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A review by lectoribenevolo
The Return of the Shadow, Volume 6 by J.R.R. Tolkien
3.0
This volume, the sixth of the "History of Middle-Earth" series containing J.R.R. Tolkien's previously unpublished literary remains edited by Tolkien's son Christopher, chronicles Tolkien's first drafts of a sequel to [b:The Hobbit or There and Back Again|5907|The Hobbit or There and Back Again|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1546071216l/5907._SY75_.jpg|1540236] that ultimately became [b:The Fellowship of the Ring|34|The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1)|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1298411339l/34._SX50_.jpg|3204327], the first part of [b:The Lord of the Rings|33|The Lord of the Rings (The Lord of the Rings, #1-3)|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547450792l/33._SY75_.jpg|3462456]. Christopher Tolkien here presents edited selections of his father's drafts and notes from 1938 to early 1940 that show how the story that would become The Lord of the Rings took shape.
The most remarkable thing about reading the texts assembled in this volume is just how many central elements from the plot of The Fellowship of the Ring, and beyond, captured Tolkien's imagination from the start and survived vast changes in the cast of characters and expansion of Tolkien's invented universe. For instance: Bilbo always leaves the Shire after a massive birthday party; some relation of his always leaves the Shire to retrace his steps; there are always Black Riders; and there is from early on a Council of Elrond.
And yet so much of the story as we now know it only gets grafted on later. The character we now know as Frodo Baggins spends the majority of these drafts with the name "Bingo Baggins" or "Bingo Bolger-Baggins," and his relationship to Bilbo wavers between nephew and biological son. The hobbits who accompany Bingo/Frodo on the Ring Quest undergo wide changes in name, number, and characterization. Tolkien only came up with the idea of the One Ring, and its identity with Bilbo's ring from The Hobbit, midway through the period described in this book, although when he does come up with it, it is very similar to the concept in the published books. The character who came to be Strider/Aragorn, Ranger of the North, hidden heir of Isildur and rightful king of Gondor, was for the virtual entirety of this period not a man at all. Instead, he is a hobbit named "Trotter" who disappeared from the Shire when very young and became a Ranger. On a related point, the wider geopolitics of Middle Earth outside of the Shire, Rivendell, the Dwarves, and "the Enemy" Sauron is largely missing; there is no mention of Saruman and the betrayal of Isengard, one mention of Rohan and the speculation that it is in league with "the Enemy," and Gondor itself (here called the kingdom of Ond) is just a brave kingdom to the south represented by the irascible Boromir. Most shockingly, Treebeard is in league with The Enemy and in one version of the story captures and imprisons Gandalf, in effect taking over the unavoidable delay in Gandalf's getting to Rivendell that is later caused by Saruman.
Although this book is billed as a work by J.R.R. Tolkien, it seems much fairer to call this a lengthy scholarly essay by Christopher Tolkien in which edited manuscripts of his father's serve as exhibits. The ratio of J.R.R. Tolkien's drafts and notes in this volume to Christopher Tolkien's editorial notes and discussion is, by my estimate, about 60% to 40%. As Christopher Tolkien's contributions freely admit, this volume does not present edited full texts of every draft of the material discussed in here; if it had, it would have been a very long, very repetitious volume, and would have only been of interest to actual scholars of Tolkien engaged in detailed textual criticism. Christopher Tolkien instead exercises his editorial and scholarly judgment in presenting lengthy sections and excerpts that illustrate the evolution of J.R.R.'s main conceptions. As such, the "narrative" that develops here is shaped largely by Christopher's editorial judgment and conclusions regarding the archival materials. Obviously I have no independent basis on which to gainsay his choices and scholarly conclusions, and really no stake in doing so, either. It's just worth observing that, in form and execution, the reader ought to consider this book a secondary source on Tolkien that just happens to be heavily annotated with original texts that are, to my knowledge, unavailable elsewhere.
If you are looking for expanded context, or backstory, for The Lord of the Rings, this is not the book for you. (You should, if you haven't already, read [b:The Silmarillion|7332|The Silmarillion (Middle-Earth Universe)|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1336502583l/7332._SX50_.jpg|4733799] and [b:Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth|7329|Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1165611104l/7329._SY75_.jpg|2961645] for that.) As stated above, this book focuses on early versions of stories with which the Lord of the Rings fan is already familiar. I am personally left underwhelmed by the texts themselves, but also impressed with the flexibility and energy with which Tolkien subsequently adapted this material into a far grander narrative.
The most remarkable thing about reading the texts assembled in this volume is just how many central elements from the plot of The Fellowship of the Ring, and beyond, captured Tolkien's imagination from the start and survived vast changes in the cast of characters and expansion of Tolkien's invented universe. For instance: Bilbo always leaves the Shire after a massive birthday party; some relation of his always leaves the Shire to retrace his steps; there are always Black Riders; and there is from early on a Council of Elrond.
And yet so much of the story as we now know it only gets grafted on later. The character we now know as Frodo Baggins spends the majority of these drafts with the name "Bingo Baggins" or "Bingo Bolger-Baggins," and his relationship to Bilbo wavers between nephew and biological son. The hobbits who accompany Bingo/Frodo on the Ring Quest undergo wide changes in name, number, and characterization. Tolkien only came up with the idea of the One Ring, and its identity with Bilbo's ring from The Hobbit, midway through the period described in this book, although when he does come up with it, it is very similar to the concept in the published books. The character who came to be Strider/Aragorn, Ranger of the North, hidden heir of Isildur and rightful king of Gondor, was for the virtual entirety of this period not a man at all. Instead, he is a hobbit named "Trotter" who disappeared from the Shire when very young and became a Ranger. On a related point, the wider geopolitics of Middle Earth outside of the Shire, Rivendell, the Dwarves, and "the Enemy" Sauron is largely missing; there is no mention of Saruman and the betrayal of Isengard, one mention of Rohan and the speculation that it is in league with "the Enemy," and Gondor itself (here called the kingdom of Ond) is just a brave kingdom to the south represented by the irascible Boromir. Most shockingly, Treebeard is in league with The Enemy and in one version of the story captures and imprisons Gandalf, in effect taking over the unavoidable delay in Gandalf's getting to Rivendell that is later caused by Saruman.
Although this book is billed as a work by J.R.R. Tolkien, it seems much fairer to call this a lengthy scholarly essay by Christopher Tolkien in which edited manuscripts of his father's serve as exhibits. The ratio of J.R.R. Tolkien's drafts and notes in this volume to Christopher Tolkien's editorial notes and discussion is, by my estimate, about 60% to 40%. As Christopher Tolkien's contributions freely admit, this volume does not present edited full texts of every draft of the material discussed in here; if it had, it would have been a very long, very repetitious volume, and would have only been of interest to actual scholars of Tolkien engaged in detailed textual criticism. Christopher Tolkien instead exercises his editorial and scholarly judgment in presenting lengthy sections and excerpts that illustrate the evolution of J.R.R.'s main conceptions. As such, the "narrative" that develops here is shaped largely by Christopher's editorial judgment and conclusions regarding the archival materials. Obviously I have no independent basis on which to gainsay his choices and scholarly conclusions, and really no stake in doing so, either. It's just worth observing that, in form and execution, the reader ought to consider this book a secondary source on Tolkien that just happens to be heavily annotated with original texts that are, to my knowledge, unavailable elsewhere.
If you are looking for expanded context, or backstory, for The Lord of the Rings, this is not the book for you. (You should, if you haven't already, read [b:The Silmarillion|7332|The Silmarillion (Middle-Earth Universe)|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1336502583l/7332._SX50_.jpg|4733799] and [b:Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth|7329|Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-Earth|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1165611104l/7329._SY75_.jpg|2961645] for that.) As stated above, this book focuses on early versions of stories with which the Lord of the Rings fan is already familiar. I am personally left underwhelmed by the texts themselves, but also impressed with the flexibility and energy with which Tolkien subsequently adapted this material into a far grander narrative.