J.R.R. 托尔金（J.R.R.Tolkien），英国文豪，天才的语言学家，生于1892年1月3日，1925年开始担任牛津大学教授。他创造了一系列脍炙人口的中洲世界史诗，影响最为深远的是《霍比特人》和《魔戒》。这两部巨作，被誉为当代奇幻作品的鼻祖。1972年3月28日，托尔金获英国女王伊丽莎白二世颁发的大英帝国指挥官勋章。

托尔金于1973年9月2日在牛津逝世。托尔金身后，其作品声名未减，至今已畅销2.5亿余册，《魔戒》在英国Waterstones书店和第四频道合办的票选活动中被选为20世纪之书，被亚马逊网络书店票选为两千年以来最重要的书籍。

克里斯托弗•托尔金（Christopher Tolkien），J.R.R. 托尔金的小儿子，托尔金文学遗产执行人，整理编辑有《精灵宝钻》《胡林的子女》以及十二卷本《中洲历史》等作品，曾为《魔戒》绘制地图。

石中歌，资深托迷，又名Ecthelion、喷泉。热爱托尔金教授笔下那个名为阿尔达的世界，长年累月迷路其中，且乐不思返。

邓嘉宛，专职译者，英国纽卡斯尔大学社会语言学硕士。从事文学与基督教神学翻译工作二十年，译有《魔戒》《精灵宝钻》《胡林的子女》等四十余种作品。喜欢一个人有书有猫做伴的生活。

A new hardback edition of JRR Tolkien's legacy of short stories which inhabit the realm of The Lord of the Rings. Unfinished Tales is a collection of narratives ranging in time from the Elder Days of Middle-earth to the end of the War of the Ring, and provides those who have read The Lord of the Rings with a whole collection of background and new stories from the twentieth century's most acclaimed popular author. The book concentrates on the realm of Middle-earth and comprises such elements as Gandalf's lively account of how it was that he came to send the Dwarves to the celebrated party at Bag-End, the emergence of the sea-god Ulmo before the eyes of Tuor on the coast of Beleriand, and an exact description of the military organization of the Riders of Rohan. Unfinished Tales also contains the only story about the long ages of Numenor before its downfall, and all that is known about such matters as the Five Wizards, the Palantiri and the legend of Amroth. The tales were collated and edited by JRR Tolkien's son and literary heir, Christopher Tolkien, who provides a short commentary on each story, helping the reader to fill in the gaps and put each story into the context of the rest of his father's writings.