The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings is an epic<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> high fantasy novelTemplate:Efn written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book The Hobbit but eventually developed into a much larger work. Written in stages between 1937 and 1949, The Lord of the Rings is one of the best-selling books ever written, with over 150 million copies sold.<ref name="thestar">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The title refers to the story's main antagonist,Template:Efn the Dark Lord Sauron, who in an earlier age created the One Ring, allowing him to rule the other Rings of Power given to men, dwarves, and elves, in his campaign to conquer all of Middle-earth. From homely beginnings in the Shire, a hobbit land reminiscent of the English countryside, the story ranges across Middle-earth, following the quest to destroy the One Ring, seen mainly through the eyes of the hobbits Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin. Aiding the hobbits are the wizard Gandalf, the men Aragorn and Boromir, the elf Legolas, and the dwarf Gimli, who unite as the Company of the Ring in order to rally the Free Peoples of Middle-earth against Sauron's armies and give Frodo a chance to destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom.

Although often called a trilogy, the work was intended by Tolkien to be a single volume in a two-volume set, along with The Silmarillion.<ref name="tale">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref group=T>Template:Harvnb</ref> For economic reasons, it was first published over the course of a year, from 29 July 1954 to 20 October 1955, in three volumes rather than one,<ref name="tale"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> under the titles The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King; The Silmarillion appeared only after the author's death. The work is divided internally into six books, two per volume, with several appendices of chronologies, genealogies, and linguistic information.Template:Efn These three volumes were later published as a boxed set in 1957, and even finally as a single volume in 1968, following the author's original intent.

Tolkien's work, after an initially mixed reception by the literary establishment, has been the subject of extensive analysis of its themes, literary devices, and origins. Influences on this earlier work, and on the story of The Lord of the Rings, include philology, mythology, Christianity, earlier fantasy works, and his own experiences in the First World War.

The Lord of the Rings is considered one of the most influential fantasy books ever written, and has helped to create and shape the modern fantasy genre. Since release, it has been reprinted many times and translated into at least 38 languages.Template:Efn Its enduring popularity has led to numerous references in popular culture, the founding of many societies by fans of Tolkien's works,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the publication of many books about Tolkien and his works. It has inspired many derivative works, including paintings, music, films, television, video games, and board games.

Award-winning adaptations of The Lord of the Rings have been made for radio, theatre, and film. It was named Britain's best-loved novel of all time in a 2003 poll by the BBC called The Big Read.

Plot

The Fellowship of the Ring

File:One Ring Blender Render.png

Gandalf proves that Frodo's Ring is the One Ring by throwing it into Frodo's fireplace, revealing the hidden text of the Rhyme of the Rings.

Bilbo Baggins celebrates his birthday and leaves the Ring to Frodo, his heir. Gandalf (a wizard) suspects it is a Ring of Power; seventeen years later, he confirms it is the One Ring, lost by the Dark Lord Sauron, and counsels Frodo to take it away from the Shire. Gandalf leaves, promising to return, but fails to do so. Frodo sets out on foot with his cousin Pippin Took and gardener Sam Gamgee. They are pursued by Black Riders, but meet some Elves, whose singing to Elbereth wards off the Riders. The Hobbits take an evasive shortcut to Bucklebury Ferry, where they meet their friend Merry Brandybuck. Merry and Pippin reveal they know about the Ring and insist on joining Frodo on his journey. They try to shake off the Black Riders by cutting through the Old Forest. Merry and Pippin are trapped by the malign Old Man Willow, but are rescued by Tom Bombadil. Leaving Tom's house, they are caught by a barrow-wight. Frodo, awakening from the barrow-wight's spell, calls Tom Bombadil, who frees them and gives them ancient swords from the wight's hoard. The Hobbits reach the village of Bree, where they meet Strider, a Ranger. The innkeeper gives Frodo an old letter from Gandalf, which identifies Strider as a friend. Knowing the Black Riders will attempt to seize the Ring, Strider guides the group toward the Elvish sanctuary of Rivendell. At Weathertop, they are attacked by five Black Riders. Their leader wounds Frodo with a cursed blade. Strider fights them off and treats Frodo with the herb athelas. They are joined by the Elf Glorfindel, who rides with Frodo, now deathly ill, towards Rivendell. The Black Riders pursue Frodo into the Ford of Bruinen, where they are swept away by flood waters summoned by Elrond.

Template:Anchor Frodo recovers in Rivendell under Elrond's care. Gandalf informs Frodo that the Black Riders are the Nazgûl, Men enslaved by Rings of Power to serve Sauron. The Council of Elrond discusses what to do with the Ring. Strider is revealed to be Aragorn, the heir of Isildur who had cut the Ring from Sauron's hand in the Second Age, but claimed it for himself. The Ring was lost when Isildur was killed; it passed to Gollum and then to Bilbo. Gandalf reports that the chief wizard, Saruman, is a traitor. Template:Anchor The Council decides that the Ring must be destroyed in the fire of Mount Doom in Mordor, where it was forged. Frodo takes this task upon himself. Elrond chooses companions for him: Sam, Merry, and Pippin; Gandalf; the Men Aragorn and Boromir, son of the Steward of Gondor; the Elf Legolas; and the Dwarf Gimli, representing the Free Peoples of the West. After a failed attempt to cross the Misty Mountains, the Fellowship risk the path through the Mines of Moria. They learn that Balin and his Dwarves, who had attempted to regain possession of Moria, were killed by Orcs. They are attacked by Orcs and a Balrog, a fire demon. Gandalf confronts the Balrog: both fall into an abyss. The others escape to the Elvish forest of Lothlórien, where the Lady Galadriel tests their loyalty, and gives them magical gifts. She allows Frodo and Sam to look into her vision-giving fountain, the Mirror of Galadriel. Frodo offers her the Ring: she refuses, knowing that it would master her. Galadriel's husband Celeborn gives the Fellowship boats, cloaks, and waybread. They travel down the River Anduin. At Amon Hen, Boromir tries to take the Ring, but Frodo puts on the Ring and disappears. Frodo chooses to cross the river and go alone to Mordor, but Sam, guessing what he intends, intercepts and joins him.

The Two Towers

A party of Orcs sent by Saruman and Sauron attack the Fellowship. Boromir tries to protect Merry and Pippin from the Orcs, but they kill him and capture the two Hobbits. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas decide to pursue the Orcs. The Orcs are killed by Riders of Rohan, led by Éomer. The Hobbits escape into Fangorn Forest, where they are befriended by the Ent Treebeard. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas track the hobbits to Fangorn, where they meet Gandalf: he explains that he killed the Balrog; he too was killed in the fight, but was sent back to Middle-earth. He is now Gandalf the White, replacing Saruman as chief of the wizards. They ride to Edoras, capital of Rohan. Gandalf frees King Théoden from the influence of Saruman's spy Gríma Wormtongue. Théoden musters his army and rides to the fortress of Helm's Deep; Gandalf departs to seek help from Treebeard. The Ents destroy Isengard, Saruman's stronghold, and flood it, trapping the wizard in the tower of Orthanc. Gandalf convinces Treebeard to send an army of Huorns to Théoden's aid. He brings an army of Riders of Rohan to Helm's Deep. They defeat the Orcs, who flee into the forest of Huorns and are destroyed. Gandalf, Théoden, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli ride to Isengard, where they find Merry and Pippin relaxing amidst the ruins. Gandalf offers Saruman a chance to turn away from evil. When Saruman refuses, Gandalf strips him of his rank and most of his powers. Wormtongue throws down a hard round object to try to kill Gandalf. Pippin picks it up; Gandalf swiftly takes it, but Pippin steals it in the night. It is a palantír, a seeing-stone that Saruman used to speak with Sauron, becoming ensnared. Sauron sees Pippin, but misunderstands the circumstances. Gandalf rides for Minas Tirith, chief city of Gondor, taking Pippin with him.

Frodo and Sam struggle through the barren hills of the Emyn Muil. They realize they are being tracked; on a moonlit night they capture Gollum, who has followed them from Moria. Frodo makes Gollum swear to serve him, as Ringbearer, and asks him to guide them to Mordor. Gollum leads them across the Dead Marshes. Sam overhears Gollum debating with his alter ego, Sméagol, whether to steal the Ring. The Black Gate of Mordor is too well guarded, so they travel south through Ithilien to a secret pass that Gollum knows. They are captured by rangers led by Faramir, Boromir's brother, and brought to the secret fastness of Henneth Annûn. Faramir resists the temptation to seize the Ring and, disobeying orders to arrest strangers, releases them. Gollum guides the hobbits to the pass, but leads them into the lair of the great spider Shelob in the tunnels of Cirith Ungol. Frodo holds up his gift, the Phial of Galadriel, which holds the light of Eärendil's star: it drives Shelob back. Frodo cuts through a giant web using his sword Sting. Shelob attacks again, and Frodo falls to her venom. Sam picks up Sting and the Phial. He wounds the monster. Believing Frodo to be dead, a devestated Sam takes the Ring to continue the quest alone. Orcs take Frodo; Sam overhears them saying that Frodo is still alive, and sets out to rescue him.

The Return of the King

Sauron sends a great army against Gondor. Gandalf arrives at Minas Tirith to warn Denethor of the attack, while Théoden musters the Riders of Rohan to go to Gondor's aid. Minas Tirith is besieged; the Lord of the Nazgûl uses a spell-wound battering ram to destroy the city's gates. Denethor, deceived by Sauron, falls into despair. He burns himself alive on a pyre; Pippin and Gandalf rescue his son Faramir from the same fate. Aragorn, accompanied by Legolas, Gimli, and the Rangers of the North, takes the Paths of the Dead to recruit the Dead Men of Dunharrow, oathbreakers who will have no rest until they fight for the King of Gondor. Aragorn unleashes the Army of the Dead on the Corsairs of Umbar invading southern Gondor. He and men of southern Gondor sail in the Corsairs' ships up the Anduin, reaching Minas Tirith just in time to turn the tide of battle. Théoden's niece Éowyn, who joined the army in disguise, kills the Lord of the Nazgûl with help from Merry; both are wounded. Gondor and Rohan defeat Sauron's army in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, but Théoden is killed. Aragorn enters Minas Tirith and heals the sick. He leads an army through Ithilien to the Black Gate to distract Sauron from his true danger. At the Battle of the Morannon, his army is vastly outnumbered.

Sam rescues Frodo from the tower of Cirith Ungol. They set out across Mordor. When they reach the edge of the Cracks of Doom, Frodo cannot resist the Ring any longer: he claims it for himself and puts it on. Gollum reappears. He bites off Frodo's Ring finger. Celebrating wildly, Gollum loses his footing and falls into the Fire, taking the Ring with him. When the Ring is destroyed, Sauron loses his power. All he created collapses, the Nazgûl perish, Aragorn wins the battle of the Morannon, and the Eagles rescue Frodo and Sam from the ruin of Mount Doom. Aragorn is crowned King, and weds Arwen, Elrond's daughter. Théoden is buried; Éomer is crowned King of Rohan. His sister Éowyn is engaged to Faramir, now Steward of Gondor and Prince of Ithilien. Galadriel, Celeborn, and Gandalf say farewell to Treebeard, and to Aragorn. The four hobbits travel home, only to find it has been taken over by Saruman's men. Merry raises a rebellion and scours the Shire. Saruman reveals crimes that Wormtongue has done, causing Wormtongue to turn on Saruman and kill him in front of Bag End, Frodo's home. Wormtongue then is killed by hobbit archers. Merry and Pippin are celebrated as heroes. Sam marries Rosie Cotton and uses his gifts to heal the Shire. Frodo, broken by the quest, leaves a few years later, sailing from the Grey Havens over the Sea to find peace.

Extensive appendices outline more details of the history, cultures, genealogies, and languages that Tolkien imagined for the peoples of Middle-earth. In antiquarian style,<ref name="Groom 2020">Template:Cite book</ref> they provide background details for the narrative, with much detail for Tolkien fans who want to know more about the stories.

Frame story

Tolkien presents The Lord of the Rings within a fictional frame story where he is not the original author, but merely the translator of part of an ancient document, the Red Book of Westmarch.<ref name="Hooker">Template:Cite book</ref> That book is modelled on the real Red Book of Hergest, which similarly presents an older mythology. Various details of the frame story appear in the Prologue, its "Note on Shire Records", and in the Appendices, notably Appendix F. In this frame story, the Red Book is the purported source of Tolkien's other works relating to Middle-earth: The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.<ref name="Bowman 2006">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Concept and creation

Background

Although a major work in itself, The Lord of the Rings was only the last movement of a much older set of narratives Tolkien had worked on since 1917 encompassing The Silmarillion,<ref name="Doughan 2006">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in a process he described as mythopoeia.Template:Refn

The Lord of the Rings started as a sequel to Tolkien's work The Hobbit, published in 1937.<ref name="genesis">Template:Harvnb</ref> The popularity of The Hobbit led George Allen & Unwin, the publishers, to request a sequel. Tolkien warned them that he wrote quite slowly, and responded with several stories he had already developed. Having rejected his contemporary drafts for The Silmarillion, putting Roverandom on hold, and accepting Farmer Giles of Ham, Allen & Unwin continued to ask for more stories about hobbits.Template:Sfn

Writing

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Persuaded by his publishers, he started "a new Hobbit" in December 1937.<ref name="genesis"/> After several false starts, the story of the One Ring emerged. The idea for the first chapter ("A Long-Expected Party") arrived fully formed, although the reasons behind Bilbo's disappearance, the significance of the Ring, and the title The Lord of the Rings did not come until the spring of 1938.<ref name="genesis"/> Originally, he planned to write a story in which Bilbo had used up all his treasure and was looking for another adventure to gain more; however, he remembered the Ring and its powers and thought that would be a better focus for the new work.<ref name="genesis"/> As the story progressed, he brought in elements from The Silmarillion mythology.<ref name="Shippey 2005 critics"/>

Writing was slow, because Tolkien had a full-time academic position, marked exams to bring in a little extra income, and wrote many drafts.<ref name="genesis"/><ref group=T>Template:Harvnb</ref> Tolkien abandoned The Lord of the Rings during most of 1943 and only restarted it in April 1944,<ref name="genesis"/> as a serial for his son Christopher Tolkien, who was sent chapters as they were written while he was serving in South Africa with the Royal Air Force. Tolkien made another major effort in 1946 and showed the manuscript to his publishers in 1947.<ref name="genesis" /> The story was effectively finished the next year, but Tolkien did not complete the revision of earlier parts of the work until 1949.<ref name="genesis"/> The original manuscripts, which total 9,250 pages, now reside in the J. R. R. Tolkien Collection at Marquette University.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Poetry

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Unusually for 20th century novels, the prose narrative is supplemented throughout by over 60 pieces of poetry. These include verse and songs of many genres: for wandering, marching to war, drinking, and having a bath; narrating ancient myths, riddles, prophecies, and magical incantations; and of praise and lament (elegy).<ref name="Kullmann 2013"/> Some, such as riddles, charms, elegies, and narrating heroic actions are found in Old English poetry.<ref name="Kullmann 2013">Template:Cite journal</ref> Scholars have stated that the poetry is essential for the fiction to work aesthetically and thematically, as it adds information not given in the prose, and it brings out characters and their backgrounds.<ref name="Higgins 2014">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Straubhaar 2005">Template:Cite journal</ref> The poetry has been judged to be of high technical skill, reflected in Tolkien's prose; for instance, he wrote much of Tom Bombadil's speech in metre.<ref name="Zimmer 1993">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Illustrations

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File:One Ring inscription.svg

Tolkien's calligraphy of the Ring Verse was one of the few illustrations in the first edition. It is written in the Black Speech of Mordor using the Tengwar script.

Tolkien worked on the text using his maps of Middle-earth as a guide, to ensure the elements of the story fitted together in time and space.<ref name="Letters Languages" group=T>Template:Harvnb</ref> He prepared a variety of types of illustration – maps, calligraphy, drawings, cover designs, even a facsimile painting of the Book of Mazarbul – but only the maps, the inscription on the Ring, and a drawing of the Doors of Durin were included in the first edition.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref name="Letter #141" group=T>Template:Harvnb</ref>

The hardback editions sometimes had cover illustrations by Tolkien,Template:Efn sometimes by other artists. According to The New York Times, Barbara Remington's cover designs for Ballantine's paperback editions "achieved mass-cult status in the 1960s, particularly on college campuses" across America.<ref name="Carmel 2020">Template:Cite news</ref>

Influences

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File:Beowulf eotenas ylfe orcneas.jpg

BeowulfTemplate:'s eotenas ond ylfe ond orcneas, "ogres and elves and devil-corpses" helped to inspire Tolkien to create the Orcs and Elves of Middle-earth.<ref name="Shippey 2005 Beowulf"/>

Tolkien drew on a wide array of influences including language,<ref group=T>Template:Harvnb</ref> Christianity,<ref name="letters" group=T>Template:Harvnb</ref> mythology and Germanic heroic legend including the Norse Völsunga saga,<ref name="Lee Solopova 2005">Template:Cite book</ref> archaeology, especially at the Temple of Nodens,<ref name="Anger 2013">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> ancient and modern literature, like Finnish 19th-century epic poetry The Kalevala by Elias Lönnrot,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and personal experience. He was inspired primarily by his profession, philology;<ref group=T>Template:Harvnb</ref> his work centred on the study of Old English literature, especially Beowulf, and he acknowledged its importance to his writings.<ref name="Shippey 2005 Beowulf">Template:Cite book</ref> He was a gifted linguist, influenced by Celtic,<ref name="Burns 2005">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Lee Solopova 2005"/> Finnish,<ref name=Kalevala>Template:Cite news</ref> Slavic,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Greek language and mythology.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Commentators have attempted to identify literary and topological antecedents for characters, places and events in Tolkien's writings; he acknowledged that he had enjoyed adventure stories by authors such as John Buchan and Rider Haggard.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Nelson 2013">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref name="Hooker 2011">Template:Cite book</ref> The Arts and Crafts polymath William Morris was a major influence,<ref group=T>Template:Harvnb</ref> and Tolkien undoubtedly made use of some real place-names, such as Bag End, the name of his aunt's home.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Tolkien stated, too, that he had been influenced by his childhood experiences of the English countryside of Worcestershire near Sarehole Mill, and its urbanization by the growth of Birmingham,<ref group=T>Template:Harvnb</ref> and his personal experience of fighting in the trenches of the First World War.<ref name=shellshocked>Template:Cite news</ref> Moreover, the militarization and industrialization inspired the character of Sauron and his forces. The Orcs represented the worst of it as workers that have been tortured and brutalized by the war and industry.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Themes

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Scholars and critics have identified many themes in the book with its complex interlaced narrative, including a reversed quest,<ref name="Campbell2010">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Miller 1975">Template:Cite book</ref> the struggle of good and evil,<ref name=Flieger>Template:Cite book</ref> death and immortality,<ref name="Hannon 2004">Template:Cite journal</ref> fate and free will,<ref name="Understanding The Lord of the Rings">Template:Cite book</ref> the addictive danger of power,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and various aspects of Christianity such as the presence of three Christ figures, for prophet, priest, and king, as well as elements like hope and redemptive suffering.<ref name="Kreeft 2005">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> There is a common theme throughout the work of language, its sound, and its relationship to peoples and places, along with hints of providence in descriptions of weather and landscape.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Out of these, Tolkien stated that the central theme is death and immortality.<ref group=T>Template:Harvnb</ref> To those who supposed that the book was an allegory of events in the 20th century, Tolkien replied in the foreword to the Second Edition that it was not, saying he preferred "history, true or feigned, with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers."

Some commentators have criticized the book for being a story about men for boys, with no significant women; or about a purely rural world with no bearing on modern life in cities; of containing no sign of religion; or of racism. Other commentators responded by noting that there are three powerful women in the book, Galadriel, Éowyn, and Arwen; that life, even in rural Hobbiton, is not idealized; that Christianity is a pervasive theme; and that Tolkien was sharply anti-racist both in peacetime and during the Second World War, while Middle-earth is evidently polycultural.<ref name="Wood 2003">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Rearick 2004">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Straubhaar 2004">Template:Cite book</ref> Others have discussed the apparent or implicit sexuality in the book.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Publication history

A dispute with his publisher, Allen & Unwin, led Tolkien to offer the work to William Collins in 1950. Tolkien intended The Silmarillion (itself largely unrevised at this point) to be published along with The Lord of the Rings, but Allen & Unwin was unwilling to do this. After Milton Waldman, his contact at Collins, expressed the belief that The Lord of the Rings itself "urgently wanted cutting", Tolkien eventually demanded that they publish the book in 1952.Template:Sfn Collins did not; and so Tolkien wrote to Allen & Unwin, telling that he would have gladly considered the publication of any part of the stuff, fearing his work would never see the light of day.<ref name="genesis"/>

For publication, the work was divided into three volumes to minimize any potential financial loss due to the high cost of type-setting and modest anticipated sales: The Fellowship of the Ring (Books I and II), The Two Towers (Books III and IV), and The Return of the King (Books V and VI, and six appendices).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Delays in producing appendices, maps and especially an index led to the volumes being published later than originally hoped – on 29 July 1954, on 11 November 1954 and on 20 October 1955 respectively in the United Kingdom.Template:Sfn In the United States, Houghton Mifflin published The Fellowship of the Ring on 21 October 1954, The Two Towers on 21 April 1955, and The Return of the King on 5 January 1956.<ref>The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings (publication history) Template:Cite book</ref>

The Return of the King was especially delayed as Tolkien revised the ending and prepared appendices (some of which had to be left out because of space constraints). Tolkien did not like the title The Return of the King, believing it gave away too much of the storyline, but deferred to his publisher's preference.<ref>"From Book to Script", The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Appendices (DVD). New Line Cinema. 2002.</ref> Tolkien wrote that the title The Two Towers "can be left ambiguous",<ref name="TheLetters1981" group=T>Template:Harvnb</ref> but considered naming the two as Orthanc and Barad-dûr, Minas Tirith and Barad-dûr, or Orthanc and the Tower of Cirith Ungol.<ref group=T>Template:Harvnb</ref> However, a month later he wrote a note published at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring and later drew a cover illustration, both of which identified the pair as Minas Morgul and Orthanc.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Tolkien was initially opposed to titles being given to each two-book volume, preferring instead the use of book titles: e.g. The Lord of the Rings: Vol. 1, The Ring Sets Out and The Ring Goes South; Vol. 2, The Treason of Isengard and The Ring Goes East; Vol. 3, The War of the Ring and The End of the Third Age. However, these individual book titles were dropped, and after pressure from his publishers, Tolkien suggested the volume titles: Vol. 1, The Shadow Grows; Vol. 2, The Ring in the Shadow; Vol. 3, The War of the Ring or The Return of the King.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Because the three-volume binding was so widely distributed, the work is often referred to as the Lord of the Rings "trilogy". In a letter to the poet W. H. Auden, who famously reviewed the final volume in 1956,<ref name=audenNYT>Template:Cite news</ref> Tolkien himself made use of the term "trilogy" for the work<ref group=T>Template:Harvnb</ref> though he did at other times consider this incorrect, as it was written and conceived as a single book.<ref group=T>Template:Harvnb</ref> It is often called a novel; however, Tolkien objected to this term as he viewed it as a heroic romance.<ref name="Letter 329" group=T>Template:Harvnb</ref>

The books were published under a profit-sharing arrangement, whereby Tolkien would not receive an advance or royalties until the books had broken even, after which he would take a large share of the profits.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> It has ultimately become one of the best-selling novels ever written, with at least 50 million copies sold by 2003<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and over 150 million copies sold by 2007.<ref name="thestar"/> The work was published in the UK by Allen & Unwin until 1990, when the publisher and its assets were acquired by HarperCollins.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Editions and revisions

File:Remington Covers for Ballantine Lord of the Rings 1960s.jpg

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In the early 1960s Donald A. Wollheim, science fiction editor of the paperback publisher Ace Books, claimed that The Lord of the Rings was not protected in the United States under American copyright law because Houghton Mifflin, the US hardcover publisher, had neglected to copyright the work in the United States.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="silver">Template:Cite book</ref> Then, in 1965, Ace Books proceeded to publish an edition, unauthorized by Tolkien and without paying royalties to him. Tolkien took issue with this and quickly notified his fans of this objection.<ref name=Ripp>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Grass-roots pressure from these fans became so great that Ace Books withdrew their edition and made a nominal payment to Tolkien.<ref name=reynolds>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref group=T>Template:Harvnb</ref>

Authorized editions followed from Ballantine Books and Houghton Mifflin to tremendous commercial success. Tolkien undertook various textual revisions to produce a version of the book that would be published with his consent and establish an unquestioned US copyright. This text became the Second Edition of The Lord of the Rings, published in 1965.<ref name=reynolds/> The first Ballantine paperback edition was printed in October that year, selling a quarter of a million copies within ten months. On 4 September 1966, the novel debuted on The New York TimesTemplate:'s Paperback Bestsellers list as number three, and was number one by 4 December, a position it held for eight weeks.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Houghton Mifflin editions after 1994 consolidate variant revisions by Tolkien, and corrections supervised by Christopher Tolkien, which resulted, after some initial glitches, in a computer-based unified text.<ref>"Notes on the text" pp. xi–xiii, Douglas A. Anderson, in the 1994 HarperCollins edition of The Fellowship of the Ring.</ref>

In 2004, for the 50th Anniversary Edition, Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull, under supervision from Christopher Tolkien, studied and revised the text to eliminate as many errors and inconsistencies as possible, some of which had been introduced by well-meaning compositors of the first printing in 1954, and never been corrected.Template:Sfn The 2005 edition of the book contained further corrections noticed by the editors and submitted by readers. Yet more corrections were made in the 60th Anniversary Edition in 2014.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Several editions, including the 50th Anniversary Edition, print the whole work in one volume, with the result that pagination varies widely over the various editions.<ref name="50th Anniversary Edition" group=T>Template:Cite book</ref>

Posthumous publication of drafts

From 1988 to 1992 Christopher Tolkien published the surviving drafts of The Lord of the Rings, chronicling and illuminating with commentary the stages of the text's development, in volumes 6–9 of his History of Middle-earth series. The four volumes carry the titles The Return of the Shadow, The Treason of Isengard, The War of the Ring, and Sauron Defeated.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Translations

The work has been translated, with varying degrees of success, into at least 38,Template:Efn and reportedly at least 70, languages.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Tolkien, an expert in philology, examined many of these translations, and made comments on each that reflect both the translation process and his work. As he was unhappy with some choices made by early translators, such as the Swedish translation by Åke Ohlmarks,<ref group=T>Template:Harvnb</ref> Tolkien wrote a "Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings" (1967). Because The Lord of the Rings purports to be a translation of the fictitious Red Book of Westmarch, using the English language to represent the Westron of the "original", Tolkien suggested that translators attempt to capture the interplay between English and the invented nomenclature of the English work, and gave several examples along with general guidance.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn

Reception

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1950s

Early reviews of the work were mixed. The initial review in the Sunday Telegraph described it as "among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the twentieth century".<ref name=Box>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Sunday Times echoed this sentiment, stating that "the English-speaking world is divided into those who have read The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and those who are going to read them."<ref name=Box/> The New York Herald Tribune appeared to predict the books' popularity, writing in its review that they were "destined to outlast our time".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> W. H. Auden, a former pupil of Tolkien's and an admirer of his writings, regarded The Lord of the Rings as a "masterpiece", further stating that in some cases it outdid the achievement of John Milton's Paradise Lost.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Kenneth F. Slater wrote in Nebula Science Fiction, April 1955, "... if you don't read it, you have missed one of the finest books of its type ever to appear".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On the other hand, in 1955, the Scottish poet Edwin Muir attacked The Return of the King, writing that "All the characters are boys masquerading as adult heroes ... and will never come to puberty ... Hardly one of them knows anything about women", causing Tolkien to complain angrily to his publisher.<ref name="Lobdell 2013 in Drout">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> In 1956, the literary critic Edmund Wilson wrote a review entitled "Oo, Those Awful Orcs!", calling Tolkien's work "juvenile trash", and saying "Dr. Tolkien has little skill at narrative and no instinct for literary form."<ref name="Wilson 1956">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Within Tolkien's literary group, The Inklings, the work had a mixed reception. Hugo Dyson complained loudly at its readings,<ref>Template:Cite video</ref>Template:Efn whereas C. S. Lewis had very different feelings, writing, "here are beauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron. Here is a book which will break your heart."<ref name="Doughan 2006"/> Lewis observed that the writing is rich, in that some of the 'good' characters have darker sides, and likewise some of the villains have "good impulses".<ref>C. S. Lewis, quoted in Christina Scull & Wayne Hammond (2006), The J. R. R. Tolkien Companion and Guide, HarperCollins, article 'The Lord of the Rings', § Reviews, p. 549; Template:ISBN</ref> Despite the mixed reviews and the lack of a paperback until the 1960s, The Lord of the Rings initially sold well in hardback.<ref name="Doughan 2006"/>

Later

Judith Shulevitz, writing in The New York Times, criticized the "pedantry" of Tolkien's literary style, saying that he "formulated a high-minded belief in the importance of his mission as a literary preservationist, which turns out to be death to literature itself".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The critic Richard Jenkyns, writing in The New Republic, criticized the work for a lack of psychological depth. Both the characters and the work itself were, according to Jenkyns, "anemic, and lacking in fibre".<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The science fiction author David Brin interprets the work as holding unquestioning devotion to a traditional hierarchical social structure.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In his essay "Epic Pooh", fantasy author Michael Moorcock critiques the world-view displayed by the book as deeply conservative, in both the "paternalism" of the narrative voice and the power structures in the narrative.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Tom Shippey, like Tolkien an English philologist, notes the wide gulf between Tolkien's supporters, both popular and academic, and his literary detractors, and attempts to explain in detail both why the literary establishment disliked The Lord of the Rings, and the work's subtlety, themes, and merits, including the impression of depth that it conveys.<ref name="Shippey 2005 critics">Template:Cite book</ref> The scholar of humanities Brian Rosebury analysed Tolkien's prose style in detail, showing that it was generally quite plain, varying to suit the voices of the different characters, and rising to a heroic register for special moments.<ref name="Rosebury 2003">Template:Cite book</ref> The critic Patrick Curry cited the work's first publisher, Rayner Unwin's "pithy and accurate" assessment of the novel: "a very great book in its own curious way".<ref name="Curry 2020">Template:Cite book</ref>

Awards

In 1957, The Lord of the Rings was awarded the International Fantasy Award. Despite its numerous detractors, the publication of the Ace Books and Ballantine paperbacks helped The Lord of the Rings become immensely popular in the United States in the 1960s. The book has remained so ever since, ranking as the most popular works of fiction of the twentieth century, judged by all of three different measures: sales, library borrowings, and reader surveys.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Walker 2009">Template:Cite book</ref> In the 2003 "Big Read" survey conducted in Britain by the BBC, The Lord of the Rings was found to be the "Nation's best-loved book". In similar 2004 polls both Germany<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Australia<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> chose The Lord of the Rings as their favourite book. In a 1999 poll of Amazon.com customers, The Lord of the Rings was judged to be their favourite "book of the millennium".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2019, the BBC News listed The Lord of the Rings on its list of the "100 most inspiring novels".<ref name=Bbc2019-11-05>Template:Cite news</ref>

Adaptations

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The Lord of the Rings has been adapted into various media, including radio, stage, motion pictures, and videogames.

Radio

The book has been adapted for radio four times. In 1955 and 1956, the BBC broadcast The Lord of the Rings, a 13-part radio adaptation of the story. In the 1960s radio station WBAI produced a short radio adaptation. A 1979 dramatization of The Lord of the Rings was broadcast in the United States and subsequently issued on tape and CD. In 1981, the BBC broadcast The Lord of the Rings, a new dramatization in 26 half-hour instalments.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Motion pictures

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A variety of filmmakers considered adapting Tolkien's book, among them Stanley Kubrick, who thought it unfilmable,<ref name="TolkienEncyl2006_15">Template:Harvnb</ref><ref>See also interview in "Show" magazine vol. 1, Number 1 1970</ref> Michelangelo Antonioni,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Jim Henson,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Heinz Edelmann,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and John Boorman.<ref>Taylor, Patrick (19 January 2014). Template:Usurped OneRoomWithaView.com. Retrieved 16 December 2018.</ref> A Swedish live action television film, Sagan om ringen, was broadcast in 1971.<ref>K-Special, "I trollkarlens hatt Template:Webarchive" (at 24m30s), Sveriges television, 23 October 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.</ref> In 1978, Ralph Bakshi made an animated film version covering The Fellowship of the Ring and part of The Two Towers, to mixed reviews.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1980, Rankin/Bass released an animated TV special based on the closing chapters of The Return of the King, gaining mixed reviews.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The 1991 Soviet Union live-action adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring, Khraniteli, was aired once and thought lost,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> but was rediscovered and republished on the Web. It includes Tom Bombadil and the Barrow-wight, omitted from Jackson's version.<ref name="Roth 2021">Template:Cite news</ref> In Finland, a live action television miniseries, Hobitit, was broadcast in 1993 based on The Lord of the Rings, with a flashback to Bilbo's encounter with Gollum in The Hobbit.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news Template:Subscription required</ref>

A far more successful adaptation was Peter Jackson's live action The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, produced by New Line Cinema and released in three instalments as The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). All three parts won multiple Academy Awards, including consecutive Best Picture nominations. The final instalment of this trilogy was the second film to break the one-billion-dollar barrier and won a total of 11 Oscars (something only two other films in history, Ben-Hur and Titanic, have accomplished), including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>The Return of the King peak positions

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|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Commentators including Tolkien scholars, literary critics and film critics are divided on how faithfully Jackson adapted Tolkien's work, or whether a film version is inevitably different, and if so the reasons for any changes, and the effectiveness of the result.<ref name="Bogstad Kaveny 2011">Template:Cite book</ref>

The Hunt for Gollum, a 2009 film by Chris Bouchard,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the 2009 Born of Hope, written by Paula DiSante and directed by Kate Madison, are fan films based on details in the appendices of The Lord of the Rings.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

From September 2022, Amazon has been presenting a multi-season television series of stories, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. It is set at the beginning of the Second Age, long before the time of The Lord of the Rings, based on materials in the novel's appendices.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery began making a series of films set in Middle-earth, produced along with New Line Cinema and Freemode.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The first was The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, an anime written by Jeffrey Addiss, Will Matthews and Philippa Boyens, directed by Kenji Kamiyama and released in December 2024. It was based on the story of the legendary Rohan king Helm Hammerhand.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Audiobooks

In 1990, Recorded Books published an audio version of The Lord of the Rings,<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref> read by the British actor Rob Inglis. A large-scale musical theatre adaptation, The Lord of the Rings, was first staged in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 2006 and opened in London in June 2007; it was a commercial failure.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2013, the artist Phil Dragash recorded the whole of the book, using the score from Peter Jackson's movies.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

During the COVID-19 lockdown, Andy Serkis read the entire book of The Hobbit online to raise money for charity.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He then recorded the work again as an audiobook.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The cover art was done by Alan Lee. In 2021, Serkis recorded The Lord of the Rings novels.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Legacy

Influence on fantasy

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The enormous popularity of Tolkien's work expanded the demand for fantasy. Largely thanks to The Lord of the Rings, the genre flowered throughout the 1960s and enjoys popularity to the present day.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The opus has spawned many imitations, such as The Sword of Shannara, which Lin Carter called "the single most cold-blooded, complete rip-off of another book that I have ever read,"<ref name=carter>Template:Cite book</ref> as well as alternate interpretations of the story, such as The Last Ringbearer. The Legend of Zelda, which popularized the action-adventure game genre in the 1980s, was inspired by The Lord of the Rings among other fantasy books.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Dungeons & Dragons, which popularized the role-playing game genre in the 1970s, features several races from The Lord of the Rings, including halflings (hobbits), elves, dwarves, half-elves, orcs, and dragons. However, Gary Gygax, the lead designer of the game, stated that he included these elements as a marketing move to draw on the popularity the work enjoyed at the time he was developing the game.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Because Dungeons & Dragons has gone on to influence many popular games, especially role-playing video games, the influence of The Lord of the Rings extends to many of them, with titles such as Dragon Quest,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=kurt>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> EverQuest, the Warcraft series, and The Elder Scrolls series of games<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> as well as video games set in Middle-earth itself.

Music

In 1965, the composer and songwriter Donald Swann, best known for his collaboration with Michael Flanders as Flanders & Swann, set six poems from The Lord of the Rings and one from The Adventures of Tom Bombadil ("Errantry") to music. When Swann met with Tolkien to play the songs for his approval, Tolkien suggested for "Namárië" (Galadriel's lament) a setting reminiscent of plain chant, which Swann accepted.<ref>Tolkien had recorded a version of his theme on a friend's tape recorder in 1952. This was later issued by Caedmon Records in 1975 as part of J. R. R. Tolkien reads and sings The Lord of the Rings (LP recording TC1478).</ref> The songs were published in 1967 as The Road Goes Ever On: A Song Cycle,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and a recording of the songs performed by singer William Elvin with Swann on piano was issued that same year by Caedmon Records as Poems and Songs of Middle Earth.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>

Rock bands of the 1970s were musically and lyrically inspired by the fantasy-embracing counter-culture of the time. The British rock band Led Zeppelin recorded several songs that contain explicit references to The Lord of the Rings, such as mentioning Gollum and Mordor in "Ramble On", the Misty Mountains in "Misty Mountain Hop", and Ringwraiths in "The Battle of Evermore". In 1970, the Swedish musician Bo Hansson released an instrumental concept album entitled Sagan om ringen ("The Saga of the Ring", the title of the Swedish translation at the time).<ref name="Snider">Template:Cite book</ref> The album was subsequently released internationally as Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings in 1972.<ref name="Snider"/> From the 1980s onwards, many heavy metal acts have been influenced by Tolkien.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In 1988, the Dutch composer and trombonist Johan de Meij completed his Symphony No. 1 "The Lord of the Rings". It had 5 movements, titled "Gandalf", "Lothlórien", "Gollum", "Journey in the Dark", and "Hobbits".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The 1991 album Shepherd Moons by the Irish musician Enya contains an instrumental titled "Lothlórien", in reference to the home of the wood-elves.<ref name=OnlyTimeLPsleeve>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>

Impact on popular culture

File:Matamata sign.jpg

"Welcome to Hobbiton" sign in Matamata, New Zealand, where Peter Jackson's film version was shot

The Lord of the Rings has had a profound and wide-ranging impact on popular culture, beginning with its publication in the 1950s, but especially during the 1960s and 1970s, when young people embraced it as a countercultural saga.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> "Frodo Lives!" and "Gandalf for President" were two phrases popular among United States Tolkien fans during this time.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Its impact is such that the words "Tolkienian" and "Tolkienesque" have entered the Oxford English Dictionary, and many of his fantasy terms, formerly little-known in English, such as "Orc" and "Warg", have become widespread in that domain.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Among its effects are numerous parodies, especially Harvard LampoonTemplate:'s Bored of the Rings, which has had the distinction of remaining continuously in print from its publication in 1969, and of being translated into at least 11 languages.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>

In 1969, Tolkien sold the merchandising rights to The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit to United Artists under an agreement stipulating a lump sum payment of £10,000<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> (Template:Inflation) plus a 7.5% royalty after costs,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> payable to Allen & Unwin and the author.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1976, three years after the author's death, United Artists sold the rights to Saul Zaentz Company, who now trade as Tolkien Enterprises. Since then all "authorised" merchandise has been signed off by Tolkien Enterprises, although the intellectual property rights of the specific likenesses of characters and other imagery from various adaptations is generally held by the adaptors.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Outside commercial exploitation from adaptations, from the late 1960s onwards there has been an increasing variety of original licensed merchandise, with posters and calendars created by illustrators such as Barbara Remington.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The work was named Britain's best novel of all time in the BBC's The Big Read.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2015, the BBC ranked The Lord of the Rings 26th on its list of the 100 greatest British novels.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was included in Le MondeTemplate:'s list of "100 Books of the Century".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Sources

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• Tolkien, Christopher (ed.) (1988–1992). The History of The Lord of the Rings, 4 vols.
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External links

• Lord of the Rings at Goodreads
• Tolkien website of Harper Collins (the British publisher)

Template:Lord of the Rings {{#invoke:Navbox|navbox}} Template:J. R. R. Tolkien Template:Völsung Template:Kalevala Template:BILBY Older Readers Award