Before Lord of the Rings, and even before The Hobbit, there was The Fall of Arthur. Tolkien penned this narrative poem about one of England’s greatest legends almost century ago, though only a few excerpts have seen the light. (If you can’t wait for the release, you can read them in Humphrey Carpenter’s biography of Tolkien.) In a little over half a year, however, you’ll be able to read the entire poem. Harper Collins plans to release the book on 23 May of 2013, making it the first new Tolkien work to have been published since The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún was released in 2009.
According to Humphrey Carpenter, the poem “did not touch on the Grail but began an individual rendering of the Morte d’Arthur, in which the king and Gawain go to war in ‘Saxon lands’ but are summoned home by news of Mordred’s treachery.” The new book will include commentary by Christopher Tolkien.
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