# The Tolkien Audio Collection: JRRT narrator



## Eledhwen (Feb 3, 2005)

The Tolkien Audio Collection [AUDIOBOOK] 
J.R.R. Tolkien (Narrator), Christopher Tolkien (Narrator) 

This is available from Amazon. The above is its UK title. In the US it is marketed as: The J.R.R. Tolkien Audio Collection [ABRIDGED]

Here is a review from the UK site:

_Reviewer: A reader from Belfast 
Christopher Tolkien's selected readings from the Silmarillion tell the story of Beren and Luthien - surely a legend worthy of 1000 pages itself - and of the Darkening of Valinor.

The trials, tribulations, treachery and heroism of the Feanor clan are laid bare in a rich subtle voice full of pathos and terror as the text demands. 

For those who found the Silmarillion daunting these readings are essential. They clear the way for a full understanding of the history and context of the subsequent Lord of the Rings. 

The links with the Lord of the Rings are the key to a full appreciation of the Silmarillion. The obvious parallel of Beren and Luthien and Aragorn and Arwen are merely interesting compared to the strands that thread the Trees of Valinor, the Silmarils and the Phial of Galadriel as they stretch to the Third Age. 

A memorable passage introduces Galadriel and we get a glimpse of her majesty, ambition and power that was to be further exposed in the Lord of the Rings.

Perhaps the finest legacy of the readings is the image of the earlier ages of Middle Earth that will have listeners scurrying back to the Silmarillion for more.

This is all great stuff and Christopher Tolkien reads surprisingly well. I only wish he was a bit more prolific. _

I am ordering my copy the day after my birthday (If I don't own one already by then!).


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## lamariaevenstar (Feb 3, 2005)

ohhh thanks so much, that's awesome!


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## Eledhwen (Feb 4, 2005)

All thanks are due to *Mr Barliman Butterbur*, worthy inkeeper of Bree, who did the necessary search for this item. I did not even know whether these recordings had survived.


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## Barliman Butterbur (Feb 4, 2005)

Eledhwen said:


> All thanks are due to *Mr Barliman Butterbur*, worthy inkeeper of Bree, who did the necessary search for this item. I did not even know whether these recordings had survived.



Thank you for such *fulsome praise* **blushing furiously** , I was just doing what any good fan of the Professor might do to contribute to the Forum! 

AND, as it happens, the mail just arrived, and I am holding my copy in my hot sweaty trembling hands _right now_ — woo hoo! AND, there are not one, not two, but _four_ CDs in the set! _Double_ woo hoo!!!

"The charming voice of Tolkien, bringing Middle English accenting to the craggy characters of the Middle Earth, is irresistable." —_Publishers Weekly_

Barley


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## Barliman Butterbur (Feb 4, 2005)

*Tolkien Voices*

I've had a chance to do some listening to both Tolkiens now — JRR and C. The son sounds like a younger version of the father: same basic voice timbre (a bit lighter and higher), same pacing and pronunciation — remarkable!

And Dad really gets into it when doing Gollum! Great fun this!

Barley


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## Eledhwen (Feb 4, 2005)

This happened to me at Christmas too ... I had to wait two weeks until Christmas Day for my copy of RotK EE. Now I have to wait until next week to get my Tolkien audiobook, just in case someone's read my wish list. Thanks for the teaser trailers, Barley. Four CDs? Excellent!


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## Halasían (Feb 23, 2005)

_'It comes in Tolkien-narrated Audio CDS? I'm getting me one!'_


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## Eledhwen (Dec 17, 2005)

I was listening to Riddles in the Dark the other day, read by JRRT; and can confirm beyond doubt that Gollum was Welsh. 

And Tolkien's rendition (in song!) of Sam Gamgee singing the troll song was definitely done with a Yorkshire accent.

As I write this, I'm listening to all the Entish poetry.


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## yhwh1st (Aug 19, 2007)

I just found this thread. A friend showed me a sample of this about three years ago and I made a mad dash for the computer first thing I got home and ordered it. I *LOVED* it! The _way_ they were read was almost exactly like I know my grandpa would read them (except for the accent). But I just love listening to them, they're so much fun!

Unfortunately I need to replace mine. They were stolen a while ago.


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## Eledhwen (Aug 21, 2007)

yhwh1st said:


> ...they were read was almost exactly like I know my grandpa would read them (except for the accent). But I just love listening to them, they're so much fun!
> 
> Unfortunately I need to replace mine. They were stolen a while ago.


You sound like the sort of person who would love Tolkien's "Letters from Father Christmas". I don't think whoever stole your CDs can have been a real fan - they may have thought they were getting full audiobooks. Maybe I'm being naïve, but I think a real fan would know how much this recording would mean to its owner.


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## Eledhwen (Dec 21, 2007)

I just wanted to say that I've downloaded a free WMP-MP3 audio converter, and can now listen to all these gems on my MP3 player.


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