A yellowing manuscript by J.R.R.Tolkien discovered in an Oxford library could become one of the publishing sensations of 2003. The 2000 handwritten pages include Tolkien's translation and appraisal of Beowulf, the epic 8th century Anglo-Saxon poem of bravery, friendship and monster-slaying that is thought to have inspired The Lord of the Rings. He borrowed from early English verse to concoct the imaginary language spoken by Arwen, played by Liv Tyler, and other elves in the second film made from the Rings books, The Two Towers. A US academic, Michael Drout, found the Tolkien material by accident in a box of...