Tolkien's "The Fall of Arthur" poem published 40 years after his death

J.R.R. Tolkien has posthumously published "The Fall of Arthur," a book-length poem about the legendary king's final days.
Tuesday marked the return of the king.

On May 21, a previously unknown poem by "Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" authorJ.R.R. Tolkien reached eager readers at last. "The Fall of Arthur" was Tolkien's take on the final days of the legendry hero king.

The book's publisher, Harper Collins, said it was Tolkien's only work about the legends of King Arthur, but "may well be regarded as his finest and most skilful achievement in the use of the Old English alliterative metre" of the sort found in "Beowulf."

Tolkien's son, Christopher Tolkien, is listed as the book's editor.