# After 50 years, we finally get 'Rings' done right



## Barliman Butterbur (Oct 24, 2004)

Posted on Thu, Oct. 21, 2004

*After 50 years, we finally get 'Rings' done right*

By Jeff Guinn

Star-Telegram Books Editor

It took 50 years to the day -- and a bit more than 31 years after his death in 1973 -- but J.R.R. Tolkien finally has the book he always intended.

For $100, Frodo fans can purchase a 1,147-page, gold-leaf-trimmed mega-volume of The Lord of the Rings from Houghton Mifflin that conforms to every elaborate detail initially imagined by the Oxford professor. The 400-page edition of The Lord of the Rings, published in America by Houghton on Oct. 21, 1954, was only a literary sliver of what its author wanted in print.

"After The Hobbit was published in 1937 in England and 1938 in America, Tolkien's publishers waited 16 years for him to give them a sequel," says Clay Harper, vice president and Tolkien projects director at Houghton Mifflin. "What they finally got was not what they expected, which was another compact, mostly gentle story for young readers. Instead, Tolkien delivered a massive, 1,000-pages-plus novel with some of the same characters but far darker. Tolkien also insisted the book be printed in two colors of ink, red as well as black, and include extra, elaborate maps."

Full details at: http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/living/9975642.htm?1c

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There's a really nice picture of JRRT at the site.

Barley


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## Hobbit-queen (Oct 25, 2004)

Thank you.

That would be a wonderful Christmas present for myself. I've been dreaming about a super volume of the books for a while. This one seems to be the cream of the crop.

Always,
Hobbit-queen


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## Astaldo (Oct 26, 2004)

Yeah this would be a really great present for Tolkien fans


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## 33Peregrin (Oct 26, 2004)

I had planned to get that great read leather bound edition of LOTR with my Christmas money this year, but now it seems I may have to change my mind.


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