The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings is a famous work of fantasy fiction by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is a single, unified work, although for commercial reasons the publisher presented it as a trilogy consisting of:

I. The Fellowship of the Ring
2. The Two Towers
3. The Return of the King

The Lord of the Rings is set in the same fictional world as The Hobbit, and continues the same story. The Hobbit was written for children; The Lord of the Rings was written for all ages.

The story begins at dark times in the fictitious lands of Middle earth. The time of the elves who, are immortal, good, and fairest of all beings in the world is closing, and they are leaving the war-weary world by sailing to the blessed realm Valinor. With the leaving of the elves the world falls into the hands of men. but against them stands The Dark Lord, Sauron, Lord of the Rings. The story is about the Fellowship of the Ring as they journey to destroy Sauron's ring.

The Lord of the Rings was published in hardbound in 1954 and 1955, but was known only a small audience of aficionados until 1961. J. R. R. Tolkien himself was known primarily to scholars for his work on Beowulf. This changed when an American paperback publisher released a "pirated" paperback edition, paying Tolkien nothing, in the belief that Tolkien's copyright in the U. S. was defective because of a technicality. Tolkien reached a legal settlement with this publisher, and another publisher released an authorized edition for which Tolkien was paid royalties. The book was an instant success particularly among college students.

J. R. R. Tolkien was a Roman Catholic, and many readers see Christian undertones in The Lord of the Rings. The subtext is subtle; it is much more evident in the fictional work of C. S. Lewis, a personal friend of Tolkien's and a writer with which Tolkien is often compared.