Smith of Wootton Major
di J. R. R.
Tolkien
A cura di Verlyn Flieger
HarperCollins, Londra, 2015
Illustrazioni interne di Pauline Baynes
Illustrazioni di copertina di Pauline Baynes
Rilegato con sovraccoperta
Info
Il 9 novembre 1967, la George
Allen and Unwin pubblica in Inghilterra la prima edizione di Smith
of Wootton Major e il 23 novembre dello stesso, con il consenso di
Tolkien, ne autorizza la pubblicazione integrale sulla rivista americana Redbook
che di fatto rappresenta la prima edizione americana di quest'opera.
Il testo, nel 2005, vede una nuova edizione curata da Verlyn
Flieger con l’aggiunta di materiale inedito dello stesso Tolkien. Sono
presenti: la Prefazione, il testo de Il
Fabbro di Wootton Major, una Postfazione, la "Genesi della storia". Nota per Clyde Kilby di Tolkien,
la Bozza di introduzione a "The Golden
Key", "La grande
Torta". Schema temporale e Personaggi, Idee per il finale della storia, Smith of Wootton Major, Trascrizione
della versione ibrida della "Grande Torta", "Lago di
Lacrime". Trascrizione del manoscritto, e le Note.
Il 26 febbraio 2015, infine, l’HarperCollins ha ristampato
questa edizione Pocket davvero bella con le illustrazioni ancora di Pauline
Baynes.
Note dell’editore
What began
as a preface to The Golden Key by George MacDonald eventually grew into this
charming short story, so named by Tolkien to suggest an early work by P.G.
Wodehouse. Composed almost a decade after The Lord of the Rings, and when his
lifelong occupation with the ‘Silmarillion’ was winding down, Smith of Wootton
Major was the product of ripened experience and reflection. It was published in
1967 as a small hardback, complete with charming black and white illustrations
by Pauline Baynes, and would be the last work of fiction to be published in
Tolkien’s own lifetime.
Now, almost 50 years on, this enchanting tale of a wanderer who finds his way into the perilous realm of Faery is being published once again as a pocket hardback. Contained here are many intriguing links to the world of Middle-earth, as well as to Tolkien’s other tales, and this new edition is enhanced with a facsimile of the illustrated first edition, a manuscript of Tolkien’s early draft of the story, notes and an alternate ending, and a lengthy essay on the nature of Faery.
Critical Praise
“The book
has a haunting quality, characteristic of the best of the ‘deeper’ folktales.
It is a beautiful, memorable story.” Times Educational Supplement
“It may be
compared to the most delicate miniature but it is one of a rare kind: the more
closely it is examined the more it reveals the grandeur of its conception.
Whoever reads it at eight will still be going back to it at eighty.” New
Statesman
“A
tremendously valuable volume with important new insights into Tolkien’s way of
working. It’s also a beautiful hardcover edition of the story.” Mythprint —
Questo testo complete la serie Pocket
pubblicata da HarperCollins che comprende: Farmer Giles of Ham,
Roverandom e The
adventures of Tom Bombadil
