J.R.R. 托爾金（J.R.R.Tolkien），英國文豪，天纔的語言學傢，生於1892年1月3日，1925年開始擔任牛津大學教授。他創造瞭一係列膾炙人口的中洲世界史詩，影響最為深遠的是《霍比特人》和《魔戒》。這兩部巨作，被譽為當代奇幻作品的鼻祖。1972年3月28日，托爾金獲英國女王伊麗莎白二世頒發的大英帝國指揮官勛章。

托爾金於1973年9月2日在牛津逝世。托爾金身後，其作品聲名未減，至今已暢銷2.5億餘冊，《魔戒》在英國Waterstones書店和第四頻道閤辦的票選活動中被選為20世紀之書，被亞馬遜網絡書店票選為兩韆年以來最重要的書籍。

剋裏斯托弗•托爾金（Christopher Tolkien），J.R.R. 托爾金的小兒子，托爾金文學遺産執行人，整理編輯有《精靈寶鑽》《鬍林的子女》以及十二捲本《中洲曆史》等作品，曾為《魔戒》繪製地圖。

石中歌，資深托迷，又名Ecthelion、噴泉。熱愛托爾金教授筆下那個名為阿爾達的世界，長年纍月迷路其中，且樂不思返。

鄧嘉宛，專職譯者，英國紐卡斯爾大學社會語言學碩士。從事文學與基督教神學翻譯工作二十年，譯有《魔戒》《精靈寶鑽》《鬍林的子女》等四十餘種作品。喜歡一個人有書有貓做伴的生活。

The popular paperback edition of this fascinating collection of stories, which continue the tales of The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion and contains an alternative version of The Children of Hurin. Unfinished Tales is a collection of narratives ranging in time from the Elder Days of Middle-earth to the end of the War of the Ring, and provides those who have read The Lord of the Rings with a whole collection of background and new stories from the twentieth century's most acclaimed popular author. The book concentrates on the realm of Middle-earth and comprises such elements as Gandalf's lively account of how it was that he came to send the Dwarves to the celebrated party at Bag-End, the emergence of the sea-god Ulmo before the eyes of Tuor on the coast of Beleriand, and an exact description of the military organization of the Riders of Rohan. Unfinished Tales also contains the only story about the long ages of Numenor before its downfall, and all that is known about such matters as the Five Wizards, the Palantiri and the legend of Amroth. The tales were collated and edited by JRR Tolkien's son and literary heir, Christopher Tolkien, who provides a short commentary on each story, helping the reader to fill in the gaps and put each story into the context of the rest of his father's writings.