Sauron Defeated by JRR Tolkien (The History of The Lord of the Rings: Part 4)

7/10

In the first section of Sauron Defeated Christopher Tolkien completes his fascinating study of The Lord of the Rings. Beginning with Sam's rescue of Frodo from the Tower of Cirith Ungol, and giving a very different account of the Scouring of the Shire, this section ends with versions of the hitherto unpublished Epilogue, in which, years after the departure of Bilbo and Frodo from the Grey Havens, Sam attempts to answer his children's questions.

The second section is an edition of The Notion Club Papers, published here for the first time. These mysterious papers, discovered in the early years of the twenty-first century, report the discussions of an Oxford club in the years 1986-7, in which, after a number of topics, the centre of interest turns to the legends of Atlantis, the strange communications received by other members of the club from the past, and the violent irruption of the legend into the North-west of Europe. Closely associated with the Papers is a new version of the drowning of Anadûnê, which constitutes the third part of the book. At this time the language of the Men of the West, Adûnai, was first devised, and the book concludes with an account of its structure by Arundel Lowdham, a member of the Notion Club, who learned it in his dreams.

In this volume Christopher Tolkien completes his account of the writing of "The Lord of the Rings", beginning with Sam's rescue of Frodo from the Tower of Cirith Ungol and ending with an unpublished "Epilogue" in which years after the tale ends, Sam attempts to answer his children's questions. The book also includes "The Notion Club Papers", a semi-fictional discussion between a group of Oxford Dons of the possibilities of travel in space and time and the legend of Atlantis. The third part of the book is devoted to a new version of the Numenorean legend - "The Drowning of Anadune".

J.R.R.Tolkien (1892-1973) was a distinguished academic, though he is best known for writing The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, plus other stories and essays. His books have been translated into over 30 languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.