One of J.R.R. Tolkien’s three ‘Great Tales,’ The Children of Húrin, will finally be published in its entirety eighty-nine years after the author began it. Christopher Tolkien spent thirty years carefully piecing together the story from multiple, unfinished drafts his father left. This is the first Tolkien novel to hit bookstores since The Silmarillion (1977), which was also published posthumously. Fans of his other works should enjoy The Children of Húrin, an epic adventure involving Men, Elves, Dwarves, dragons, Eagles, and Orcs. For this book, a detailed map was drawn by Christopher, who created the original maps for The Lord of the Rings. Illustrations were created by Alan Lee, who illustrated other Tolkien works in addition to winning art direction Academy Awards for the Lord of the Rings films. The Children of Húrin, published by HarperCollins, will be available April 17, 2007 (hardcover, 320 pages).