A little-known tale, one of J.R.R. Tolkien's earliest writings on Middle Earth, is being published in book form this fall.
The Story of Kullervo was an attempt by Tolkien to put his own spin on the epic Finnish poem Kalevala. Set amid the First Age, Kullervo is the tragic tale of a young man on a quest for revenge. How does young Kullervo fit into the annals of Middle Earth? It turns out he's the ancestor of a major character from The Silmarillion.
Here's how publisher HarperCollins describes the book.
The world first publication of a previously unknown work of fantasy by J.R.R. Tolkien, which tells the powerful story of a doomed young man who is sold into slavery and who swears revenge on the magician who killed his father. Kullervo son of Kalervo is perhaps the darkest and most tragic of all J.R.R. Tolkien's characters. "Hapless Kullervo," as Tolkien called him, is a luckless orphan boy with supernatural powers and a tragic destiny. Brought up in the homestead of the dark magician Untamo, who killed his father, kidnapped his mother, and who tries three times to kill him when still a boy, Kullervo is alone save for the love of his twin sister, Wanona, and guarded by the magical powers of the black dog, Musti. When Kullervo is sold into slavery he swears revenge on the magician, but he will learn that even at the point of vengeance there is no escape from the cruellest of fates. Tolkien himself said that The Story of Kullervo was "the germ of my attempt to write legends of my own," and was "a major matter in the legends of the First Age." Tolkien's Kullervo is the clear ancestor of Túrin Turambar, tragic incestuous hero of The Silmarillion. In addition to it being a powerful story in its own right, The Story of Kullervo, published here for the first time with the author's drafts, notes and lecture essays on its source work, the Kalevala, is a foundation stone in the structure of Tolkien's invented world. |
The book being published will include Tolkien's original (and only) draft of Kullervo's story, notes and essays on Kalevala, and commentary by Tolkien scholar Verlyn Flieger. The only surprise in any of this is that Christopher Tolkien doesn't get a credit. Traditionally, Christopher has compiled or in some cases finished writing his father's incomplete works to prepare them for publication.
While this is the first time it's being published in its own solo edition, The Story of Kullervo's text was previously included in the scholarly review Tolkien Studies: Volume 7 in 2010.
The Story of Kullervo by J.R.R. Tolkien will be available in book stores and online on October 27, 2015.
Be sure to follow T-Lounge on Twitter and visit our Facebook page.
