About the Book
Edited by Christopher Tolkien.
The world first publication of a previously unknown work by J.R.R.
Tolkien, which tells the extraordinary story of the final days of
England’s legendary hero, King Arthur.
The Fall of Arthur recounts in verse the last campaign of King Arthur who, even as he
stands at the threshold of Mirkwood is summoned back to Britain by news
of the treachery of Mordred. Already weakened in spirit by Guinevere's
infidelity with the now-exiled Lancelot, Arthur must rouse his knights
to battle one last time against Mordred's rebels and foreign
mercenaries.
Powerful, passionate and filled with vivid imagery, The Fall of Arthur reveals Tolkien's gift for storytelling at its
brilliant best. Originally composed by J.R.R. Tolkien in the 1930s, this work was set aside for The Hobbit and has lain untouched for 80 years.
Now it has been edited for publication by Tolkien's son, Christopher, who
contributes three illuminating essays that explore the literary world of King Arthur, reveal the deeper meaning of the verses and the
painstaking work that his father applied to bring it to a finished form, and the intriguing links between The Fall of Arthur and his greatest
creation, Middle-earth.
