“Beren and Lúthien” by J.R.R. Tolkien

I found this interesting and engaging, but I also recognize I am atypical here.

This lays out the first (chronologically) of what Tolkien considered the three great stories of the Elder Days: Beren & Lúthien, The Children of Húrin, and the Fall of Gondolin. Beren & Lúthien has its ultimate origin in the love Tolkien felt for his wife Edith; the scene where Beren first came upon Lúthien dancing in the grove was inspired by Tolkien watching Edith dance in the forest when he was stationed in northern England while recovering from the illness he got during the Battle of the Somme. Famously, when Edith died Tolkien had her gravestone engraved with the epitaph “Lúthien.” When he followed not long after, their children gave him the epitaph “Beren.”

The story is Epic in the best sense of the word. Beren, the mortal, sees Lúthien, daughter of Thingol King of Doriath and the Maia Melian, and they fall in love. Thingol is outraged, and declares that he will only allow Beren to wed his daughter if he brings Thingol one of the Silmarils of Fëanor from the iron crown of Morgoth. Beren vows to do just that, and so we’re off.

Now this is a fantastic story, and one I would strongly recommend. But would I recommend reading this publication of it? … Eh.

There is no new material here - it’s all been published in either The Silmarillion or assorted volumes of the History of Middle-earth.  What Christopher Tolkien does in this volume is lay out the different versions and evolutions of the story as it changed over the course of his father’s life. There were any number of drastic changes - in an early version, Beren is an Elf, and Tevildo, Prince of Cats was a prominent character (Tolkien was not a cat person). But the core of it - the unsuitable suitor undertaking the quest to retrieve a Silmaril to win the elf-princess’s hand - stays the same, and many elements are consistent.

If all you want is to know the story of Beren & Lúthien, I honestly recommend reading it out of the Sil. This is only going to be interesting if you’re the kind of weirdo who has read the entire Histories and thinks they’re an amazing glimpse over the shoulder of the master at work and not incredibly, painfully dull. Large portions of it are in verse - if you skimmed the songs in LotR or the Hobbit, you’re probably not going to really appreciate this.

I’m going to repeat the advice I’ve given many times for people who want to go deeper into Tolkien’s works than the Hobbit and LotR. Read Appendices A and B from LotR. If you think “this is awesome, and I want more!” get The Silmarillion. If you think “this is interesting but rather dry” get The Children of Húrin and only then move on to the Sil. After you read the Sil, pick up Unfinished Tales for a taste of what you’re in for in the Histories of Middle-earth; be aware it’s only going to get drier. Beren and Lúthien belongs firmly among the Histories.

Last point - my copy is illustrated by Alan Lee. As always, anything Tolkien is improved by Lee’s illustrations.