‘Middle-earth is the country of J.R.R. Tolkien’s tales – the territory of Sauron, Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf and Sam Gamgee – whose legends, history, geography and inhabitants combine to make a unique fictional world. This Guide is a comprehensive reference work to every name and event in Tolkien’s books, from The Hobbit to The Silmarillion.’
Daily Telegraph

‘Mr Robert Foster’s Complete Guide to Middle-earth supplies, as I have found through frequent use, an admirable work of reference.’
CHRISTOPHER TOLKIEN

Robert Foster was Assistant Professor of English at Rutgers College, New Jersey. Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1949, he received his MA and PhD in English and Medieval Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. He was a consultant to the Tolkien Society of America and his Guide to Middle-earth, originally published in 1971, resulted from his work tracing the etymology of names used in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien.

Ted Nasmith is a freelance illustrator living just outside Toronto, Canada, with his wife Donna and three children. The works of Tolkien have had a profound effect on him and he has enjoyed the challenge of interpreting the characters and world of Tolkien for over twenty years. He has produced several Tolkien Calendars and recently illustrated ‘The Silmarillion’.