Although J.R.R Tolkien is well-known for 'The Hobbit', 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'The Silmarillion', the material which laid the groundwork for what must be the most fully realised sub-creation ever to spring from a single imagination was begun many years before the publication of 'The Hobbit', and indeed Tolkien continued to work upon its completion until his death in 1973.

In one of the single largest works of 'literary archaeology' ever undertaken, J.R.R. Tolkien's son and literary executor, Christopher Tolkien, edited the vast collection of manuscripts together with maps and illustrations and these were posthumously published in twelve volumes as 'The History of Middle Earth.'

Christopher Tolkien also compiled a very detailed and thorough index for each of these books. This companion edition to the twelve-volume 'History' now brings together all of the indexes in one place, and provides the reader with an invaluable sourcebook to all the peoples, places and other significant entries from 'The Silmarillion' and 'The Lord of the Rings' which appear in 'The History of Middle-earth.'