An unpublished French story by J.R.R. Tolkien titled L’histoire de Kullervo will be released in bookstores this Thursday, offering readers a rare glimpse into the early creative work of the author best known for The Lord of the Rings. The story, written in the 1920s when Tolkien was in his twenties, is an unfinished short novel that explores the tragic tale of Kullervo, an orphaned character with supernatural abilities who is sold into slavery and seeks revenge against the sorcerer who caused his suffering. According to the book’s introduction by publisher Christian Bourgois, Kullervo is described as "surely the darkest and most tragic of all Tolkien's characters." Tolkien himself noted that this story was the starting point for his personal attempt to write legends, inspired by a Finnish epic known as Kalevala. The narrative of Kullervo later influenced The Children of Húrin, one of Tolkien’s most powerful stories, which features Turin Turambar, considered by scholar Verlyn Flieger as "the most tragic hero of the author's entire mythology." The Children of Húrin was published in English in 2015 and is part of a broader collection of Tolkien’s legendarium, which includes The Silmarillion and The Hobbit. Despite Tolkien’s immense popularity—The Lord of the Rings trilogy has sold over 150 million copies worldwide—there is still a wealth of his work that remains unpublished or untranslated. Johann Defer, who oversees the Tolkien collection at Christian Bourgois, notes that there is "still several of his texts that have not been translated," and that the news around Tolkien’s work remains constant, with new publications, academic studies, and adaptations in films, television, and video games continuing to emerge. In addition to the new French release, a graphic novel biography of Tolkien, The Magician of the Ring, has recently been published by Futuropolis. Written by Belgian author Chantal Van den Heuvel and illustrated by Danish artist Henrik Rehr, the graphic novel offers a visual and narrative exploration of Tolkien’s life, focusing on the complex personality of a conservative academic who was somewhat removed from the fantastical world he created. The book highlights the contrast between Tolkien’s personal life and the epic, imaginative universe he is best known for.