Edited version of unfinished Tolkien tale to be published

The son of Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien has edited one of his father's unfinished works, with the completed project set to hit bookshelves next spring, publishers announced Monday.

Christopher Tolkien spent the past 30 years working on The Children of Hurin, an epic tale his father began in 1918 but later abandoned.

Excerpts of the story have previously been published, including in Unfinished Tales: The Lost Lore of Middle-Earth — a book that Christopher Tolkien compiled from the fantasy author's scrawled notes, unpublished essays, unfinished stories and even letters about Middle-Earth.

"It has seemed to me for a long time that there was a good case for presenting my father's long version of the legend of The Children of Hurin as an independent work, between its own covers," Christopher Tolkien said in a statement released Monday.

U.S. publisher Houghton Mifflin and the U.K.'s HarperCollins will publish the new title.

Tolkien's internationally renowned The Lord of the Rings trilogy has sold more than 50 million copies.

The public's appetite for the epic, mythical story intensified over the past few years with the release of Peter Jackson's blockbuster, Oscar-winning trio of film adaptations. A musical version of The Lord of the Rings also recently completed a six-month run in Toronto and is preparing to open in London's West End.