In letter written at the end of 1960, J. R. R. Tolkien wrote that, while parts of The Lord of the Rings, “owe something to Northern France after the Battle of the Somme. They owe more to William Morris and his Huns and Romans, as in The House of the Wolfings or The Roots of the Mountains.” For the enjoyment of Tolkien fans everywhere, those two books have been republished in Inkling’s Tolkien Warriors series. The Roots of the Mountains describes a Germanic tribe called the Wolfings who bravely defend their homes, families and freedoms against imperialistic Rome, much as the warriors of Rohan fought against Saruman and Sauron. Careful proofing, beautiful formatting, chapters summaries, and definitions of obscure words make the reading more enjoyable. This edition includes William Morris’s never-completed third volume, “The Story of Desiderius.”
