Third in a series of hardcover box sets celebrating the literary achievement of Christopher Tolkien, featuring double-sided dust jackets—one side featuring artwork by John Howe, and the original graphic treatment on the other. Set 3 containsThe Return of the Shadow,The Treason of Isengard,The War of the Ring, andSauron Defeated(Books 6-9 ofThe History of Middle-earth).

The Return of the Shadowis the story of the first part of the history of the creation ofThe Lord of the Rings, a fascinating study of Tolkien’s great masterpiece, from its inception to the end of the first volume,The Fellowship of the Ring.

The Treason of Isengardcontinues the account of the creation ofThe Lord of the Ringsstarted in the earlier volume, tracing the great expansion of the tale into new lands and peoples south and east of the Misty Mountains: the emergence of Lothlorien, of Ents, of the Riders of Rohan, and of Saruman the White in the fortress of Isengard.

The War of the Ringtakes up the story with the Battle of Helm’s Deep and the drowning of Isengard by the Ents; continues with the journey of Frodo, Sam, and Gollum to the Pass of Cirith Ungol; describes the war in Gondor; and ends with the parley between Gandalf and the ambassador of the Dark Lord before the Black Gate of Mordor.

Sauron Defeatedcompletes Christopher Tolkien’s fascinating study ofThe Lord of the Rings, beginning with Sam’s rescue of Frodo from the Tower of Cirith Ungol, and giving a very different account of the Scouring of the Shire, withmany additional scenes and the unpublished Epilogue in its entirety.

Published together for the first time, these four books collect a fascinating period of Christopher Tolkien’s forty-year career devoted to presenting his father J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings on Middle-earth, a unique accomplishment that celebrates the greatest invented world in all of fantasy literature.