|
It's not that Tolkien's extended conclusion didn't fit together, it's that it didn't have to be that drawn out into such obviously distinct parts.
Much of what followed on after chapter 4 "The Field of Cormallen" could have been wrapped up very much faster. There's somewhere around 100 pages following that chapter - a novella in its own right. Viewed with a dispassionate eye: The crowning of the King didn't need to be told, we knew it was going to happen ("and they lived happily ever after" would have covered it). The entire scouring of the Shire could have been dropped and no one would have been any the wiser - it simply didn't need to be there. Only the Grey Havens chapter, it seems to me, is critical to the wrap up.
I wouldn't change a word of it, but we're not trying to publish something 60+ years ago, we're trying to publish something now. In today's market an editor (with a traditional publisher) wouldn't let you get away with such an extended ending. Final climax and then wrap up quickly, leave them wanting more, is the modern mantra, with some (but not quite that much) leeway given to more epic works.
As independent publishers we can, of course, choose for ourselves what is, and is not, acceptable. But we push against the trends at our own risk.
|