In one of the largest works of ‘literary archaology’ ever undertaken, J.R.R. Tolkien’s son and literary executor, Christopher Tolkien, edited the vast collection of manuscripts together with maps and illustrations and these were posthumously published in twelve volumes as The History of Middle-earth. The twelve volumes are available as individual paperbacks, with a ‘thirteenth’ volume comprising the combined indexes of the series, in three omnibus hardback volumes, and for the first time in many years as individual hardbacks. They will also soon be available as electronic books.