The Silmarillion is a rather special book, at least it is for Tolkien fans. Despite being relatively short – just over 200 pages compared to The Hobbit’s 304 and The Lord of the Rings’ challenging 1178 – there is something epic about the text, something almost ethereal as the history of Middle-earth and its peoples emerge into what we have come to know and love.

Unreleased in his lifetime and edited together by his son Christopher after his death, The Silmarillion is perhaps J. R. R. Tolkien’s most profound work. Its pages tell the story of the First Age, of the three perfect jewels that were The Silmarilli, of the Dark Lord Morgoth, and of rebellion and war. It is a story of hopeless heroism – given what we know happens in Middle-earth’s Third Age with Sauron – and one of beginnings. Elrond and Galadriel feature and the ancestry of many characters becomes tangible.

But it also a dense tome, whose pages reveal numerous characters and detailed lore, one perhaps impenetrable to the less determined of the reader. Yet the rewards are everywhere, and more so with this new version from Harper Collins.

Not only are shorter stories detailing the myth of creation, of nature and the old gods, and of the fall of Nûmenor, the great kingdom of men, included. But the text is illustrated from drawings by Tolkien himself, recording in intricate, beautiful detail how he visualised the world he had created.

If you already own a copy, this new version is the perfect ‘display only’ edition or would make a superb gift for the Tolkien fan in the family.