The Children of Húrin is an epic fantasy novel which forms the completion of a tale by J. R. R. Tolkien. He wrote the original version of the story in the late 1910s, revising it several times later, but did not complete it before his death in 1973. His son, Christopher Tolkien, edited the manuscripts to form a consistent narrative, and published it in 2007 as an independent work. The book is illustrated by Alan Lee. The story is one of three "great tales" set in the First Age of Tolkien's Middle-earth, the other two being Beren and Lúthien and The Fall of Gondolin. The book was in the main well received by critics, though some found it overblown or too fragmentary. Some critics wondered if it was suitable only for existing Tolkien aficionados, given the prose style and the large cast of characters, while others thought that despite its flaws it had the potential to reach a wider readership. Scholars have identified multiple themes in the tale, including evil, free will, predestination, heroism, courage, and the noble outlaw in the wilderness. The book's initial sales were double the U.S. publisher's expectations, and it reached number one on The New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best Seller list. Source: Wikipedia (en)