There are dozens of typos in the kindle editions of The Lord of the Rings. Here is an incomplete list.
- Edition α: 9780547951942, v9.0821 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007978OY6
- Edition β: 9780007322596 v.2022.5.30 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002RI9176
- Edition γ: 9780008501310 v.2021.9.27 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B093KH5GSS/
List
α appears to be based on an older version, because most of the new text changes listed in http://www.hammondandscull.com/addenda/rings.html are not incorporated, such as:
- 2.8.3 They [are] all resolved to go forward
- 2.8.45 We have come to bid [you] our last farewell
There are also lots of typos in α that only appears in the kindle edition (correct forms are listed on the right side of “>”):
- 0.2.15 reckoning of the Elves and the Dûnedain > reckoning of the Elves and the Dúnedain
- 1.9.75 ¶Now quicker the fiddle went deedle-dum-diddle; > ¶¶Now quicker the fiddle went deedle-dum-diddle; [new stanza. This error also appears in many post-2004 print versions, but seems to be corrected in the 2021 Illustrated by the Author edition (only corrected in print)]
- 2.1.168 miriel > míriel
- 2.1.168 palan-diriel > palan-díriel
- 2.4.183 ¶¶He named the nameless hills and dells; > ¶He named the nameless hills and dells; [extra stanza]
- 2.4.188 ¶¶But still the sunken stars appear > ¶But still the sunken stars appear [extra stanza]
- 2.8.80 untùpa
- 2.8.81 ¶Namárië! Nai hiruvalyë Valimar. > ¶¶Namárië! Nai hiruvalyë Valimar. [new stanza]
- 3.2.65 ‘Let us go!’ said Legolas. > ¶‘Let us go!’ said Legolas. [new paragraph]
- 3.2.222 The horses were gone. > ¶The horses were gone.
- 3.3.6 ¶‘What good have I been? > ‘What good have I been? [extra paragraph]
- 3.5.86 ‘Did he!’ said Gandalf, > ¶‘Did he!’ said Gandalf,
- 3.7.105 said Gamling. ¶‘I know that tongue. > said Gamling. ‘I know that tongue. [extra paragraph]
- 3.11.80 ‘Farewell! Follow fast!’ > ¶‘Farewell! Follow fast!’
- 3.11.81 The great horse tossed his head. > ¶The great horse tossed his head.
- 4.1.76 Additional hyphens in “Ninny-hammers” and “ninny-hammer”.
- 5.1.5, 5.5.2, 5.5.31 Anòrien
- 5.5.20 Drùadan
- 5.5.34 pùkel-shapes
- 5.5.57 Just this,’ he thought > ‘Just this,’ he thought [missing quote mark]
- 5.6.52 Hùrin
- 5.6.57 Additional hyphen in “over- whelmed”
- 6.1.64 ¶Though here at journey’s end I lie > ¶¶Though here at journey’s end I lie [new stanza]
- 6.2.79 The big orc, spear in hand, > ¶The big orc, spear in hand,
- 6.8.111 Then he heard Merry change the note > ¶Then he heard Merry change the note
There are too many typos in its appendices so I’ll only list the most obvious ones:
- A: F.A.I > F.A.1
- A I (i): There they founded the realm of Númenór>Númenor.
- A I (ii): multple “†” are written as “—”
- A I (ii): Arveleg I 1409 > Arveleg I † 1409 [first added in 2021 print and kindle editions]
- A III: and more remote kinsman of Thorin. > and more remote kinsmen of Thorin.
- B: S.R. 142I > S.R. 1421
- E: dun ‘west’ > dûn ‘west’
- E: consequent use of 36 as η > consequent use of 36 as ŋ
- F: Bophûn > Bophîn
β incorporates most of the changes listed in http://www.hammondandscull.com/addenda/rings.html, and γ all of them. Both β & γ contain most of the kindle-only typos in α listed above, plus a few more:
- 1.12.117 Eastfar-thing > Eastfarthing
- 2.2.68 I have had a hard life and long; > I have had a hard life and a long;
- 2.4.139 Follow my staff ! [extra space]
- 2.5.73 lt is dangerous and narrow. > It is dangerous and narrow. [L>I, this one and 4.9.55 also appear in all print versions]
- 2.6.26 brush and fir-wood > brush- and fir-wood
- 3.9.42 Dúna-dan > Dúnadan
- 4.7.68 As furtively as scouts within the campement of their enemies, > As furtively as scouts within the campment of their enemies,
- 4.9.55 lt may well be > It may well be [L>I]
There is also a change only appears in γ, but not the corresponding print version. HarperCollins confirmed Tolkien Estate asked to make this change. Since this is not a typo, I’d write the text in kindle version on the right side of “>” instead:
- B: 1409 The Witch-king of Angmar invades Arnor>Arthedain.
These corrections would bring your kindle text to be nearly the same as the latest book. However, there are still a dozen more typos in the latest book, as listed here.
Discussion
Most of the kindle-only typos are about special signs, hyphens and paragraphs. If you look at a print of the 50th anniversary edition, you can find all the mistaken hyphen/stanza happens to be line/page breaks in the paper version, so the guys making kindle version didn’t know if it’s a new word/stanza. In this case, one need to look up previous typesettings to be sure.
As for the confusing 1>I errors in the appendices, you can see the font they used for numbers does resemble “I”:
Finally I’d try to track how errors 1.9.75 (stanza error), 2.5.73 & 4.9.55 (L for I) entered the current print editions.
From the structure of the poem “The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late”, one can safely assume “Now quicker the fiddle went deedle-dum-diddle;” should start a new stanza. Indeed, that’s how it appears in Ballantine and Allen & Unwin’s 2nd editions:
But this stanza becomes page break in a HarperCollins 1992 paperback:
Then it merges with the previous stanza by the 50th anniversary edition:
This seems to be corrected in the recent Illustrated by the Author edition (at least in US trade edition).
The two “LT” in 2.5.73 & 4.9.55, are of course unmistakably “IT” in the 1st & 2nd editions.
But the serif on the upper right corner of I already became blurred in the Houghton Mifflin editions in the 1980s:
Anderson’s Note on the Text seems to suggest HM photo-offset the UK hardcover. So I guess the UK hardcover in c.1970s already had the same worn-out. Thus they entered the 1994 HC edition, when the text was OCRed for electronic typesetting for the first time. Therefore they appear in most post-1994 editions.
Zion in Ulthos 