Ultimate Collectors' Forums

I've known about this for sometime but am just now getting around to posting about it. It is a collection of essays in honor of the late great Christopher Tolkien, without whose painstaking work we would never have read The Silmarillion or any of the other collections of his father's work that he brought before the waiting public. It is coming out late summer (northern hemisphere summer, that is) and the editors are Richard Ovenden and Catherine McIlwaine. Among the contributors are many of the usual suspects of the Tolkien world, such as Tom Shippey, but also CJRT's very recently deceased sister, Priscilla.

Here's the publisher's blurb:

This collection of essays, family stories, and archival documents sheds new light on Christopher Tolkien’s contributions to the Tolkien legendarium.

Over more than four decades, J. R. R. Tolkien’s son and literary executor Christopher Tolkien completed some twenty-four volumes of his father’s work, much more than his father had succeeded in publishing during his own lifetime. Thanks to Christopher’s extraordinary publishing efforts and scholarship, readers today can survey and understand the vast landscape of Tolkien’s legendarium.

The Great Tales Never End sheds new light on J. R. R. Tolkien’s work and the debt owed to Christopher by the many Tolkien scholars who were privileged to work with him. Essays by world-renowned scholars and Tolkien family reminiscences offer unique insights into the publication process. What was Tolkien’s intended ending for The Lord of the Rings, and did it leave echoes in the stripped-down version that was actually published? What was the audience’s response to the first-ever adaptation of The Lord of the Rings—a radio dramatization that has now been deleted forever from the BBC’s archives?

The book is illustrated with color reproductions of J. R. R. Tolkien’s manuscripts, maps, drawings, and letters, as well as photographs of Christopher Tolkien and extracts from his works. Many of these documents have never been seen before, making this volume essential reading for Tolkien scholars, readers, and fans.

ooooooo.....sounds like something worth reading (if not owning outright).
Looking forward to its release.
Thanks for the heads-up.

So... I went over to the UK Amazon site to check for any updates on this ....

Amazon.co.uk shows the hardcover book will be released on 24 June 2022, pre-order price is £35.20

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bodleian Library (24 Jun. 2022)
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 232 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1851245650
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1851245659

Our Amazon (Amazon.com) says the book will be released 2 Sept 2022, pre-order price of $65

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bodleian Library, University of Oxford (September 2, 2022)
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1851245650
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1851245659

Couple of things to note:
There [apparently] will not be two separate editions, one British and one American, as both listings have the same publisher, and the same ISBN.
There is a difference in the number of pages, but I guess that can be attributed to who is counting the pages... some people will count a blank page, others won't.

The difference in the release date I find odd. But then perhaps it is different because the Brits have to ship crates of books across the pond to the US Amazon warehouses, which takes time, as does going through customs.

I also can't account for the price difference...£35.20 + £11.55 (Amazon UK shipping charge to the US) is £46.75 ....about $59 (USD).
If you order it through Amazon here you'll pay $65 + tax for a total of ~ $70.

Not a big difference but with inflation running amok it does make a difference to someone on a fixed income.
But, per usual, I will wait and buy it through the one of the 2nd hand booksellers (Alibris, ABE or Powells)

I got an email from Amazon the other day saying that there was a delay with my order and asking me to confirm that I still wanted it, which I did.

I see on their website it says in stock, usually ships in 4-5 days. I'm taking that to mean it's limited availability so they're not making promises about how fast they will get it out.

Mine finally shipped and is supposed to arrive Friday. Based on tracking, I'm guessing it'll actually come Thursday. I'm anxious to see what I paid so much for...during the lengthy pre-order period, the price never dropped. I'm guessing this was done as some sort of very limited run.

Olorin wrote: Wed Aug 31, 2022 11:29 am Mine finally shipped and is supposed to arrive Friday. Based on tracking, I'm guessing it'll actually come Thursday. I'm anxious to see what I paid so much for...during the lengthy pre-order period, the price never dropped. I'm guessing this was done as some sort of very limited run.

What did you pay for your copy (total, incl tax and shipping)?
I'm seeing totals close to $50 (at minimum) no matter where I look, even coming from the UK.

About $80 I think

From Amazon in the US?
You must have ordered the edition with the genuine imitation leather cover and gilt edged pages

I entered each of the ISBNs above into the Amazon search box and both took me here.
Guess I'll order it sometime soon.

Figures, now they have it on sale, and they never did while I had it on order. Oh well, water under the bridge.

So is yours also coming from "Blackwell's, UK"?

I actually received mine on Thursday through Amazon, and it originated from an Amazon facility in some strange place called Phoenix, Arizona.

And actually, my total price including tax was 70.85.

OK...so you actually only paid the original price (lined through) as shown on the Amazon site....I though $80 was pretty outrageous.
HAHA...from Phoenix, you say....Should be desiccated, all the pages super dried out, ready to crumble to dust.

I'm guessing it still came from the UK.
As I mentioned above there are not separate US and UK publishers for this...there is only one , and it's in the UK.
I think that is why it took so long between order and delivery.

It was published in the spring, (right?) and the UK-ziens got theirs pretty quickly, well before August.
Yours and others' orders and just stock had to come across the pond, and then be sent to an Amazon warehouse, or warehouses.
Maybe the A. warehouse closer to you is already depleted of its stock.

When I order mine I will let you know how quickly it shows up (or doesn't show up)