The Lord of the Rings, J R R Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings is more than a series of books it is a phenomenon. I can’t think of a more influential book in the fantasy genre. It was written by Tolkien as a sequel to The Hobbit. It was written in stages between 1937 and 1949. As good as The Hobbit was, The Lord of the Rings created a more expansive and immersive world. Tolkien had originally intended that The Lord of the Rings be one of a two-volume set, the other book being The Silmarillian. This was rejected by the publishers. The Lord of the Rings was then published between 1954-55 in three volumes as, The Fellowship of the RIng, The Two Towers and The Return of the King. Each volume consisted of two books, so the three volumes consisted of six books.

First single volume edition of The Lord of the Rings By Source (WP:NFCC#4), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48552487

The main theme that flows throughout the volumes is the history of the ring. The one ring of power. If you pick up a copy of any volume of The Lord of the Rings you will see the following at the beginning;

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the land of Mordor where the Shadows lie,
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the shadows lie

This beautifully sets the scene of what has happened and what will happen. The ring of ultimate power and ultimate corruption. Those that seek it crave its power, but only the Dark Lord Sauron can wield it. This is the ring that Bilbo found in The Hobbit, previously in the possession of Gollum. At the beginning of The Fellowship of the Rings Frodo Baggins inherits the ring from his cousin Bilbo Baggins after Bilbo’s eleventy first birthday. Neither of them know of the history and power of the ring. They are visited by Gandalf the wizard, who becomes suspicious of the ring. When he finds out for sure he advises Frodo to leave the shire. Frodo sets off with his gardener and friend Samwise (Sam) Gamgee and two other hobbits, Mereiadoc (Merry) Brandybuck and Peregrin (Pippin) Took. They make their way to Bree hoping to meet up with Gandalf. They find a ranger there called Strider. His importance to the story comes out later.

They make their way to Rivendell, the refuge of the Elves, where the fellowship is forged. These are the characters that form the key threads that guide us through the various adventures. The ultimate aim is to destroy the ring, which can only be done by taking it back to where it was forged, in the fires of Mount Doom. This means going into Mordor, the stronghold of Sauron. The very last place anyone would want to go. Before they get there are many dark lands and darker creatures to cross. The Nazgûl, the Balrog, goblins, orks to name but some.

When I read this as a child I literally could not put the book down. The pages turned themselves. I remember Ursula Le Guin saying that she read all the volumes in four days. If I could read that fast so would’ve I. It’s not just the expansive world it takes place in but the care and thought put into all the names. This stems from his studies in philology. Often he will give more than one name to a character such as Gandalf, Gandalf the Grey later Gandalf the White, Mithrandir.

Thanks to his son Christopher Tolkien the world of Middle Earth and beyond that Tolkien hadn’t published in his lifetime are now available to us, including The Silmerilian, The Children of Hurin, Unfinished Tales and much more. Start your journey now and get lost in this rich and exciting world.