Elrond's Library - Translations of Tolkien

1) The Hobbit: Bilbo le Hobbit (1969)

The Hobbit (1937) was the first book by Tolkien to be translated into French, published by Stock (1) in January 1969 as Bilbo le Hobbit in a translation by Francis Ledoux. A revised edition in 1976 corrected some mistakes (Chap. VI; only in editions published by Hachette and Christian Bourgois). However, a new error appeared in the edition published by Le Livre de Poche in 1989: the title of chap. XIII, Not at Home was no longer correctly translated Sorti (singular) but Sortis (plural), an error taken up in all subsequent editions, except the Hachette reissue in 1992. In 1997 Christian Bourgois published a hardback edition with the title Le Hobbit (2), a French version of the original English title (possibly to retain the decorative lettering on the upper cover of the dust-jacket of the English edition, placed with care on the Alan Lee front cover illustration). Except for a reprint of this edition in 2004 (with different lettering on the dust-jacket) later editions returned to Bilbo le Hobbit. On the Map of Wilderland, Hobbiton is always translated as Les Lapins (The Rabbits, sic), except in the graphic novel version (correctly translated Hobbiteville) and in the 1997 (and 2004) illustrated edition where the maps are not translated.

The Stock edition, hardback with dust-jacket (mainly yellow with an illustration on the upper cover), was reissued in smaller format in 1978 (with a mainly white dust-jacket). The rights then passed to Hachette who published in 1980 a hardback edition without dust-jacket (3) (reissued in 1992), and then to Christian Bourgois who published a trade paperback edition in 1992 (4) (reissued in 1995) and a hardback edition with dust-jacket in 1997 (reissued 2004).

J’ai Lu published the first pocket size paperback edition (i.e. B format or mass market edition) in 1973 (5) (reissued 1977). In 1976 Bibliothèque Verte published a similar size hardback edition (6). Further paperback editions were published by Le Livre de Poche, 1989 (reissued 1999, 2004 and 2007 (7)) and in the Jeunesse collection, 1992 (reissued 1993 and 1996), and by Hachette Jeunesse, 2006 (in larger format with larger type).

Also of interest are a hardback edition with ‘pop-up’ illustrations by John Howe (8), published by Casterman in 1999, the text being short extracts from Chapters I, V, VIII, XII and XVII, and a paperback edition issued by the France Loisirs readers club in 2003 (9).

The first edition in 1969 includes the two maps in black and white but no illustrations other than Tolkien’s watercolour featuring Hobbiton on the dust-jacket. The first illustrated edition is that published by Bibliothèque Verte, 1976, with both colour and black and white illustrations by Chica. The 1980 Hachette edition includes Tolkien’s black and white illustrations and the 1992 Le Livre de Poche Jeunesse edition is illustrated in black and white by Evelyne Drouhin. The 1997 Christian Bourgois edition includes the full-page colour illustrations and monochrome vignettes which first appeared in the HarperCollins English edition the same year.

The graphic novel adaptation by Charles Dixon and David Wenzel, translated by Thierry Cailleteau, was published in two volumes (hardback) by Comics USA/Glénat in September 1991, with the title Bilbo the Hobbit. It was reissued in one volume with dust-jacket in 1999, and published again in 2001 by Vents d'Ouest in two volumes in a slipcase with covers by Eric Hérenguel, and then again in 2009 by Delcourt (Wenzel 2006 revised edition) in one volume (hardback without dist-jacket). The readers club France Loisirs published a one volume edition with dust-jacket in 1994 (10).

2) The Lord of the Rings: Le Seigneur des Anneaux
(1972-1973)

The Lord Of The Rings (1954-1955), translated into French by Francis Ledoux, was published by Christian Bourgois (12) in three volumes (November 1972, April 1973, November 1973), trade paperback with flaps folded under. The work title, Le Seigneur des Anneaux, and the volume number appear on the upper cover and spine of volumes 1 and 3, but the volume title erroneously replaced the work title on volume 2 (corrected in an October 1973 reprint). The volume titles - appear on the title-page: La Communauté de l’Anneau, Les deux Tours, Le retour du Roi and on the lower cover (with an incorrect title for volume 1 - La Fraternité de l’Anneau - on each lower covers). The volume titles were added to the upper cover on many later three-volume editions from Bourgois and other publishers. The first Bourgois edition does not include the author’s ‘Foreword,’ nor the Index, and from the Appendices only ‘The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen’. Volume 1 contains the map of the Shire and a partial reproduction of the usual map of the north-west of Middle-earth on a single page at the beginning of chapter one; a folded copy of the complete map is tipped in at the back of volume 2. The large-scale map of Rohan, Gondor, and Mordor is omitted: it was included first in the 1978 Pauvert edition, since the 1986 Presse Pocket edition in mass market paperback editions, and only in Christian Bourgois editions from 1992. All French editions have the drawings of the inscription of the Ring, the Gate of Moria and the runes on Balin’s Tomb.

Ledoux’s translation, despite its merits, contains many errors: countless misprints in names, errors of tone in speech (e.g. same characters passing irrationally from vous / you to tu / thou from one part of the book to another), inaccuracies, (e.g. total omission of a sentence in ‘The Shadow of the Past’, lack of knowledge (pardonable at the time it was translated) of the mythological background (e.g. plural ‘the Valar’ in ‘Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit’ is translated by the singular form ‘le Valar’ » instead of plural ‘les Valar’; and ‘the departure of Galadriel’ at end of the Prologue by ‘la mort de Galadriel’ = ‘the death of Galadriel’ instead of ‘le départ de Galadriel’). Ledoux gallicizes Frodo as Frodon and Bilbo as Bilbon, which he did not do in his translation of The Hobbit: this might be correct for Latin names (eg. Pluto is in French Pluton), but not for Middle-earth names. In the Table of Contents, ‘The Taming of Sméagol’) is translated ‘L’Approvisionnement de Sméagol’ (‘The Provisioning of Sméagol’) instead of ‘L’Apprivoisement de Sméagol’ (corrected in later editions of Le Livre de Poche (1976) and Presse Pocket / Pocket, Pauvert (1978) and finally Christian Bourgois in 1995). Let us hope that the new translation, still in progress, by Vincent Ferré et al. will harmonize the text and correct any errors.

Christian Bourgois reissued its edition, apparently to coincide with the 1978 release of Ralph Bakshi’s film of part of The Lord of the Rings. The situation is somewhat complicated, and the following account is a reconstruction from copies in my collection. Volumes 1 (13) and 2 (dated 4th quarter of 1977 and February 1980) have new covers (with flaps) displaying pictures from or associated with the movie, volume 3 (dated 4th quarter 1978) has the same pink cover as earlier printings plus a dust-jacket displaying a scene from the film. In 1985-1988 (?) Christian Bourgois produced a four-volume trade paperback edition, the fourth volume containing with the appendices translated for the first time, with Tolkien’s own colour illustrations on the upper covers (which no longer have flaps). Volume III includes Ledoux’s translation of ‘The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen’ despite the fact that, it is also included with the rest of the Appendices and the Index, translated by Tina Jolas, in Volume 4 (1986) (14). Unfortunately Jolas often translates names differently from Francis Ledoux: e.g. Treebeard is Sylvebarbe in Ledoux and Barbe Feuillue in Jolas). In 1990 Bourgois published a one-volume trade paperback edition (15) with Tolkien’s unfinished watercolour illustration of Smaug flying round the Lonely Mountain on the cover (reissued with John Howe cover in 1995); this volume includes the Appendices translated by Jolas, except that Ledoux’s translation of ‘The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen’ replaces that of Jolas. In 1992 Bourgois published a one-volume hardcover edition with dust-jacket and interior illustrations by Alan Lee in colour and monochrome (16). Gallimard published the Ledoux translation without Appendices other than the ‘The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen’ in its ‘Collection 1000 Soleils’ in 1980, three volumes, hardcover with dust-jacket, with a different a short, different, concluding section in each volume giving information about Tolkien and mythology, illustrated in black and white. This edition was reissued 1992, without dust-jackets.

All mass market printings have been in three volumes unless stated otherwise. I have marked with an asterisk (*) those which I know to have been to have been available in a slipcase as well as individually. I only record printings in which the illustrations on the covers and/or the slipcase changed. Le Livre de Poche published the first mass market paperback edition in 1976* (17) (with green edged pages, reissued in 1983 with yellow edges). In 1986 Presse Pocket published an edition (18) which included ‘The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen’ from Appendix A (the Ledoux translation), Appendices B, C, and D (though not so indicated) in the Jolas translation in the third volume. This was reissued in 1989* with variant covers. Presse Pocket also published the three volumes in their ‘Fantasy’ series in 1991*. After Press Pocket became Pocket further printings of the three-volume edition of Le Seigneur des Anneaux were published (with variations or changes in cover illustrations and/or slipcase) in the Pocket imprint in 1993-94, 1995, 2005*, and in the Pocket Fantasy imprint in 1994-95* (19), 1998*, 2000, 2002,. At the time of Peter Jackson’s movies (2001-2003), Pocket also published editions in 2001*, 2002*, 2003* with photographs from the movies on the covers and slipcases. From late 2002 the Pocket editions were reset in larger type resulting in a higher page count. Folio Junior published Le Seigneur des Anneaux in six volumes in a sturdy slipcase in 1988 (20), the last volume including Appendices A, B, C (so indicated) and F I (as D) in the Jolas translation. Philippe Munch provided black and white illustrations as head pieces for each chapter, and also many tail pieces. This was reissued in 2000 with wider pages, in 3 volumes in a less sturdy slipcase, and again in 2007 (21) when the rear cover blurbs on volumes 2 and 3 were exchanged.

There were also several book club editions. The Societé nouvelle des Editions Jean-Jacques Pauvert published the translation in 1978 (22) in one volume, hardcover with a clear plastic wrapper. It contains as Preface a brief biography of Tolkien by Jean-Louis Curtis entitled ‘Le Seigneur des Légendes’, and black and white illustrations by Jean Pierre Evrard: frames for the chapter headings, and simple vignettes as tailpieces. This edition was reprinted in Switzerland by Famot (Geneva) in 1980 (23) in two volumes, hardback, no dust-jacket, with cover pictures and interior illustrations from the animated film by Bakshi. In 1983, France Loisirs published a three-volume hardcover edition with illustrations from the Bakshi film on the dust-jackets. All of these editions contained only Ledoux’s translation of ‘The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen’ from the Appendices. In 1995 France Loisirs reprinted the one volume hardback edition illustrated by Alan Lee, published by Bourgois in 1992 but with a different Alan Lee illustration on the upper cover of the dust-jacket. This was reissued in 2001 with photographs from the Jackson movie on the dust-jacket. Finally, in 2001, Le Grand Livre du Mois published the translation in a single paperback volume similar to that issued by Bourgois in 1990.

3) Tales and Stories: Faërie et autres contes
(1975/2003)

A volume of Tolkien’s shorter works was published by Christian Bourgois in January 1975 (24) (deposit date of duty copies but copyright 1974) with the title Faërie, trade paperback with flaps folded under. It contains four works translated by Francis Ledoux: Le Fermier Gilles de Ham (Farmer Giles of Ham, 1949) with a version of the title-page of the original with a long Latin title translated into the vernacular, Smith de Grand-Wootton (Smith of Wootton Major, 1967), Feuille, de Niggle (Leaf by Niggle, 1945) and Du Conte de Fées (On Fairy-Stories, 1947). Christian Bourgois published a new edition in 1996, a smaller sized trade paperback without flaps but with the texts in a different order: Du Conte de Fées, Feuille, de Niggle, Le Fermier Gilles de Ham (without the title-page) and Smith de Grand-Wootton.

This collection was published as a mass-market paperback by Christian Bourgois in its 10/18 Collection in 1978 (25) (reissued 1987) with the original order of contents but omitting the Fermier Gilles de Ham title-page; and then by Presse Pocket in 1992, and Pocket in 1997 (reissued 2001). The diaeresis (umlaut) in Faërie is variously placed, sometimes differing between cover and title-page: e on both in 1975 and 1996; a on cover and e on title-page in 1978; a on both in 1987; a on cover, none on title-page 1992, 1997; e on cover, none on title-page in 2001.

In October 2003, Christian Bourgois published an enlarged collection with the title Faërie et autres Textes (26), edited under the direction of Vincent Ferré, paperback, same size and same cover illustration as the 1996 publication. This includes, in addition to the earlier contents, Christopher Tolkien’s Preface to the 1988 edition of Tree and Leaf (ascribed to 2002), and the poems Le Retour de Beorhtnoth Fils de Beorthelm (sic) (The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s Son) and Mythopoeia, translated by Elen Riot), plus Les Aventures de Tom Bombadil et autres Vers tirés du Livre rouge (The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book, 1962) in Dashiell Hédayat’s translation first published in 1975 (see below), revised for this edition by Céline Leroy. In 2009, Pocket published two mass-market paperback editions, in the Pocket and Pocket Fantasy series.

Some of the works were also published separately. Chardon Bleu published Smith de Grand-Wootton in 1986 (27), and Feuille, de Niggle then Le Fermier Gilles of Ham (without the Latin title-page) in 1994 (28), in medium-sized paperback in large type, and with black and white illustrations by Philippe Pauzin. Smith de Grand-Wootton was published by Pocket in 1990, in a bilingual trade paperback edition, French translation by Annie Richelet, sold separately and also, for students of the English language, packaged in a plastic box with an audio cassette with seven extracts from the story (29). Finally Le Fermier Gilles de Ham (without the Latin title-page) was published in 2001 by Folio Junior as a trade paperback (30) with black and white illustrations by Roland Sabatier.

4) The Adventures of Tom Bombadil:
Les Aventures de Tom Bombadil (1975)

Christian Bourgois published a bilingual edition of The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book (1962) in November 1975 (31) with the incomplete title Les Aventures de Tom Bombadil, trade paperback with flaps folded under. The French translation by Dashiell Hédayat takes much licence and has gross inaccuracies and errors. All later editions are mass-market paperbacks. All editions include reproductions, not published elsewhere, of two manuscript pages by J.R.R. Tolkien (A Elbereth Gilthoniel and Namárië, and two brief extracts from The Lord of the Rings) and a note of authentication by Christopher Tolkien.

Mass-market paperback editions were published by Christian Bourgois in 1978 (32) (reissued 1983), in its 10/18 Collection; and by Presse Pocket in 1992 and Pocket in 1994 (reissued 1995 and 2001). In 2003, as noted above, Christian Bourgois included Les Aventures de Tom Bombadil et autres Aventures tirées du Livre Rouge (sic, uncorrect title), with the translation revised by Céline Leroy, in the Faërie et autres Textes collection (26), small trade paperback (see above). This collection was published as a mass-market paperback in 2009 in the Pocket and Pocket Fantasy series.

The poem Le Troll de Pierre (The Stone Troll) was published separately (bilingual) in La grande Anthologie de la Fantasy by Omnibus (paperback) in 2003 (33).

5) The Father Christmas Letters:
Les Lettres du Père Noël (1977)

The Father Christmas Letters (1976), translated by Gérard-Georges Lemaire, was published by Christian Bourgois in 1977, as Les Lettres du Père Noël (34), large format hardcover, with colour illustrations by Tolkien. It was reissued in 1984, and published as a large paperback in 1993. In 1994, Christian Bourgois published a selection from the 1976 edition with the title Lettres du Père Noël (the English edition on which it is based omits ‘The’), in three miniature volumes, hardcover with dust-jackets in a slipcase, containing selections from the original publication (35).

Christian Bourgois published an expanded edition in 2004, hardcover with dust-jacket, including more letters and illustrations and a revised translation by Céline Leroy (36). This is also entitled also Lettres du Père Noël, now an even closer translation, since the English edition (2004) on which it was based has the title Letters from Father Christmas, probably to distinguish it from the 1976 edition.

6) The Silmarillion: Le Silmarillion (1978)

The Silmarillion (1977), translated by Pierre Alien, was published by Christian Bourgois in December 1978 with the title Le Silmarillion (37), trade paperback with flaps turned under. The translation contains many errors and typos, and does not coordinate with the Le Seigneur des Anneaux. It includes the map ‘The Realms of the Noldor and the Sindar’ but not the larger map of ‘Beleriand and the Lands to the North’. A folded map of the latter (printed in black only) was laid in a 1991 reprint, trade paperback, no flaps, but not in the 2004 reprint. In 1993, Christian Bourgois published a volume containing both Le Silmarillion and Contes et Légendes inachevés (Unfinished Tales, translated by Tina Jolas, see (42) below) in a smaller trade paperback with both of the Silmarillion maps; and in 1998, an edition with colour illustrations by Ted Nasmith and the ‘Map of Beleriand and the Lands to the North’ in colour on the endpapers (no map of the Realms), hardcover with dust-jacket. Christian Bourgois published a new edition in 2004 (38), again hardcover with dust-jacket but in a more square format, with additional Nasmith illustrations and the extra material included in the English-language second edition Silmarillion: a second Preface by Christopher Tolkien and an extract from Tolkien’s letter to Milton Waldman, translated by Delphine Martin and Vincent Ferré; the map of Beleriand is in black and brown, and there is no map of the Realms.

J’ai Lu published a mass-market paperback in two volumes in 1980 (39). The work was published as a single volume by Presse Pocket in 1984 (reissued 1987 and 1992) and by Pocket in 1993 (reissued 1995 and 2001). These contain only the map ‘The Realms of the Noldor and the Sindar’.

The Ainulindalë, the first part of The Silmarillion, was published separately in Jacques Sadoul’s Anthologie de la Littérature de Science-fiction (40) (hardcover) by Ramsay in 1981: one wonders why!

7) Unfinished Tales: Contes et Légendes inachevés
(1982)

Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth (1980), translated by Tina Jolas, was published by Christian Bourgois in October 1982 with the title Contes et Légendes inachevés (41), trade paperback with flaps turned under, and a folded map of Middle-earth laid in, but no map of Númenor. It was reissued in 1991 without flaps, and in 2005 without any map. In October 1993, Christian Bourgois published a volume containing both Le Silmarillion (42) and Contes et Légendes inachevés in a smaller trade paperback which included both of the Unfinished Tales maps (see above).

All mass-market paperback editions of the translation have been published in three volumes, and all include the map of Middle-earth. The volumes of the Presse Pocket edition, 1988 (43) (reissued 1992) and of the Pocket edition 1994-5 (reissued 1995-6 and 2001) were available separately and in a slipcase; the map of Númenor was omitted. The Pocket Junior series edition 1996 (reissued 2001) have a section of commentary in the centre of each volume with the map of Númenor in the commentary in volume 2. This was reissued in 2004 under the series new title, Pocket Jeunesse.

8) Bilbo’s Last Song: L’Album de Bilbo le Hobbit
(1991)

Bilbo’s Last Song (1974 poster, 1990 book) was published by Gallimard Jeunesse in October 1991 with the title L’Album de Bilbo le Hobbit, subtitled Adieu à la Terre du Milieu (Farewell to the Middle-earth) (44), translated by Pierre de Laubier, hardcover, no dust-jacket, with colour illustrations by Pauline Baynes. It was reissued in 2001 under the Gallimard imprint.

9) Poems by J.R.R. Tolkien: Poèmes de J.R.R. Tolkien
(1993)

Poems by J.R.R. Tolkien (1993) was published by Christian Bourgois in September 1993 as Poèmes de J.R.R. Tolkien, in three miniature volumes (45), hardcover, with dust-jackets, in a slipcase. This edition reproduces illustrations by the author in colour and contains verses from Bilbo le Hobbit translated by Francis Ledoux (vols. I and II) and from Les Aventures de Tom Bombadil (not from Bilbo le Hobbit, as mistakenly indicated on the dust-jacket) translated by Dashiell Hédayat (vol. III).

10) Poems from The Lord of the Rings:
Poèmes de Le Seigneur des Anneaux (1994)

Poems from The Lord of the Rings (1994) was published by Christian Bourgois in November 1994 as Poèmes de Le Seigneur des Anneaux (46), hardcover. It contains a selection of verses from Le Seigneur des Anneaux translated by Francis Ledoux, illustrated in both colour and black and white by Alan Lee.

11) The History of Middle-earth:
Histoire de la Terre du Milieu (1992/1995 - )

The History of Middle-earth (1983-1996) contains twelve volumes, of which only five have been translated into French:

The Book of Lost Tales, Part I (1983), translated by Adam Tolkien, was published by Christian Bourgois, with the title Le Livre des Contes perdus (47), in October 1995, trade paperback, with three reproductions of drawings by J.R.R. Tolkien (one reproduced twice, in halftone and in line). Pocket published a mass-market paperback in its ‘Fantasy’ series in 1999 (reissued 2001), omitting the halftone reproduction, with the series title preceding the volume title on both cover and title-page, Histoire de la Terre du Milieu: Le Livre des Contes perdus (with the first part of the title more prominent on the cover), followed on the title-page by Première Partie; the 2001 reprint added the number I after Histoire de la Terre du Milieu. It was reissued in the Pocket Fantasy Series in 2007 with the same title-page and the cover title Histoire de la Terre du Milieu: Le premier Livre des Contes perdus (with emphasis on the first part of the title).

The Book of Lost Tales, Part II (1984), translated by Adam Tolkien, was published by Christian Bourgois, with the title Le Livre des Contes perdus II (48), in June 1998, trade paperback, with black and white reproductions of two pages from the author’s manuscripts. Pocket published a mass-market paperback in its ‘Fantasy’ series in 2001 (omitting the reproductions), with the title Histoire de la Terre du Milieu II: Le second Livre des Contes perdus on the cover (with the first part of the title more prominent on the cover) and Histoire de la Terre du Milieu: Le Livre des Contes perdus, Deuxième Partie on the title-page. It was reissued in the Pocket Fantasy Series in 2006 (reissued 2007) with the same title-page and the cover title Histoire de la Terre du Milieu: Le second Livre des Contes perdus (with emphasis on the first part of the title).

Note that the paperback volume published in January 2002 by Christian Bourgois with the confusing title Le Livre des Contes perdus (49) contains both Part One and Part Two, i.e. the complete Book of Lost Tales.

The Lays of Beleriand (1985), translated by Elen Riot and Daniel Lauzon, was published by Christian Bourgois, with the title Les Lais de Beleriand (50), in May 2006, trade paperback, with reproductions of three pages from the author’s manuscripts, one in colour and two in black and white. The French translation of The Lay of Leithian (but not those of the other poems) is presented facing the original English text. Pocket published two mass-market paperback editions simultaneously in its Pocket and Pocket Fantasy editions in October 2009, with the reproductions included.

The Shaping of Middle-Earth (1986), translated by Daniel Lauzon, was published by Christian Bourgois, with the title La Formation de la Terre du Milieu (51), in May 2007, trade paperback, with seven reproductions of Tolkien’s diagrams and maps, two in colour; the cover design omits the runic frieze which appears on the other four volumes.

The Lost Road and Other Stories (1987), translated by Daniel Lauzon, was published by Christian Bourgois, with the title La Route perdue: Langues et Légendes avant Le Seigneur des Anneaux (52) (cover, first part of title only), in May 2007, trade paperback, reproducing the various drawings and diagrams of the English edition. The last part was published separately in 2009 in Les Etymologies (see (62) below).

Sauron Defeated (1992): an extract (the original conclusion of The Lord of the Rings) was published in December 1992 by the magazine Dragon Magazine n° 9, in a translation by Roland C. Wagner (53).

12) Roverandom: Roverandom (1999)

Roverandom (1998), translated by Jacques Georgel, was published by Christian Bourgois in January 1999 (54), trade paperback, with reproductions of five illustrations by the author, three in colour. Pocket published a mass-market edition in its ‘Jeunesse’ series in 2004 (55), with the illustrations included.

13) Mythopoeia: Mythopoeia (2002/2003)

Mythopoeia (1988), translated by Elen Riot, is included in the collection Faërie et autres Textes published by Christian Bourgois in October 2003 (see (26) above).

An earlier French translation, by Gérard Joulié, appeared in Tolkien, Faërie et Christianisme (56) by Didier Rance and Grégory Solari, published in Switzerland by Ad Solem (Geneva) in November 2002.

14) The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm’s
Son: Le Retour de Beorhtnoth Fils de Beorthelm (2003)

The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son (1953), translated - with a mistake! - Le Retour de Beorhtnoth Fils de Beorthelm (sic) by Elen Riot, is included in the collection Faërie et autres Textes, published by Christian Bourgois in October 2003 (see (26) above). The error is still present in the mass-market paperback editions.

15) The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien: Lettres (2005)

The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (1981), translated by Delphine Martin and Vincent Ferré, was published by Christian Bourgois in October 2005 (57), trade paperback, with a reproduction of a letter written by Tolkien.

16) The Monsters and the Critics:
Les Monstres et les Critiques, et autres Essais (2006)

The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays (1983), translated by Christine Lafferrière, was published by Christian Bourgois, with the title Les Monstres et les Critiques, et autres Essais (58), in May 2006, trade paperback.

17) The Children of Húrin: Les Enfants de Húrin
(2008)

The Children of Hurin (on the title-page Narn i Chîn Húrin: The Tale of the Children of Hurin) (2007), translated by Delphine Martin, was published by Christian Bourgois, with the title Les Enfants de Húrin (59), in February 2008, trade paperback, with a folded map of a part of Beleriand printed in red and black, and colour and black and white illustrations by Alan Lee. Pocket published two mass-market paperback editions simultaneously in its Pocket and Pocket Fantasy editions in 2009 with all the illustrations, and the map printed across two pages in black only (60).

18) Mr Bliss: Monsieur Merveille (2008)

Mr. Bliss (1982), translated by Pierre Grammont, was published by La Mercurie, with the title Monsieur Merveille (61), in March 2008, hardcover, no dust-jacket, as a bilingual facsimile of the original manuscript with the author’s colour illustrations.

19) Les Etymologies (2009)

This book (62), published by Chistian Bourgois in October 2009, was an only-French edition: it was a separate edition of the chapter concerning Tolkien etymologies in The Lost Road (see (52) above), in the translation by Daniel Lauzon, corrected after Vinyar Tengwar n° 45 and 46 (illustrations in black and white by Alan Lee from The Children Of Húrin, see above).