with two small ink marks on the outer edges, light shelf wear on the Dj cover. 499pp including List of illustrations, index. Price un-clipped. Heavy book.

London: London: Unwin Hyman 1989 First Edition, Third Printing 8vo 497pp ISBN 0-04-440162-0, 1989 Fine original black cloth, in Fine Brodart-protected unclipped DW. In The Return of the Shadow, Christopher Tolkien describes, with full citation of the earliest notes, outline plans, and narrative drafts, the intricate evolution of The Fellowship of the Ring. The enlargement of Bilbo's 'magic ring' into the supremely potent and dangerous Ruling Ring of the Dark Lord is traced; the character of a Hobbit called Trotter is developed while his identity remains an insoluble puzzle; the Hobbits, Frodo's companions, undergo intricate permutations of name and personality, and other major figures appear in strange modes: a sinister Treebeard, in league with the Enemy, a ferocious and malevolent Farmer Maggot. The story in this book ends at the point where J.R.R. Tolkien halted in the story for a long time, as the Company of the Ring, still lacking Legolas and Gimli, stood before the tomb of Balin… Read More