Unfinished Tales was published posthumously in 1980 as a collection of Tolkien’s unfinished stories and essays.
Christopher Tolkien edited the volume from writings left by J.R.R. Tolkien. It includes material connected with the First, Second, and Third Ages of Middle-earth, including stories involving Númenor, Gondor, Rohan, and the Wizards. The book expands the background of events and characters known from The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.
Unlike a conventional completed novel, Unfinished Tales preserves variant passages, notes, and incomplete narratives. Christopher Tolkien often explains editorial problems and differences between versions. This makes the book especially valuable for readers interested in how Tolkien’s mythology developed.
The title is sometimes confused with The History of Middle-earth, a much larger twelve-volume editorial series. Unfinished Tales is a single 1980 collection, while The History of Middle-earth documents the evolution of Tolkien’s manuscripts across many volumes.