Beren and Lúthien: an Illustrated Book

"Ah, Lúthien, Lúthien! The most beautiful girl in the land of elves, Your beauty is beyond the reach of the children of men, How powerful is your love? Actually brought you to the terrifying lair! Look at these soft limbs and black hair like clouds, The forehead decorated with flowers is so white, The slender hands are bathed in the new morning light! " He called her "Tinúviel", and she changed his fate - before Aragorn and Arwen, there were Beren and Lúthien. The mortal Beren fell in love with Lúthien, who was born in the immortal elven clan. However, their love was initially unable to gain the approval of Lúthien's father, the Elf King Thingol. In order to make Beren quit, Thingol put forward the conditions for marrying Lúthien: Beren must complete a seemingly hopeless task. This mission is the core of the legend, and it prompted Beren and Lúthien to accomplish a supreme heroic feat together: to recapture a Silmarillion from the first Dark Lord, Morgoth, who was more powerful and terrifying than Sauron in later generations. The legend of Beren and Lúthien is one of the most important stories in Middle-earth, the magnificent world created by Professor J. R. R. Tolkien. It ranks among the three major legends in the ancient times of Middle-earth. It is not only an integral part of the grand background of "The Lord of the Rings", but also an indispensable cornerstone of "The Silmarillion". It also has extraordinary significance in the author's own life. A year before his death, J. R. R. Tolkien wrote a letter about his memory of his late wife. He wrote: "She was the source of the story that would become a major part of The Silmarillion... But the story went off the rails, I was left behind, and I could not plead before the implacable Mandos." In "Beren and Lúthien", Christopher Tolkien made a brand-new attempt: extracting the story from the general background, using a series of manuscripts written by the author himself at different stages of creation, to sort out and compare the development of the characters and plots, thereby showing readers the full evolution of the story of Beren and Lúthien over the course of decades.