Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to Publish the United States Edition of Beren and Lúthien

By Maryann Yin 

TolkienHoughton Mifflin Harcourt will publish the United States edition of Beren and Lúthien by J.R.R. TolkienChristopher Tolkien, the son of the famed Lord of the Rings author, served as the editor of this project.

Christopher gave this statement in the press release: “Essential to the story, and never changed, is the fate that shadowed the love of Beren and Lúthien: for Beren was a mortal man, but Lúthien was an immortal Elf. Her father, a great Elvish lord, in deep opposition to Beren, imposed on him an impossible task that he must perform before he might wed Lúthien. This is the kernel of the legend; and it leads to the supremely heroic attempt of Beren and Lúthien together to rob the greatest of all evil beings, Melkor, called Morgoth, the Black Enemy, of a Silmaril.”

The book will feature illustrations by Alan Lee. HarperCollins U.K. recently announced plans to release the United Kingdom edition. Both versions will hit bookstores in May 2017.