The first part of The History of The Lord of the Rings, The Return Of The Shadow is J.R.R. Tolkien's enthralling account of the writing of the Book of the Century which contains many additional scenes and includes the unpublished Epilogue in its entirety. The Return of the Shadow is the story of the first part of the history of the creation of The Lord of the Rings, a fascinating study of Tolkien’s great masterpiece, from its inception to the end of the first volume, The Fellowship of the Ring. In The Return of the Shadow (the abandoned title of the first volume of The Lord of the Rings) we see how Bilbo’s magic ring evolved into the supremely dangerous Ruling Ring of the Dark Lord; and the precise, and astonishingly unforeseen, moment when a Black Rider first rode in to the Shire. The character of the hobbit called Trotter (afterwards Strider or Aragorn) is developed, and Frodo’s companions undergo many changes of name and personality. The book comes complete with reproductions of the first maps and facsimile pages from the earliest manuscripts.

J.R.R.トールキンの本作は、不朽の神話が産声を上げる瞬間の「震え」を記録した聖典です。指輪が邪悪な魔力を帯び、英雄の原型が意外な姿で現れる変遷には、創作の深淵を覗き見る喜びが凝縮されています。洗練される前の混沌とした原始的な熱量こそが、本書の放つ文学的な本質と言えるでしょう。 映像作品が「完成された美」を見せる一方、本書はテキストならではの「物語の分岐点」を提示します。映像の視覚情報とは一線を画す、初期草稿の不穏な静寂は想像力を刺激してやみません。映画という結果と、本書という過程を往復することで、壮大な叙事詩をより多層的な伝説へと昇華させる極上の体験が待っています。