The first prose piece by Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien, described by experts as "undeniably his darkest work" is to be published in Britain.
The piece, a version of an epic Finnish poem The Story of Kullervo, was written in 1914-1915 when Tolkien was still a student at the University of Oxford.
It shows the young author "finding his feet", Vincent Ferre, professor of comparative literature at University Paris Est-Crteil told AFP.
Fascinated by ancient languages from a young age, Tolkien was taken by the 19th century work of epic poetry, Kalevala, a compilation of mythology and folklore which tells the story of Kullervo.
The story is "the first time that JRR Tolkien, who had been a poet until then, began writing prose," Ferre, a Tolkien expert, said.
"We could say that Tolkien is finding his feet... He ultimately leaves the story to one side without finishing it, switching to write more personal and original works," he added.
Published by Harper Collins, the short story is published on Thursday (local time) in Britain and is due to be released on October 27 in the United States.
The Story of Kullervo was first published in 2010 in the academic journal Tolkien Studies by English professor Verlyn Flieger who had copied out a manuscript written by Tolkien in pencil held at the University of Oxford's Bodleian Library.
"I began to think that it deserved a wider audience than subscribers to a scholarly journal," Flieger told AFP.
After some consideration, the Tolkien estate granted permission.
"It's his earliest mythic story, and thus a precursor of all that is to come," said Flieger, who edited the edition.
"It is also undeniably his darkest work, and thus foreshadows the darker and more sombre aspects of his invented world."
Kullervo is a precursor to Turin Turambar, an important character in Tolkien's works who is the protagonist of the novel The Children of Hurin and appears in mythological saga The Silmarillion.
AFP
