72
votes
Did Tolkien give his son explicit permission to publish all that unfinished material?
Tolkien gave his son absolute and explicit permission to do with his unpublished papers whatever he saw fit. That includes finishing his works, editing his works, combining them or destroying any part ...
- 718k
32
votes
Did Tolkien give his son explicit permission to publish all that unfinished material?
Christopher was appointed literary executor by his father, with the intention that he would publish the Silmarillion, but with full control to do whatever he wanted with the material
There were ...
- 96.1k
15
votes
With the passing of Christopher Tolkien, where do the story rights fall?
The Tolkien Estate still holds the rights to everything aside from the film rights J.R.R. Tolkien sold in the 1969 United Artists deal and the TV rights sold to Amazon in 2017. This is independent of ...
- 32.7k
13
votes
Did Christopher Tolkien write any original literature himself?
Not really
Christopher as an academic
"The Battle of the Goths and Huns" (1953-1957)
Hervarar Saga ok Heidreks (1956) (introduction)
The Pardoner's Tale (1958) (editor)
The Nun's Priest's ...
- 96.1k
13
votes
Accepted
Had Christopher Tolkien ever publicly spoken about George R. R. Martin or his work?
Christopher Tolkien never commented on anything George R R Martin had said or written
While it is always difficult to prove a negative, Christopher Tolkien was a relatively quiet figure, especially in ...
- 96.1k
12
votes
Why did Christopher Tolkien think the idea of Bilbo's marriage was never going to work?
This strikes me just as CT seeing what the plot requirements are. Bilbo basically needs to be a bachelor in order to be able to leave the Shire without complications. Bilbo needs to be someone in the ...
- 1,909
12
votes
Why was Tolkien so "non-secretive" while creating The Lord of the Rings?
There's nothing unusual about getting feedback on early drafts from trusted readers. The modern term for someone doing it is "beta reader" (as distinct from someone like a developmental ...
- 4,981
10
votes
Has the Tolkien Estate considered allowing other authors to write additional stories in Middle Earth?
The Tolkien Estate does not allow sequels, but they do allow other derivative works in "select instances".
In a recent legal document filed by the Tolkien Estate to a court case concerning ...
- 96.1k
7
votes
Accepted
Was Christopher Tolkien fluent in Elvish?
No one, probably not even J.R.R. Tolkien, was "fluent" in any of the varieties of elvish
The languages Tolkien created simply were never developed to the point where they can support a ...
- 96.1k
6
votes
Accepted
Why wasn't the complaint of Mîm published?
No idea, but this is an intentional decision by the Tolkien Estate.
The text in question has literally only appeared or been referenced in one publication and was not accompanied by any explanation as ...
- 96.1k
5
votes
Accepted
Was there new content in The Children of Húrin?
The Children of Húrin contains some content that is new, though most of the "new" parts are very similar to previously published material.
There is an appendix published in The Children of ...
- 96.1k
5
votes
With the passing of Christopher Tolkien, where do the story rights fall?
Christopher Tolkien bequeathed the rights to all of his own unpublished writings to his wife Baillie.
In Christopher's will, he gave to his wife
the ownership (tangible and intangible) of all my ...
- 96.1k
4
votes
Has Tolkien's estate ever sold the rights to adaptations of any Tolkien works?
Yes
The 1981 BBC radio adaptation of The Lord of the Rings was licensed directly from Allen & Unwin, not the Middle-earth Enterprises
The idea of doing The Lord of the Rings as a dramatized radio ...
- 96.1k
4
votes
Why did Christopher Tolkien remove all references to England and Ælfwine from the published Silmarillion?
Christopher was uncertain of what his father intended
William Cloud Hicklin, one of Christopher's correspondents, says that it was removed because Christopher was uncertain of his father's final ...
- 96.1k
3
votes
Accepted
Is the unpublished prose version of Beren and Lúthien accessible to the public?
The quote that you have given here is to the best of my knowledge practically all that is publicly known about this manuscript.
Asides from your quote, the only other place where Christopher refers to ...
- 96.1k
2
votes
Is there a companion or guide to The Silmarillion?
Hammond and Scull (the authors of the LotR companion), have written a Silmarillion companion inside one of their other books.
Wayne Hammond and Christina Scull, the Tolkien Scholars who wrote The Lord ...
- 96.1k
1
vote
Has Tolkien's estate ever sold the rights to adaptations of any Tolkien works?
It is interesting to note that once upon a time, the Tolkien Estate was much more generous with the license than they have been Post Jackson. For instance , ICE received the okay to publish ...
- 43
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