# Is "The War of the Ring (HoME vol. 8)" by J.R.R. Tolkien a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The War of the Ring (HoME vol. 8) by J.R.R. Tolkien (Unwin Hyman, 1990) is identified by: Edited by Christopher Tolkien. UK Unwin Hyman edition is the true first; the US Houghton Mifflin edition followed.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Edited by Christopher Tolkien
- UK first impression: copyright page states first publication by Unwin Hyman, 1990, with no reprint or later-impression notice
- The last History of Middle-earth volume under the Unwin Hyman imprint before HarperCollins took over the series
- Publisher imprint reads Unwin Hyman
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | J.R.R. Tolkien |
| Publisher | Unwin Hyman |
| Year | 1990 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Edited by Christopher Tolkien |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Edited by Christopher Tolkien. UK first impression: copyright page states first publication by Unwin Hyman, 1990, with no reprint or later-impression notice. The last History of Middle-earth volume under the Unwin Hyman imprint before HarperCollins took over the series.

## Is this the true first?
UK Unwin Hyman edition is the true first; the US Houghton Mifflin edition followed.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later impressions add reprint notices to the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The War of the Ring (HoME vol. 8)* by J.R.R. Tolkien a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-war-of-the-ring-home-vol-8
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.