Middle-earth Envisioned: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings: On Screen, On Stage and Beyond (31.10.13 by Pieter Collier) - Comments

Next week we see the release of an amazing new hardcover book called MIDDLE-EARTH Envisioned: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings: On Screen, On Stage and Beyond. It is written by Paul Simpson and Brian J. Robb and published by Race Point Publishing. This books explores the artistic legacy of Tolkien’s world. It is the very first book to include the never-before-published lost art of Mary Fairburn.

The painstakingly crafted world that J.R.R. Tolkien created for The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion is so vivid that it's easy to briefly imagine Middle-earth as a real place-even Tolkien himself had said it existed somewhere on Earth.

From the languages spoken and the creatures that peopled it to the wars and cosmology, the richly imagined Middle-earth has left many artists and fans worldwide imagining what it would look and feel like to inhabit such a wildly inspired world.

Tolkien left out no details in his picture so it is no surprise that Middle-earth has inspired such inventiveness in turn.

According to the publisher, Middle-earth Envisioned is the first book to explore the artistic legacy left by tolkien's world. We have of course seen others in the past, but must agree it is one of the first that incorporates such a large body of artists, movie adaptations and theater plays! And the cover is brilliant, don't you agree?

Paintings, drawings, theatrical performances, radio serials, and films inspired by The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are all discussed in a manner that further illuminates the brilliance of tolkien's creation. It is impossible to enter in all radio performances or let stand the hundreds of plays inspired by Tolkien and when it comes to art... whe are just scratching the surface here. But overal the book brings us a fantastic overview, and to new fans (those who arrived with The Lord of the Rings, and who knows The Hobbit movie adaptations) this book might open up a new world! I remember several books released in 1992 followed by several exhibitions that had a lasting impact in me. If only one theater play is peformed or one artist gets inspired by this book to make Middle-earth inspired art, then I believe this book did his job! Start reading and be impressed of how much there is next to the movies! Since Peter Jackson created his movie version I always felt Tolkien inspired art had sort of died, and now I hope this books kicks it all off again.

Readers will discover details surrounding an attempted Beatles live-action version (with Paul McCartney as Frodo Baggins), a nearly four-hour Canadian musical, the West End stage production of The Lord of the Rings, and of course, the Peter Jackson films-including the Hobbit trilogy-and much more. In this beautifully illustrated gift book, discover the richness of Middle-earth anew, through the works of the artists inspired by it.

This beautiful book features the incredible artwork of Pauline Baynes, the Hildebrandt Brothers, Roger Garland, John Howe, Alan Lee, Cor Blok and more. Middle-Earth Envisioned also features—for the first time ever in print—the lost art of Mary Fairburn, the English schoolteacher whose paintings of The Lord of the Rings were favored by Tolkien him-self. There’s over 300 images in the book, all depicting the many dimensions of Middle-Earth. Don't hesitate and take it from me, this is the book you should be reading next week!

About the authors

Brian J. Robb is a New York Times/Sunday Times best-selling author. Among his works are Timeless Adventures: How Doctor Who Conquered TV, A Brief History of Star Trek and A Brief History of Star Wars. He has also written Silent Cinema Counterfeit Worlds: Philip K. Dick on Film (Titan, 2005), and Screams and Nightmares: The Films of Wes Craven (Titan, 1998).

Paul Simpson has written official guides to the TV series Farscape and Smallville and the movies The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, as well as unofficial books on subjects as diverse as James Bond, Ni-cole Kidman, and the TV series The O.C. He wrote an unofficial guide to CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. A regular visitor to film and TV sets, he has reported for many news-papers and magazines, including TV Guide. For five years, he was the editor of the offi-cial licensed Star Trek Magazine. He wrote That's What They Want You to Think for Zenith Press.

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