Beren and Lúthien Audiobook By Christopher Tolkien, J. R. R. Tolkien cover art

Beren and Lúthien

Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

Beren and Lúthien

By: Christopher Tolkien, J. R. R. Tolkien
Narrated by: Timothy West, Samuel West
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $26.13

Buy for $26.13

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Presented for the first time on audio, the epic tale of Beren and Lúthien will reunite fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves, Men and Orcs and the rich landscape unique to Tolkien’s Middle-earth in this unabridged recording read by critically acclaimed father and son, Timothy and Samuel West.

Beren was a mortal man, but Lúthien was an immortal Elf. Her father, a great Elvish lord, was deeply opposed to Beren, and imposed on him an impossible task that he must perform before he might wed Lúthien.

Undaunted by Lord Thingol’s challenge, Beren and Lúthien embark on the supremely heroic attempt to rob Morgoth, the greatest of all evil beings, of a Silmaril, one of the hallowed jewels that adorn the Black Enemy’s crown.

The tale of Beren and Lúthien, which was written shortly after J.R.R. Tolkien returned from the Battle of the Somme in 1916, was an essential element in the evolution of The Silmarillion. In this book Christopher Tolkien has extracted the various versions of Beren and Lúthien from the comprehensive work in which they are embedded.

To show something of the process whereby this Great Tale of Middle-earth evolved over the years, he tells the story in his father's own words by giving, first, its original form, and then passages in prose and verse from later texts that illustrate the narrative as it changed. Presented together for the first time, they reveal aspects of the story, both in event and in narrative immediacy, that were afterwards lost.

©2017 HarperCollins Publishers Limited (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers Limited
Epic Fantasy Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Sagas Scary

Critic reviews

"A seamless editorial construct, the capstone to a job Christopher Tolkien began with The Silmarillion." (New Statesman)

Featured Article: Elrond—A Lord of the Rings Character Guide


If you love J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, then you know that all of the events of the story would be impossible without the half-Elf Elrond. Elrond, the Lord of Rivendell, lived in Middle-earth from the First Age to the beginning of the Fourth Age. It was with the help of Elrond that the evil Sauron was defeated and alliances were forged. Elrond is one of the most prominent characters throughout Tolkien's stories. But who is he and what is his story?

Continue Your Journey Through Middle earth

Continue Your Journey
Through Middle-earth

Captivating Love Story • Beautiful Poetic Verses • Poetic Narration • Insightful Story Evolution • Detailed World-building
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
I love hearing the progression of this story and the different iterations that were made throughout Tolkien’s life. It also shows all of the work that Christopher had to put into the Silmarillion to get a final story.

Love this!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This is a totally beautiful book! This is quite an interesting and powerfully romantic. I definitely recommend it!!!!!!

Beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Amazing story told in an anthology format with multiple versions like legends told so you get a broader picture of the thoughts that went into this story. So much more hopeful then Children of Hurin!

Once again he does it!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I am a big Tolkien fan and love how he writes. The notes by Christopher Tolkien are relevant and interesting., adding another layer to the book. The narration also enhances the story - really well done.

I leave this. Even better than expected!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

While narration was very listenable, the story was a little unreachable as it has been too many years since I was a more enthusiastic fan of The Sillmarilion.

Good listen if a bit scattered in presentation.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Don't get me wrong , the information presented here are great and you gain great insight about the myth of Beren and Luthien and how it came to pass BUT it is not -at least for my taste- a good audiobook in a sense that there is a lot of "commenting" by Cristopher rather than actual storytelling. I picked this up (and was very excited) after listening to The Children of Hurin audiobook and was a bit dissapointed as I expected a bit more. But it is great!

More like a thesis reading rather than a story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

it's great I love these books, very much and I want to hear more about the characters alit more.

Beren and Luthien

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Listening to the same story retold and it's various forms as it shaped and grew throughout the years may sound repetitive. There are some elements in the retellings that are phenomenal and I am so glad I took the time. I struggled as a teenager with the poetic form of the Lays of Beleriand, as an adult and a lover of poetry I was enthralled at this retelling.

Maybe not for everyone but definitely for me!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

While not for everyone, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The two narrators did a wonderful job going back and forth between Tolkien's writing and his son's editorial notes. Beren and Lúthien has always been one of my favorite tales of Middle Earth, and I enjoyed getting a look behind the scenes on how it developed over the years.

Fantastic Look Into The Evolution Of The Tale

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

A wonderful compilation of Tolkiens writings on Beren and Luthien. Wonderful for people who love the Silmarillion, but may find the history of middle earth books too intimidating.

Tokien

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews