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JRR Tolkien book Beren and Lthien

published after 100 years
4-5 minutes

Image caption JRR Tolkien had the idea for Beren and Lthien after
returning from the Somme

A new book by Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien is going on

sale - 100 years after it was first conceived.

Beren and Lthien has been described as a "very personal story"

that the Oxford professor thought up after returning from the Battle of
the Somme.

It was edited by his son Christopher Tolkien and contains versions of

a tale that became part of The Silmarillion.

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The book features illustrations by Alan Lee, who won an Academy
Award for his work on Peter Jackson's film trilogy.

It is being published on Thursday by HarperCollins on the 10th

anniversary of the last Middle Earth book, The Children of Hrin.

Image copyright Alan Lee

Image caption Beren and Lthien is a love story that was partly inspired
by Tolkien's wife, Edith

Tolkien specialist John Garth, who wrote Tolkien And The Great
War, said the Hobbit author used his writing like an "exorcism" of the
horrors he witnessed in World War One.

He said: "When he came back from the trenches, with trench fever,
he spent the winter [of 1916-1917] convalescing.

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Media playback is unsupported on your device
Media captionAlan Lee won an Oscar for his work on Peter Jackson's film
trilogy

"He'd lost two of his dearest friends on the Somme and you can
imagine he must have been inside as much of a wreck as he was
physically."

Mr Garth said on a walk in an East Yorkshire wood Tolkien's wife

Edith danced in a glade filled with white flowers, which became the
key scene in Beren and Lthien.

He said: "Mr Tolkien felt the kind of joy he must have felt at times he
would never feel again."

The names Beren and Lthien are carved on the gravestone Tolkien
and his wife share in Wolvercote cemetery in Oxford.

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Image copyright Alan Lee
Image caption Alan Lee illustrates the book, having also worked on The
Lord of the Rings

Image copyright Alan Lee

Image caption Mr Lee won an Academy Award for his work on Peter
Jackson's film adaptations

The story is about the fate of lovers Beren and Lthien, a mortal man
and an immortal elf who together try to steal from the greatest of all
evil beings, Melkor.

For the new book Christopher Tolkien, now aged 92, has kept his
father's story in the original form in which it was written and has also
shown how the narrative changed to become part of The
Silmarillion.

Published in 1954, The Lord of the Rings was the sequel to The
Hobbit and is one of the most successful novels ever written, having
sold more than 150 million copies.

The film adaptation, released from 2001 to 2003, is one of the

highest-grossing series of all time, with the final movie also winning

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11 Academy Awards, tied for the most ever with Ben Hur.

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