Unfinished Tales cover art

Unfinished Tales

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 Months Free + £10 Audible voucher

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Get this deal
Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST.
More purchase options

Unfinished Tales

By: J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien - editor
Narrated by: Timothy West, Samuel West
Get this deal

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £24.75

Buy Now for £24.75

JRR Tolkien’s legacy of short stories which inhabit the realm of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, on audio for the first time.

Unfinished Tales is a collection of narratives ranging in time from the Elder Days of Middle-earth to the end of the War of the Ring, and provides those who have read The Lord of the Rings with a whole collection of background and new stories from the twentieth century’s most acclaimed popular author.

The book concentrates on the realm of Middle-earth and comprises such elements as Gandalf’s lively account of how it was that he came to send the Dwarves to the celebrated party at Bag-End, the emergence of the sea-god Ulmo before the eyes of Tuor on the coast of Beleriand, and an exact description of the military organization of the Riders of Rohan.

Unfinished Tales also contains the only story about the long ages of Numenor before its downfall, and all that is known about such matters as the Five Wizards, the Palantiri and the legend of Amroth. The tales were collated and edited by JRR Tolkien’s son and literary heir, Christopher Tolkien, who provides a short commentary on each story, helping the reader to fill in the gaps and put each story into the context of the rest of his father’s writings.

©1980 The Tolkien Estate Limited and C.R. Tolkien (P)1980 HarperCollins Publishers Limited Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Military War & Military Feel-Good
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1

Critic reviews

"Another monument to the incredible imagination of Tolkien." (Sunday Telegraph)

"Moments of mythic grandeur." (Sunday Times)

All stars
Most relevant
Other Audible audiobooks consisting of short stories manage named chapters in the app to allow easy navigation so why can’t an important book by a major publisher?

FIX THE CHAPTERS

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book is for the more “hardcore” Middle-Earth fans. As more of a Silmarillion reader, I nevertheless enjoyed myself immensely when listening to stories and anecdotes set in the later ages.
The narrators are superb. Father and son wrote and edited the book. Similarly, father and son narrate the book. The older narrator reads Christopher’s footnotes and comments, as a lovely tribute to the editor who recently passed away at the advanced age of 96 (the book is published in 1980 though). Samuel West has the voice for the ageless, eternal storyteller and scholar, the real-world Illuvatar.
I would really love to listen to their version of Nature of Middle-Earth.

Fabulously presented

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
As a LOTR-Hobbit fan, rather than an Elder Days fan, I found this filled in background for the 4 Ages that was of great interest. The narration is excellent and Samual West has a great voice with (from what I could tell) was perfect pronunciation of the many names in the books and stories.

What I found most entertaining was that in a role reversal, the son (Samuel) read the story and the father (Timothy) filled in the history and notes. It was like Christopher reading the story and JRRT filling in the background.

It has even made me want to revisit the Elder Days stories, and the Andy Serkis version of The Silmarillion may be where I will start (having struggled with Martin Shaw's version).

A Father and Son Reprise

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great book full of knowledge and different approaches to middle earth lore. I recommend this book to any lotr fan

Invaluable lore

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
this books expands on known background stories quite nicely. It adds a new layer to an already rich world. the only thing I dislike is the explanation of the writer during multiple stories. it takes you out of the fantasy and brings you back to reality instead of being submerged in the world of Tolkien

Gives more context to small motes

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews