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The Paperbacks are coming - The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings illustrated by Alan Lee will be released in spring 2008 (08.11.07)

April 2007 brought us The Children of Hurin with illustrations and cover art by Alan Lee. The sales of this new Tolkien book were very impressive and it became the international #1 bestseller with over 1,000,000 copies sold worldwide. The story does not end yet. April 2008 will bring us a paperback edition of The Children of Húrin. Next to this, other paperback editions will be released from the Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, designed to perfectly complement the new paperback edition of The Children of Húrin. All edition will feature cover art and illustrations by Alan Lee. Most of these illustrations have been published before, and as for now i'm unable to say that any new illustrations or sketches have been added [EDIT: I have just been confirmd that there are NO new illustrations! ]. What we do know is that these editions will include 'all' of Alan Lee's work. Sadly these editions will only be released in spring, since they would have been very nice Christmas gifts! One thing is sure, together with The Children of Hurin paperback edition, this will be a fantastic set. It is the very first time any of these books have been released in a  standard paperback size (they are B-format).

The first ever fully illustrated paperback of the critically acclaimed and beloved children’s classic The Hobbit, featuring 26 colour paintings and over 30 pencil drawings by Alan Lee, winner of the Kate Greenaway medal for illustration, and creator of the fabulously successful Centenary edition of The Lord of the Rings. This paperback will contain all the stunning paintings by Alan Lee, depicting key scenes from this all-time classic (scenes such as Gollum and Bilbo, The Wargs, Smaug the Dragon and The Battle of the Five Armies), and this beautiful volume also includes a wealth of integrated pencil drawings which demonstrate perfectly Alan's genius at work. A similar hardback edition, with 22 illustrations, was published in 1997 (1) and as a paperback edition in 2000 (2).

THE HOBBIT [illustrated paperback edition] Publication Date: 07/04/2008 (UK) Price: £8.99 (UK) Binding: Paperback ISBN: 978-0-00-727061-3 Extent (approx.): 384 pages Imprint: HarperCollins Rights: OM Division: HarperFiction

The Lord of the Rings has been acknowledged as the best book of the 20th Century, with sales in excess of 100,000,000 worldwide. This paperback edition will contain the definitive, fully corrected version of the text and have an eyecatching cover by Alan Lee. Part One of Tolkien’s great masterwork, The Fellowship of the Rings, contains 19 colour paintings by Alan Lee. A similar cover and all 19 illustrations have been published in the hardback century anniversary edition in 1992 (3) and as a paperback edition in 1996 (4). Except of a slight difference in the cover, I do not expect to find many differences. New in this edition will be the definitive version of the text.

THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING [illustrated paperback edition] Publication Date: 07/04/2008 (UK) Price: £8.99 (UK), $19.95 (CA) Binding: Paperback ISBN: 978-0-00-726970-9 Extent (approx.): 576 pages Imprint: HarperCollins Rights: OM Division: HarperFiction

The illustrated paperback of The Two Towers, part two of Tolkien’s epic masterpiece The Lord of the Rings, features 16 colour paintings by Alan Lee and a stunning cover by his hand. A similar cover and all 16 illustrations have been published in the hardback century anniversary edition in 1992 (5) and as a paperback edition in 1996 (6). Except of a slight difference in the cover, I do not expect to find many differences. New in this edition will be the definitive version of the text. The cover of this book was used as inspirational source by Peter Jackson, who asked Alan Lee to draw the rest of the tower. The full result can be seen in the movies.

THE TWO TOWERS [illustrated paperback edition] Publication Date: 07/04/2008 (UK) Price: £8.99 (UK), $19.95 (CA) Binding: Paperback ISBN: 978-0-00-726971-6 Extent (approx.): 464 pages Imprint: HarperCollins Rights: OM Division: HarperFiction

The illustrated paperback of The Return of the King, part three of Tolkien’s epic masterpiece The Lord of the Rings, features 15 colour paintings by Alan Lee and a stunning cover by his hand. A similar cover and all 15 illustrations have been published in the hardback century anniversary edition in 1992 (7) and as a paperback edition in 1996 (8). Except of a slight difference in the cover, I do not expect to find many differences. New in this edition will be the definitive version of the text. Alan Lee's art was used to shape the Middle-earth as we see it in Peter Jackson's movie sadaption.

THE RETURN OF THE KING [illustrated paperback edition] Publication Date: 07/04/2008 (UK) Price: £8.99 (UK), $19.95 (CA) Binding: Paperback ISBN: 978-0-00-726972-3 Extent (approx.): 624 pages Imprint: HarperCollins Rights: OM Division: HarperFiction

(1) Neil Holford, http://www.tolkienbooks.net/php/details.php?reference=24950
(2) Neil Holford, http://www.tolkienbooks.net/php/details.php?reference=25750
(3) Neil Holford, http://www.tolkienbooks.net/php/details.php?reference=43340
(4) Neil Holford, http://www.tolkienbooks.net/php/details.php?reference=43520
(5) Neil Holford, http://www.tolkienbooks.net/php/details.php?reference=43350
(6) Neil Holford, http://www.tolkienbooks.net/php/details.php?reference=43530
(7) Neil Holford, http://www.tolkienbooks.net/php/details.php?reference=43360
(8) Neil Holford, http://www.tolkienbooks.net/php/details.php?reference=43540

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