The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun: New Tolkien Book Coming

NEW YORK — An early, long-unpublished work by J.R.R. Tolkien is coming out.

"The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun," a thorough reworking in verse of old Norse epics that predates Tolkien's writing of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, will be published in May by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

According to Houghton, the book will include an introduction by Tolkien and notes by his son, Christopher Tolkien.

J.R.R. Tolkien, whose fantasy novels have sold millions of copies, died in 1973. "The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun" was written in the 1920s and '30s, when the author was teaching at Oxford University.

Comments

[knosiswar]

Tolkien and CS Lewis were college buddies who wrote about factual history, not fantasy. They embellished some, but never was it about fiction. Dragons and Dragon Slayers is a part of every ancient culture known to man.

[TheBaffler]

*beep* *boop* *beep* *beep*

The mother ship has come to retrieve you.

[fbernkastel]

Er, no, actually, he's right. Tolkien was an academic. This story is based on an old Germanic legend, the story of the Volsungs (or Nibelungs in Middle High German). It was also the basis for Wagner's "The Ring".

[Kratos]

yeah! i cant wait!

[TheBaffler]

Harold Bloom is right about Tolkien, as he is about King and Rowling.

[fbernkastel]

Please don't attempt to sound intelligent by summoning up the name of Bloom. Nobody's fooled.

[TolkienLibrary]

I'm actually excited about this new Tolkien book, since it will be the world first publication of a previously unknown work by J.R.R. Tolkien, which tells the epic story of the Norse hero, Sigurd, the dragon-slayer, the revenge of his wife, Gudrún, and the Fall of the Nibelungs. No part has ever been reproduced or quoted from since it was written over 70 years ago.

Also exciting is that introducing the work is one of Tolkien’s lectures on Norse literature, so you get to 'hear' the voice of the author as he would have spoken when introducing the legends to students. If you have read the foreword in Tolkien's Beowulf or have read his essay 'On Fairy Stories' you will see that Tolkien has many qualities. Not only did he create his Middle-earth works, which was the base for all modern science fiction, he was also a great professor who wrote some very important academic essays. It seems to me that most people only judge Tolkien for his books on Hobbits and Elves, but forget his impact in the academic world. It also seems to me that most literary critics have forgotten the importance of Northern Legends on modern literature. Now you can call it an 'obscure' work, but if you are into literature you should know that this Legend has been in existence for ages and it will be very interesting to see Tolkien's version.

[ChrisR]

Nice, but "...the base for all modern science fiction" is a bit much: I'd hand that to Jules Verne. The base for all "modern fantasy" is more accurate.

[TolkienLibrary]

Thanks ChrisR think that is indeed more accurate!

[mexamerican]

dorks all over the world are rejoicing.

[ohioan73]

Hells yea! :D I'm totally psyched!

[shengirl]

There's usually a good reason why these "obscure" works are "obscure" in the first place. Most should be left there, IMO.

[kps888]

They are obscure because most people in these modern times are not equipped to understand the depth and detail of the language used.

Tolkien's early works are not for everybody, but if one is literate and has an above average IQ, I highly recommend them.

[fbernkastel]

Meh, in this case not really. This isn't really part of his fiction-writing career, but his academic career, which is most likely why it hasn't been published.

[KristaJulieva]

Tupac's got nuthin' on Tolkien.

[Sutungpo]

Come on, Tolkien fans, read a REAL writer, like Rushdie or Allende or Grass or Robbins, or...

You get the picture. Tolkien was marginally better than most of the intellectual pablum served up by genre fiction, but I hardly think that should be enough to spawn a multi-billion dollar empire that's lasted for 60 years. There are REAL writers who tell BETTER stories out there. Let Tolkien rest in peace. Anyone who thinks that anything of his is great literature should be laughed out of kindergarten.

[livesimply]

Even a literary critic (which you are not) does not judge what others read. I read a variety of literature and as a youngster, I loved Tolkien. It will be interesting to hear the reviews on this.

[oldcat]

So your point is? Real writers? You are so typical of an elitist intellectual snob. If it is popular it has to be bad. Literature is a personal choice and not something we have to read to please others. Rushdie, Allende and the rest, and I have them all, are fine but I read them for what they are, not because you think they are better than Tolkien.

[albiceleste]

Amen.

[swift goat pet for truth]

Mmm... intellectual pablum.

[Dystopic]

I prefer intellectual Farina

[SkuddGobang]

There's plenty of time to read everything... Harry Potter, Long Lost Tolkein, Salman Rushdie and ghost-written books about Hollywood stars. Some of my favorite books have been silly novels by obscure authors I get from Insight Out Books (a GLBT book club).

If I like reading unreleased, not-that-great Tolkien toss-offs, I'll read them whether you approve or not. Climb down off your high horse and enjoy reading.

[Housewife]

Why so threatened by Tolkien? Just because his work is popular and you don't appreciate it doesn't make it pablum. It makes you an intellectual SNOB.

[ramblingjohnny]

Am starting to get really suspicious of all these estates who are publishing long lost unpublished books decades after the author death!

[StrangeOne]

You mean you're beginning to suspect that L. Ron Hubbard didn't really leave 287 novels unpublished when he died?

[balickistan]

careful what you say. tom cruise may f@(k up your couch.

[ramblingjohnny]

I said author not con artist!

[normathumb]

Hubbard may well have written hundreds of unpublished novels. It would put him in the same league as Louis Lamour, Isaac Asimov and Dame Barbera Cartland. Far be it from me to dismiss any of them as compulsive writers. They all have fans for their hundreds and hundreds of books.

[RumiSouth]

Someone on this thread compared Tolkien to Tupac. I'm convinced neither of them is dead, especially Tupac, who's had a new platinum album every other year since his "death."