1. Book
2. The Children of Húrin

The Children of Hurin is a book developed from Tolkien's manuscripts for over thirty years, collected and published by his son Christopher Tolkien. It is about the lives of Hurin, Turin Turambar, the eldest son, and Nienor, the younger sister. It is the greatest tragedy in all of the writings of Tolkien. It displaces the concept that epic fantasy is commonly traditional and morally superior through its disasters and shocking developments.

The story transpired in the old lands previously roamed by Treebeard and the Ents, abandoned from the First Age's catastrophe's ruins. Also, this was the distant region of the Northern lands, far from the boundaries of Grey Haven. The events happened in the earlier ages of Middle-earth, before the Lord of the Rings period. The narrative occurred during the time of the first enemy of Middle-earth, Morgoth. He began his war upon the Elves' realm and their hidden civilizations, and he occupied Angband and its formidable stronghold in the North. The Children of Hurin events were among the consequences of Morgoth's wrath upon the inhabitants of Middle-earth.

Morgoth cursed Hurin and his kin because Hurin is one of the few who incessantly opposed and disdained him. For this reason, the curse plagued the lives of Turin and Nienor with tragedies and mishaps. Morgoth relentlessly sabotaged them and commanded Glaurung the dragon to manipulate them. Glaurung was a taunting and scornful massive fire-breathing beast with no wings, but powerful controlling words and spells. He successfully ruined the lives of Hurin and Nienor by his appalling deceptions and craft and caused Morgoth's curse upon the Children of Hurin [1] to its unfortunate outcome. The story revolved around the days and adventures of Hurin and Nienor, detailing how they fought their hardships brought by the curse upon Hurin and his family. The primary character Turin endeavored for greatness despite evil deeds such as crimes and incest and his fated downfall. He fought against misery and grudge for himself, even up to his bitter death and all his family.

The first notes of Tolkien for the Children of Hurin dated back to 1918. He wrote the earliest manuscripts of the story from the many years after the First World War. After Tolkien completed his writing for The Lord of the Rings, he rewrote the narrative of the Children of Hurin, exceedingly developing the plot and details of the lives of the heroes. It was his next exceptional work after the Lord of the Rings. However, he failed to complete the final version of the book. And so Christopher Tolkien set out to create the book's complete form by examining his father's notes and writings.

Finally, he came to a consistent story from the manuscripts void of modifications and added details. Tolkien originally wrote the Children of Hurin as one long, entire story with no references and side-stories explaining events, origins, and related details. It excluded many details of Turin's life and history. It also omitted the later events of Hurin's life but eventually revealed it in Beren and Luthien's subsequent tales. This sequel also explained the destruction of Doriath linked to the history of Mim. Mim cursed the treasures of Glaurung, and so all the dwarves who stole it and the rest who later acquired it suffered their demise. But there were several inconsistencies with the Children of Hurin compared to Unfinished Tales and The Silmarillion.

These include the details in the company of Turin as they stayed in the fortification of Mim. Another is his curse upon the place. Some conflicting aspects were in the sequence of happenings and the presence or absence of certain characters. Christopher used the recent, more reliable manuscripts of Tolkien instead of his older, published writings. Therefore, some chapters contain features varying from other books such as those in the History of Middle-earth. Many aspects of the storyline were from the prose writings of Tolkien instead of his composed verses. Limited details were from the Lay of the Children of Hurin's poetry, and their form changed from poetry to prose. The stories from Narn I Chîn Húrin were also few. It excluded many of the quests of Hurin as well as his destiny. However, the later Wanderings of Hurin included these details.

The American publishing house Houghton Mifflin and United Kingdom's Harper Collins launched the book with ISBN 0-618-89464-0 on April 17th, 2007. The book was one of the Great Tales, later distributed Tolkien works through Christopher's study of his father's unpublished works.

• Preface
• Introduction
• Note on Pronunciation
• Narn Chîn Húrin (The Story of the Children of Húrin)
• Chapters
  • Chapter One: The Childhood of Túrin
  • Chapter Two: The Battle of Unnumbered Tears
  • Chapter Three: The Words of Húrin and Morgoth
  • Chapter Four: The Departure of Túrin
  • Chapter Five: Túrin in Doriath
  • Chapter Six: Túrin among the Outlaws
  • Chapter Seven: Of Mîm the Dwarf
  • Chapter Eight: The Land of Helm and Bow
  • Chapter Nine: The Death of Beleg
  • Chapter Ten: Túrin in Nargothrond
  • Chapter Eleven: The Fall of Nargothrond
  • Chapter Twelve: The Return of Túrin to Dor-lómin
  • Chapter Thirteen: The Coming of Túrin into Brethil
  • Chapter Fourteen: The Journey of Morwen and Niënor to Nargothrond
  • Chapter Fifteen: Niënor in Brethil
  • Chapter Sixteen: The Coming of Glaurung
  • Chapter Seventeen: The Death of Glaurung
  • Chapter Eighteen: The Death of Túrin
• Genealogies:
  • The House of Hador and the Inhabitants of Haleth
  • The House of Bëor
  • The Princes of the Noldor
• Appendix:
  • The Evolution of the Great Tales
  • The Composition of the Text
• List of Names:
  • Notes on the map

1. ^The Lay of the Children of Húrin.