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Many years ago, J.R.R. Tolkien composed his own version, now published for the first time, of the great legend of Northern antiquity, in two closely related poems to which he gave the titles The New Lay of the Völsungs and The New Lay of Gudrún.
In the Lay of the Völsungs is told the ancestry of the great hero Sigurd, the slayer of Fáfnir most celebrated of dragons, whose treasure he took for his own; of his awakening of the Valkyrie Brynhild who slept surrounded by a wall of fire; and of his coming to the court of the great princes who were named the Niflungs (or Nibelungs), with whom he entered into blood-brotherhood. In that court there sprang great love but also great hate, brought about by the power of the enchantress, mother of the Niflungs, skilled in the arts of magic, of shape-changing and potions of forgetfulness.
In scenes of dramatic intensity, of confusion of identity, thwarted passion, jealousy and bitter strife, the tragedy of Sigurd and Brynhild, and Gudrún his sister, mounts to its end in the murder of Sigurd at the hands of his blood-brothers, the suicide of Brynhild, and the despair of Gudrún. In the Lay of Gudrún her fate after the death of Sigurd is told, her marriage against her will to the mighty Atli, ruler of the Huns (the Attila of history), his murder of her brothers, and her hideous revenge.
Deriving his version primarily from his close study of the ancient poetry of Norway and Iceland known as the Poetic Edda (and from the later prose work the Völsunga Saga), Tolkien employed a verse-form whose lines embody in English the exacting alliterative rhythms and the concentrated energy of the poems of the Edda.
This ancient poetry remained a deep force in Tolkien′s life′s work. Here, at last, is presented the source of the wellspring that would lead to The Hobbit and The Children of Húrin. It is the first full flourishing of a rich narrative style and powerful, dramatic storytelling that was destined to become famous throughout the world.
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Mr Bliss
Professor J.R.R. Tolkien invented and illustrated the book of Mr Bliss′s adventures for his own children when they were very young. The book was handwritten with lots of detailed and uproarious colour pictures. This is a highly imaginative tale of complete eccentricity. Mr Bliss, a man...
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![The Pocket Hobbit [75th Anniversary Edition]](http://www.harpercollins.com/harperimages/isbn/small/9/9780007440849.jpg)
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The Pocket Hobbit [75th Anniversary Edition]
Bilbo Baggins enjoys a quiet and contented life, with no desire to travel far from the comforts of home; then one day the wizard Gandalf and a band of dwarves arrive unexpectedly and enlist his services - as a burglar - on a dangerous expedition to raid the treasure-hoard of Smaug...
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Tales From The Perilous Realm: Roverandom and other classic Faery Storie
The four tales are written with the same skill, quality and hallmarks that made Tolkien′s Hobbit a classic. Largely overlooked because of their short lengths, they are finally together in a volume which reaffirms Tolkien′s place as a master storyteller for readers young and old...
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Archon
By Sabrina Benulis
There are some things worse than death . . . For years, Angela Mathers has been plagued by visions of a supernatural being—an angel with beguiling eyes and magnificent wings who haunts her thoughts and seduces her dreams. Newly freed from a mental institution where she had been locked away for two...
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Every Which Way But Dead with Bonus Material
By Kim Harrison
For a limited time and at a reduced price, catch up with Rachel Morgan and the Hollow Series with Every Which Way But Dead at a special price! Also included is an exclusive sneak peek at Kim Harrison's new novel, Perfect Blood, available February 21st. In Every Which Way But Dead, witch and former...
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