Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has confirmed what we reported in early January: they’ll be publishing The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrùn, a previously unpublished book by J.R.R. Tolkien, written before The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. HMH will publish the book on 5 May. The book has been edited and introduced by Christopher Tolkien, J.R.R.’s son. Publishers Weekly says that Ken Carpenter acquired US hard and softcover rights for HMH from HarperCollins UK.
The book is “the first extensive retelling in English narrative verse of the epic Norse tales of Sigúrd the Völsung and The Fall of the Niflungs. The book will include an introduction by Tolkien, drawn from one of his lectures on Norse literature, with commentary and notes on the poems by Christopher Tolkien.”