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{{disambig-more|{{PAGENAME}}|[[{{PAGENAME}} (disambiguation)]]}}
{{disambig-more|{{PAGENAME}}|[[{{PAGENAME}} (disambiguation)]]}}
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{{book
{{book
|title=The Lord of the Rings
|title=The Lord of the Rings
|image=[[Image:Jrrt lotr cover design.jpg|225px]]|
|image=[[Image:The Lord of the Rings 1954-55.png|250px]]|
|author=[[J.R.R. Tolkien]]
|author=[[J.R.R. Tolkien]]
|publisher=
|publisherUK=[[George Allen and Unwin]]
|date=1954-1955
|publisherUS=[[Houghton Mifflin]]
|format=Hardcover
|date=vol.1: [[July 29]] [[1954]]<br>vol.2: [[November 11]] [[1954]]<br>vol.3: [[October 20]] [[1955]]
|pages=
|format=Hardcover; paperback; deluxe-edition; audio-book
|pages=vol.1: 423<br>vol.2: 352<br>vol.3: 416
|precededby=[[The Hobbit]] (1937)
|followedby=[[The Silmarillion]] (1977)
}}
}}


{{quote|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.|Sunday Times}}
{{quote|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.|Sunday Times}}


'''''The Lord of the Rings''''' is a book by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]], the sequel to his earlier work, ''[[The Hobbit]]''. It was published in three volumes in 1954 and 1955.  
'''''The Lord of the Rings''''' is an epic high-fantasy novel by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]]. Set in [[Middle-earth]], the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier work, ''[[The Hobbit]]'', but eventually developed into a much larger work. The writing began in [[1937]], and was published in three volumes in [[1954]] and [[1955]]. ''The Lord of the Rings'' is one of the best-selling books ever written, with over 150 million copies sold.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110309035210/http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/203389 Tolkien proves he's still the king] ''Toronto Star''. Archived from the original on 9 March 2011.</ref>


The story's [[Lord of the Ring|titular character]] is the Dark Lord [[Sauron]] of [[Mordor]].  The primary villain of the work, he created [[the One Ring]] to control nineteen other [[Rings of Power]], and is thus the "Lord of the Rings." Sauron, in turn, was the servant of an earlier Dark Lord, [[Morgoth]] (Melkor), who is prominent in Tolkien's ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', the history of Middle-earth.
The [[Lord of the Ring (title)|book's title]] refers to the story's main antagonist, the Dark Lord [[Sauron]], who in an earlier age created the [[One Ring]] 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 mainly through the eyes of the hobbits [[Frodo]], [[Sam]], [[Merry]], and [[Pippin]].


==Books and volumes==
==Synopsis==
===Writing===
:''For the synopsis of volume 1, see ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]''.
Tolkien did not originally intend to write a sequel to ''[[The Hobbit]]'', and instead wrote several other children's tales, including ''[[Roverandom]]'' and ''[[Farmer Giles of Ham]]''. As his main work, Tolkien began to outline the history of [[Arda]], telling tales of the [[Silmarils]], and many other stories of how the races and situations that we read about in the Lord of the Rings trilogy came to be.  Tolkien died before he could complete and put together ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', but his son [[Christopher Tolkien]] edited his father's work, filled in gaps and published it in 1977.
:''For the synopsis of volume 2, see ''[[The Two Towers]]''.
:''For the synopsis of volume 3, see ''[[The Return of the King]]''.


Tolkien had a deep desire to write a mythology for England, especially after his horrific experiences during the First World War. He was also influenced by the effects of continued industrialisation, where he saw much of the England he loved passing away and became aware of the immense evil in the world. Thus to understand his writings we must be aware of how Tolkien the scholar influences Tolkien the author. His writing of this mythology emerges as an Oxford philologist well acquainted with Northern European Medieval Literature including the great mythic works such as the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hervarar_saga Hervarar saga], the   [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Völsunga_Saga Völsunga saga], the influential ''[[Beowulf (poem)|Beowulf]]'' as well as other [[Old Norse]], [[Old English|Old]] and [[Middle English]] Texts. He was also inspired by non-Germanic works such as the Finnish epic ''[[Kalevala]]''. A man who had created his first language by the age of seven, he was driven by a desire to write a mythology for England influenced by his exposure and expertise of these ancient traditions.  The need for such a myth was often a topic of conversation in his meetings with the [[Inklings]], fellow Oxford scholars who have been described as Christian Romantics, meeting weekly and discussing Icelandic myths and their own unpublished compositions. Tolkien agreed with one of the other members of the group, [[C.S. Lewis]], that if there were no adequate myths for England then they would have to write their own. Tolkien's work has been commonly interpreted in this light.
==Inscriptions==
There are inscriptions in the title pages of all three volumes. [[Cirth]] is used in the upper inscription of the title page, where it reads:
:"''The Lord of the Rings translated from the Red Book …''"
 
The sentence follows in the bottom inscription, written in [[Tengwar]]:
:"''... of Westmarch by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. Herein is set forth the history of the War of the Ring and the Return of the King as seen by the hobbits.''"
 
==Maps==
Three maps in total have been included since the first edition, these are:
* ''[[A Part of the Shire]]'' (included in Volume 1)
* ''[[Map of Rohan, Gondor, and Mordor]]'' (included in Volume 3)
* ''[[The West of Middle-earth at the End of the Third Age]]''
** (included in all three volumes, the first edition used [[General Map of Middle-earth|an 1953 version]], this is the new version made in [[1980]], which has been used ever since)
 
==Writing process==
{{quote|It is written in my life-blood, such as that is, thick or thin; and I can do no other.|J.R.R. Tolkien to his publisher, [[Letter 109]] (dated [[31 July]] [[1947]]).}}
 
Tolkien did not originally intend to write a sequel to ''[[The Hobbit]]'', and instead wrote several other children's tales, including ''[[Roverandom]]'' and ''[[Farmer Giles of Ham]]''. As his main work, Tolkien began to outline the history of [[Arda]], telling tales of the [[Silmarils]], and many other stories of how the races and situations that we read about in ''The Lord of the Rings'' came to be.  Tolkien died before he could complete and put together ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', but his son [[Christopher Tolkien]] edited his father's work, filled in gaps and published it in 1977.
 
Tolkien had a deep desire to write a mythology for England, especially after his horrific experiences during the First World War. He was also influenced by the effects of continued industrialisation, where he saw much of the England he loved passing away and became aware of the immense evil in the world. Thus to understand his writings we must be aware of how Tolkien the scholar influences Tolkien the author. His writing of this mythology emerges as an Oxford philologist well acquainted with Northern European Medieval Literature including the great mythic works such as the [[Wikipedia:Hervarar_saga|Hervarar saga]], the [[Wikipedia:Völsunga_Saga|Völsunga saga]], the influential ''[[Beowulf (poem)|Beowulf]]'' as well as other [[Old Norse]], [[Old English|Old]] and [[Middle English]] Texts. He was also inspired by non-Germanic works such as the Finnish epic ''[[Kalevala]]''. A man who had created his first language by the age of seven, he was driven by a desire to write a mythology for England influenced by his exposure and expertise of these ancient traditions.  The need for such a myth was often a topic of conversation in his meetings with the [[Inklings]], fellow Oxford scholars who have been described as Christian Romantics, meeting weekly and discussing Icelandic myths and their own unpublished compositions. Tolkien agreed with one of the other members of the group, [[C.S. Lewis]], that if there were no adequate myths for England then they would have to write their own. Tolkien's work has been commonly interpreted in this light.


Persuaded by his publishers, he started 'a new hobbit' in December 1937.  After several false starts, the story of the One Ring soon emerged, and the book mutated from being a sequel to ''The Hobbit'' to being, in theme, more of a sequel to the unpublished ''[[The Silmarillion|Silmarillion]]''.  The idea of the first chapter (''A Long-Expected Party'') arrived fully-formed, although the reasons behind Bilbo's disappearance, and the significance of the Ring did not arrive, along with the title ''The Lord of the Rings'' until spring [[1938]]. Originally he was going to write another 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 the powers it had and decided to write about that instead. He started to write it with Bilbo as the main character but decided that the story was too serious to use the fun loving Hobbit so Tolkien looked to use a member of Bilbo's family. He thought about using Bilbo's son but this generated some difficult questions &mdash; Where was his wife?  How could Bilbo let his son go into that kind of danger? &mdash; so he looked for an alternate character to carry the ring.  In Greek legend, it was a hero's nephew that gained the item of power, and so into existence came the Hobbit Frodo.  
Persuaded by his publishers, he started 'a new hobbit' in December 1937.  After several false starts, the story of the One Ring soon emerged, and the book mutated from being a sequel to ''The Hobbit'' to being, in theme, more of a sequel to the unpublished ''[[The Silmarillion|Silmarillion]]''.  The idea of the first chapter (''A Long-Expected Party'') arrived fully-formed, although the reasons behind Bilbo's disappearance, and the significance of the Ring did not arrive, along with the title ''The Lord of the Rings'' until spring [[1938]]. Originally he was going to write another 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 the powers it had and decided to write about that instead. He started to write it with Bilbo as the main character but decided that the story was too serious to use the fun loving Hobbit so Tolkien looked to use a member of Bilbo's family. He thought about using Bilbo's son but this generated some difficult questions &mdash; Where was his wife?  How could Bilbo let his son go into that kind of danger? &mdash; so he looked for an alternate character to carry the ring.  In Greek legend, it was a hero's nephew that gained the item of power, and so into existence came the Hobbit Frodo.  


Writing was slow due to Tolkien's perfectionism, and was frequently interrupted by his obligations as an examiner, and other academic duties.  In fact, the first sentence of ''[[The Hobbit]]'' was written on a blank page a student had left on an exam paper that Tolkien was grading &mdash; "In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit".  He seems to have abandoned the book during most of 1943 and only re-started it in April 1944.  This effort was written as a serial for [[Christopher Tolkien]] and [[C.S. Lewis]] &mdash; the former would be sent copies of chapters as they were written while he was serving in Africa in the [[Royal Air Force]].  He made another push in 1946, and showed a copy of the manuscript to his publishers in 1947.  The story was effectively finished the next year, but Tolkien did not finish revising earlier parts of the work until 1949.
Writing was slow due to Tolkien's perfectionism, and was frequently interrupted by his obligations as an examiner, and other academic duties.  In fact, the first sentence of ''[[The Hobbit]]'' was written on a blank page a student had left on an exam paper that Tolkien was grading &mdash; "In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit".  He seems to have abandoned the book during most of 1943 and only re-started it in April 1944.  This effort was written as a serial for [[Christopher Tolkien]] and [[C.S. Lewis]] &mdash; the former would be sent copies of chapters as they were written while he was serving in Africa in the Royal Air Force.  He made another push in 1946, and showed a copy of the manuscript to his publishers in 1947.  The story was effectively finished the next year, but Tolkien did not finish revising earlier parts of the work until 1949.


A dispute with his publishers, [[Allen and Unwin]], led to the book being offered to [[HarperCollins|Collins]] in 1950.  He intended ''the Silmarillion'' (itself largely unrevised at this point) to be published along with ''The Lord of the Rings'', but Allen and Unwin were unwilling to do this.  After his contact at Collins, [[Milton Waldman]], expressed the belief that ''The Lord of the Rings'' itself 'urgently needed cutting', he eventually demanded that they publish the book in 1952.  They did not do so, and so Tolkien wrote to Allen and Unwin, saying "I would gladly consider the publication of any part of the stuff".
A dispute with his publishers, [[Allen and Unwin]], led to the book being offered to [[HarperCollins|Collins]] in 1950.  He intended ''the Silmarillion'' (itself largely unrevised at this point) to be published along with ''The Lord of the Rings'', but Allen and Unwin were unwilling to do this.  After his contact at Collins, [[Milton Waldman]], expressed the belief that ''The Lord of the Rings'' itself 'urgently needed cutting', he eventually demanded that they publish the book in 1952.  They did not do so, and so Tolkien wrote to Allen and Unwin, saying "I would gladly consider the publication of any part of the stuff".
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Some locations and characters were inspired by Tolkien's childhood in [[Sarehole]], then a [[Warwickshire]] village, now part of [[Birmingham]], and in Birmingham itself.
Some locations and characters were inspired by Tolkien's childhood in [[Sarehole]], then a [[Warwickshire]] village, now part of [[Birmingham]], and in Birmingham itself.


You've been HACKED :D
==Publication==
For publication, due largely to post-war paper shortages, but also to keep the price of the first volume down, the book was divided into three volumes (''[[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, 6 appendices).  Delays in producing appendices and maps led to these being published later than originally hoped &mdash; on the 29 July and 11 November 1954 and 20 October 1955 in the United Kingdom, slightly later in the United States.  ''The Return of the King'' was especially delayed.  He did not, however, much like the title ''The Return of the King'', believing it gave away too much of the storyline. He had originally suggested ''[[The War of the Ring]]'' which was dismissed by his publishers.


'''BUNTER CASTLES'''
The books were published under a 'profit-sharing' arrangement, where Tolkien would not receive an advance or royalties until the books had broken even, but after then take a large share of the profits.


== Publication history ==
An index to the entire 3-volume set at the end of third volume was promised in the first volume.  However, this proved impractical to compile in a reasonable timescale.  Later, in 1966, four indices which were not compiled by Tolkien were added to ''The Return of the King''.
:''Main article: [[The Lord of the Rings editions]]''
The three parts were first published by [[Allen and Unwin]] in [[1954]]-[[1955]] several months apart. They were later reissued many times by multiple publishers, as one, three, six or seven volumes. Two current printings are ISBN 0-618-34399-7 (one-volume) and ISBN 0-618-34624-4 (three volume set).


In the early 1960s, Donald A. Wollheim, science fiction editor of the paperback publisher [[Ace Books]], realized that ''The Lord of the Rings'' was not protected in the United States under American copyright law because the US hardcover edition had been bound from pages printed in the UK for the British edition. Ace Books proceeded to publish an edition, unauthorized by Tolkien and without compensation to him. Tolkien made this plain to US fans who wrote to him.  Grass-roots pressure became so great that Ace books withdrew their edition and made a nominal payment to Tolkien, well below what he might have been due in an appropriate publication. However, this poor beginning was overshadowed when an authorized edition followed from [[Ballantine Books]] to tremendous commercial success. By the mid-1960s the books, due to their wide exposure on the American public stage, had become a true cultural phenomenonThe Second Edition of the Lord of the Rings dates from this time &mdash; Tolkien undertook various textual revisions to produce a version of the book that would have a valid U.S. copyright.
Because the three-volume binding was so widely distributed, the work is usually referred to as the ''Lord of the Rings'' "trilogy". Tolkien himself made use of the term "trilogy" for the work, though he did at other times consider this incorrect, as it was written and conceived as a single novel.   


The books have been translated, with various degrees of success, into dozens of other languages.
The name of the complete work is often abbreviated to ''LotR'', ''LOTR'', or simply ''LR'', and the three volumes as ''FR'', ''FOTR'', or ''FotR'' (The Fellowship of the Ring), ''TT'' or ''TTT'' (The Two Towers), and ''RK'', ''ROTK'', or ''RotK'' (The Return of the King).


Tolkien, an expert in philology, examined many of these translations, and had comments on each that illuminate both the translation process and his work.
;Seven-volume set
A 1999 (Millennium Edition) UK 7-volume box set (ISBN 0261103873) followed the six-book division authored by Tolkien, but with the ''Appendices'' from the end of ''Book VI'' bound as a separate volume. The letters of ''Tolkien'' appear on the spines of the boxed set which includes a CD.


The enormous popular success of Tolkien's epic saga greatly expanded the demand for fantasy fiction. Largely thanks to ''The Lord of the Rings'', the genre flowered throughout the 1960s. Many well-written books of this genre were published (comparable works include the ''Earthsea'' books of [[Ursula K. Le Guin]], the ''Thomas Covenant'' novels of Stephen R. Donaldson, and in the case of the ''Gormenghast'' books by Mervyn Peake, and ''The Worm Ourobouros'' by E. R. Eddison, rediscovered). It also strongly influenced the role playing game industry that achieved popularity in the 1970s with ''Dungeons & Dragons'' which featured many creatures that could be found in Tolkien's books.
The individual names for books in this series were decided posthumously, based on suggestions Tolkien had made during his lifetime.


As in all artistic fields, a great many lesser derivatives of the more prominent works appeared. The term "Tolkienesque" is used in the genre to refer to the oft-used and abused storyline of ''The Lord of the Rings'': a group of adventurers embarking on a quest to save a magical fantasy world from the armies of an evil "[[Dark Lord|dark lord]]", and is a testament to how much the popularity of these books has increased, since many critics initially decried Lord of the Rings as being "[[Richard Wagner|Wagner]] for children" (a reference to the [[Ring Cycle]]) &mdash; a specially interesting commentary in light of a possible interpretation of The Lord of The Rings as a Christian response to Wagner, for example following <ref>http://atimes.com./atimes/others/spengler.html ATimes'</ref> Oswald Spengler.
* ''T'' Book I: ''The Ring Sets Out''
* ''O'' Book II: ''The Ring Goes South''
* ''L'' Book III: ''The Treason of Isengard''
* ''K'' Book IV: ''The Ring Goes East''
* ''I'' Book V: ''The War of the Ring''
* ''E'' Book VI: ''The End of the Third Age''
* ''N'' Appendices


In [[2002]] the first unabridged audio version of ''The Lord of the Rings'' was published by Recorded Books with [[Rob Inglis]] narrating.  
Four of the titles, ''[[The Return of the Shadow]]'', ''[[The Treason of Isengard]]'', ''[[The War of the Ring]]'' and ''[[The End of the Third Age]]'', were used by [[Christopher Tolkien]] for ''[[The History of The Lord of the Rings]]''.


On [[19 April]] [[2009]] the first e-book of the trilogy was published by HarperCollins (ISBN 9780007322497, ISBN 9780007322503, ISBN 9780007322558). The e-book was made available at waterstones.com, harpercollinsebooks.co.uk and tolkien.co.uk. Another verision of the e-book was made available for the Amazon Kindle.
===Alternative titles===
J.R.R. Tolkien contemplated numerous alternative titles for ''The Lord of the Rings'' and its volumes before the final titles were chosen. An early title for the book was "The Magic Ring" ([[John D. Rateliff]], ''[[The History of The Hobbit]]''). From a letter to [[Rayner Unwin]], Tolkien writes:
{{blockquote|Would it not do if the 'book-titles' were used: e.g. The Lord of the Rings: Vol. I The Ring Sets out (sic) and The Ring Goes South; Vol. II The Treason of Isengard, and The Ring goes East; Vol. III The War of the Ring, and The End of the Third Age? "If not, I can at the moment think of nothing better than: I The Shadow Grows II The Ring in the Shadow III The War of the Ring or The Return of the King.|''[[The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien]]'', [[Letter 136]]}}


== The books ==
A note from this letter states a manuscript located at [[Marquette University]], Milwaukee, USA, has a different set of titles: Vol. I The First Journey and The Journey of the Nine Companions; Vol. II The Treason of Isengard and The Journey of the Ringbearers; Vol. III The War of the Ring and The End of the Third Age.
 
In [[Letter 139]] Tolkien writes again to Unwin with his new preferences: The Return of the Shadow, II The Shadow Lengthens, and III The Return of the King. On August 17th he writes his updated choices: I The Fellowship of the Ring, II The Two Towers (deliberately ambiguous), III The War of the Ring.


''The Lord of the Rings'' began as a personal exploration by Tolkien of his interests in philology, religion (particularly Roman Catholicism); fairy tales, and Norse and Celtic mythology.
===Original dust-jacket designs===
{{Gallery
|width=125
|height=150
|lines=2
|File:J.R.R. Tolkien - The Fellowship of the Ring.jpg|Original cover for Volume 1
|File:J.R.R. Tolkien - The Two Towers.jpg|Original cover for Volume 2
|File:J.R.R. Tolkien - The Return of the King.jpg|Original cover for Volume 3
|File:J.R.R. Tolkien - The Lord of the Rings cover (detail).jpg|The Ring and Eye device
}}
In late [[1953]], [[Allen & Unwin]] asked Tolkien to create dust-jacket designs for ''The Lord of the Rings''. Three were needed, because the work was divided into three volumes for reasons of cost. Tolkien proceeded to work on the book covers, creating multiple versions for each of the three volumes, before settling the design and sending them to Allen & Unwin. A description of the final designs and their meanings are given below.<ref>{{HM|AoL}}</ref>
 
:''For the information please see [[The Lord of the Rings/Original dust-jacket designs|Original dust-jacket designs]]''.
 
Although Allen & Unwin chose instead to use a uniform design, with the Ring and Eye device, on each volume, in recent years (since [[1997]]) editions have been published with dust-jackets closely adapting Tolkien's original drawings.
 
==Influences on the book==
''The Lord of the Rings'' began as a personal exploration by Tolkien of his interests in philology, religion (particularly Roman [[Catholicism]]); fairy tales, and [[Norse mythology|Norse]] and [[Celtic]] mythology.
Tolkien detailed his creation to an astounding extent; he created a complete mythology for his realm of Middle-earth, including genealogies of characters, languages, [[runes]], calendars and histories.
Tolkien detailed his creation to an astounding extent; he created a complete mythology for his realm of Middle-earth, including genealogies of characters, languages, [[runes]], calendars and histories.
Some of this supplementary material is detailed in the appendices to ''The Lord of the Rings'', and the mythological history was woven into a large, biblically-styled volume entitled ''[[The Silmarillion]]''.
Some of this supplementary material is detailed in the appendices to ''The Lord of the Rings'', and the mythological history was woven into a large, biblically-styled volume entitled ''[[The Silmarillion]]''.


J. R. R. Tolkien once described ''The Lord of the Rings'' as "''a fundamentally religious and Catholic work''" he wrote to his friend, the English Jesuit Father [[Robert Murray]], "''unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision.''"(''[[The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien]]'', 142).  There are many theological themes underlying the narrative, the battle of good versus evil, the triumph of humility over pride, the activity of grace, Death and Immortality, Resurrection, Salvation, Repentance, Self-Sacrifice, Free Will, Humility, Justice, Fellowship, Authority and Healing.
J.R.R. Tolkien once described ''The Lord of the Rings'' as "''a fundamentally religious and Catholic work''" he wrote to his friend, the English Jesuit Father [[Robert Murray]], "''unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision.''"(''[[The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien]]'', 142).  There are many theological themes underlying the narrative, the battle of good versus evil, the triumph of humility over pride, the activity of grace, Death and Immortality, Resurrection, Salvation, Repentance, Self-Sacrifice, Free Will, Humility, Justice, Fellowship, Authority and Healing.
In it the great virtues of Mercy and Pity (shown by Bilbo and Frodo towards Gollum) win the day and the message from the Lord's Prayer "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" was very much on Tolkien's mind as Frodo struggled against the power of the One Ring (''Letters'', 181 and 191).
In it the great virtues of Mercy and Pity (shown by Bilbo and Frodo towards Gollum) win the day and the message from the Lord's Prayer "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" was very much on Tolkien's mind as Frodo struggled against the power of the One Ring (''Letters'', 181 and 191).


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Tolkien did repeatedly insist that his works were not an allegory of any kind, and even though his thoughts on the matter are mentioned in the introduction of the book, there has been heavy speculation about the Ruling Ring being an allegory for the atom bomb. However, Tolkien had already completed most of the book, and planned the ending in entirety, before the first atom bombs were made public to the world during the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.  However there is a strong theme of despair in front of new mechanized warfare that Tolkien himself had experienced in the trenches of World War One.  The development of a specially bred orc army, and the destruction of the environment to aid this have modern resonances. Nevertheless, the author's own opinion on the matter of allegories was that he disliked them, and it would be irresponsible to dismiss such direct statements on these matters lightly.   
Tolkien did repeatedly insist that his works were not an allegory of any kind, and even though his thoughts on the matter are mentioned in the introduction of the book, there has been heavy speculation about the Ruling Ring being an allegory for the atom bomb. However, Tolkien had already completed most of the book, and planned the ending in entirety, before the first atom bombs were made public to the world during the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.  However there is a strong theme of despair in front of new mechanized warfare that Tolkien himself had experienced in the trenches of World War One.  The development of a specially bred orc army, and the destruction of the environment to aid this have modern resonances. Nevertheless, the author's own opinion on the matter of allegories was that he disliked them, and it would be irresponsible to dismiss such direct statements on these matters lightly.   


The plot of ''The Lord of the Rings'' builds from his earlier book ''[[The Hobbit]]'' and more obliquely from the history in ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', which contains events to which the characters of ''The Lord of the Rings'' look back upon in the book.
==Criticism==
The [[Hobbits]] become embroiled in great events that threaten their entire world, as [[Sauron]], an evil spirit, attempts to regain the lost [[The One Ring|One Ring]] which will restore him to full potency.
The book was characterized as "juvenile balderdash" by American critic Edmund Wilson in his essay "[http://www.jrrvf.com/sda/critiques/The_Nation.html Oo, those awful Orcs]", and in 1961 Philip Toynbee wrote, somewhat prematurely, that it had "passed into a merciful oblivion" <ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/1695926.stm</ref>. Although she had never read ''The Lord of the Rings'', Germaine Greer wrote "it has been my nightmare that Tolkien would turn out to be the most influential writer of the twentieth century. The bad dream has materialized."
 
=== The storyline ===
See the articles on ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', ''[[The Two Towers]]'', and ''[[The Return of the King]]'' for plot summaries.
 
=== Criticism ===
The book was characterized as "juvenile balderdash" by American critic Edmund Wilson in his essay "[http://www.jrrvf.com/sda/critiques/The_Nation.html Oo, those awful Orcs]", and in 1961 Philip Toynbee wrote, somewhat prematurely, that it had "passed into a merciful oblivion" <ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/1695926.stm</ref>. Although she had never read ''The Lord of the Rings'', Germaine Greer wrote "it has been my nightmare that Tolkien would turn out to be the most influential writer of the twentieth century. The bad dream has materialized."  


[[W.H. Auden]] also criticized the book in a 1968 ''Critical Quarterly'' article, "Good and evil in ''The Lord of the Rings''," objecting to Tolkien's conception of sentient species that are intrinsically evil without possibility of redemption.<!-- an actual quote from this article would be nice-->  (This is a criticism often directed at [[Dungeons and Dragons]]-like fantasy worlds as well as at fantasy literature in general, and a criticism that Tolkien himself increasingly struggled with during his last years.) On the other hand, in a 1956 ''New York Times'' book review, "At the end of the Quest, Victory," Auden also called the book "a masterpiece of its genre" that "succeeded where [[wikipedia:John Milton|Milton]] failed" in depicting an epic battle between good and evil, and wrote that it "never violated" the "reader's sense of the credible."
[[W.H. Auden]] also criticized the book in a 1968 ''Critical Quarterly'' article, "Good and evil in ''The Lord of the Rings''," objecting to Tolkien's conception of sentient species that are intrinsically evil without possibility of redemption.<!-- an actual quote from this article would be nice-->  (This is a criticism often directed at [[Dungeons and Dragons]]-like fantasy worlds as well as at fantasy literature in general, and a criticism that Tolkien himself increasingly struggled with during his last years.) On the other hand, in a 1956 ''New York Times'' book review, "At the end of the Quest, Victory," Auden also called the book "a masterpiece of its genre" that "succeeded where [[wikipedia:John Milton|Milton]] failed" in depicting an epic battle between good and evil, and wrote that it "never violated" the "reader's sense of the credible."
Line 87: Line 130:
China Mieville, a modern fantasy writer, criticised Tolkien's works as "reactionary."  Mieville is also a detractor of later fantasy which draws heavily upon Tolkien's work, based on the idea that such work is cliche.
China Mieville, a modern fantasy writer, criticised Tolkien's works as "reactionary."  Mieville is also a detractor of later fantasy which draws heavily upon Tolkien's work, based on the idea that such work is cliche.


===Alternative Titles===
==Adaptations==
J.R.R. Tolkien contemplated numerous alternative titles for ''The Lord of the Rings'' and its volumes before the final titles were chosen. An early title for the trilogy was "The Magic Ring" ([[John D. Rateliff]], ''[[The History of The Hobbit]]''). From a letter to [[Rayner Unwin]], Tolkien writes:
;1978 film
{{quote|Would it not do if the 'book-titles' were used: e.g. The Lord of the Rings: Vol. I The Ring Sets out (sic) and The Ring Goes South; Vol. II The Treason of Isengard, and The Ring goes East; Vol. III The War of the Ring, and The End of the Third Age? "If not, I can at the moment think of nothing better than: I The Shadow Grows II The Ring in the Shadow III The War of the Ring or The Return of the King.|''[[The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien]]'', [[Letter 136]]}}
 
A note from this letter states a manuscript located at [[Marquette University]], Milwaukee, USA, has a different set of titles: Vol. I The First Journey and The Journey of the Nine Companions; Vol. II The Treason of Isengard and The Journey of the Ringbearers; Vol. III The War of the Ring and The End of the Third Age.
 
In [[Letter 139]] Tolkien writes again to Unwin with his new preferences: The Return of the Shadow, II The Shadow Lengthens, and III The Return of the King. On August 17th he writes his updated choices: I The Fellowship of the Ring, II The Two Towers (deliberately ambiguous), III The War of the Ring.
 
== Adaptations of ''The Lord of the Rings'' ==
===Film===
====Bakshi====
:''Main article: [[The Lord of the Rings (1978 film)]]''
:''Main article: [[The Lord of the Rings (1978 film)]]''


Line 106: Line 140:
United Artists viewed the film as a flop, and refused to fund a Part II (covering the rest of the story), leaving the door open for [[Rankin/Bass]] to do the work for him.
United Artists viewed the film as a flop, and refused to fund a Part II (covering the rest of the story), leaving the door open for [[Rankin/Bass]] to do the work for him.


====Rankin/Bass====
;1980 film
:''Main article: [[The Return of the King (1980 film)]]''
:''Main article: [[The Return of the King (1980 film)]]''
The 1980 animated television version of ''[[The Return of the King (1980 film)|The Return of the King]]'' picked up from where the book began, and not from where Bakshi's film left off. Additionally, the change in style and character design was quite noticeable.  
The 1980 animated television version of ''[[The Return of the King (1980 film)|The Return of the King]]'' picked up from where the book began, and not from where Bakshi's film left off. Additionally, the change in style and character design was quite noticeable.  
Line 112: Line 146:
Since this film was targeted to a younger audience, adult enthusiasts have complained that much of the depth and darkness of the book was discarded.
Since this film was targeted to a younger audience, adult enthusiasts have complained that much of the depth and darkness of the book was discarded.


====Peter Jackson====
;2001-2003 films
:''Main article: [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' (film series)]]''
:''Main article: [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|''The Lord of the Rings'' (film series)]]''
[[Miramax]] developed a full-fledged live-action adaptation of ''The Lord of the Rings'', with [[Peter Jackson]] as director. Eventually, Miramax became uneasy with the sheer scope of the proposed project and wanted to combine the suggested two films into one. [[Peter Jackson]] struck a deal with Miramax that if he could not find a fresh studio to back the project, he would walk away and leave the rights and all the work so far completed with Miramax. However, in 1998, [[New Line Cinema]] assumed production responsibility, unexpectedly announcing that it would mount three, not just two films (while Miramax executives Bob Weinstein and Harvey Weinstein retained on-screen credits as executive film producers).
The three live action films (supplemented with extensive computer-generated imagery, for example in the major battle scenes, using the "[[Massive]]" software) were filmed simultaneously. Jackson filmed all the major scenes in his native New Zealand. ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring|The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' was released on December 19, 2001. ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers|The Two Towers]]'' was released on December 18, 2002 and ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King|The Return of the King]]'' was released worldwide on December 17, 2003. All three films won the Hugo Award for Best (Long-form) Dramatic Presentation in their respective years.
Although some have criticized these films because they have altered the story somewhat and, arguably, have a noticeably different tone from Tolkien's original vision, others have hailed them as remarkable achievements. [[Peter Jackson]] has defended his changes by stating that he views the films as merely one man's interpretation.
[[Peter Jackson]]'s film adaptations garnered seventeen Oscars (four for ''The Fellowship of the Ring'', two for ''The Two Towers'', and eleven for ''The Return of the King''). ''The Return of the King'' won all of the eleven awards for which it was nominated, including Best Picture -- it was the first film of the fantasy genre to do so.  With 30 total nominations, the trilogy became the most-nominated in the Academy's history, surpassing the ''Godfather'' series' 28 nominations.
''The Return of the King''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Oscar sweep is widely seen as a proxy award for the entire trilogy. ''The Return of the King''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s 11 Oscars at the 2004 Academy Awards tied it for most awards won for one film with ''Titanic'' six years earlier and the [[1959]] version of ''Ben-Hur''.  It also broke the previous "sweep" record, beating ''Gigi'' and ''The Last Emperor''.
The visual-effects work has been groundbreaking, particularly the creation of the emotionally versatile digital character [[Gollum]]. The scale of the production alone &mdash; three films shot and edited back to back over a period of little more than three years &mdash; is unprecedented.
The films have also proven to be substantial box office successes. The premiere of ''The Return of the King'' took place in [[Wellington]], [[New Zealand]], on December 1, 2003 and was surrounded by fan celebrations and official promotions (the production of the films having contributed significantly to the New Zealand economy). The movie earned $34.5 million on its opening day, making it the seventh-largest opening day for a film released on a Wednesday <ref>http://boxofficemojo.com/alltime/days/?page=wed&p=.htm</ref>. ''The Return of the King'' was also the second movie in history (after ''Titanic'') to earn over 1 billion $US (worldwide).
Fanatics of the films have also flocked to the locations where the trilogy was filmed in New Zealand, with many tour companies being totally devoted to taking fans to and from the filming locations that Director Peter Jackson chose for the adaptation of Tolkien’s epic trilogy.
===Radio===
The [[BBC]] produced a [[The Lord of the Rings (1956 radio series)|13-part radio adaptation]] of ''The Lord of the Rings'' in 1955. It was panned by Tolkien, complaining about the "sillification" of it and the changing of characters, such as Old Man Willow in league with Mordor and Goldberry being Tom Bombadil's daughter rather than his wife. No recording has survived.{{fact}}
A [[The Lord of the Rings (1979 radio series)|1979 dramatization]] was broadcast in the USA and subsequently issued on tape and CD. No cast or credits appear on the audio packaging. Each of the actors was apparently recorded separately and then the various parts were edited together. Thus, unlike a BBC recording session where the actors are recorded together, none of the cast are actually interacting with each other and the performances suffer badly as a result.


In [[1981]] the BBC broadcast a [[The Lord of the Rings (1981 radio series)|new, ambitious dramatization]] of ''The Lord of the Rings'' in 26 half-hour installments.
This is a series of three epic fantasy adventure films directed by [[Peter Jackson]]. The films are subtitled ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' ([[2001]]), ''The Two Towers'' ([[2002]]), and T''he Return of the King'' ([[2003]]). Produced and distributed by [[New Line Cinema]] with the co-production of WingNut Films, the series is an international venture between New Zealand and the United States. The films feature an ensemble cast including Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Christopher Lee, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Andy Serkis and Sean Bean.


==Stage==
;Radio
The [[BBC]] produced a [[The Lord of the Rings (1956 radio series)|13-part radio adaptation]] of ''The Lord of the Rings'' in 1955. It was panned by Tolkien, complaining about the "sillification" of it and the changing of characters, such as Old Man Willow in league with Mordor and Goldberry being Tom Bombadil's daughter rather than his wife. No recording has survived to date.{{fact}}


[[Ed Mirvish|Mirvish Productions]] has started rehearsals for a three-hour stage musical adaptation of ''The Lord of the Rings'' that will have a cast of over 65 actors and cost C$27 million (£11.5 million).  The show will be written by Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus with music by [[A. R. Rahman]] and [[Värttinä]], collaborating with [[Christopher Nightingale]] and will be directed by [[Matthew Warchus]].  It will open on March 23 2006 at Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre, with preview performances from February 2 until March 22. It is planned to premiere in London in autumn 2006 and New York City within two years.
A [[The Lord of the Rings (1979 radio series)|1979 dramatization]] was broadcast in the USA and subsequently issued on tape and CD. In [[1981]] the BBC broadcast a [[The Lord of the Rings (1981 radio series)|new, ambitious dramatization]] of ''The Lord of the Rings'' in 26 half-hour installments.


The director explained his vision of the play’s format by saying, "We have not attempted to pull the novel towards the standard conventions of musical theatre, but rather to expand those conventions so that they will accommodate Tolkien's material. As a result, we will be presenting a hybrid of text, physical theatre, music and spectacle never previously seen on this scale. To read the novel is to experience the events of Middle-earth in the mind’s eye; to watch the films is to view Middle-earth as though through a giant window. Only in the theatre are we actually plunged into the events as they happen. The environment surrounds us. We participate. We are in Middle-earth."
;Stage
Mirvish Productions has started rehearsals for a three-hour stage musical adaptation of ''The Lord of the Rings'' that will have a cast of over 65 actors and cost C$27 million (£11.5 million).  The show will be written by Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus with music by A. R. Rahman and Värttinä, collaborating with Christopher Nightingale and will be directed by Matthew Warchus. It will open on March 23 2006 at Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre, with preview performances from February 2 until March 22. It is planned to premiere in London in autumn 2006 and New York City within two years.


==Awards==
==Awards==
* In 1957 it was awarded the International Fantasy Award
* In 1957 it was awarded the International Fantasy Award.
* In the 2003 "Big Read" survey conducted by the BBC, The Lord of the Rings was found to be the "Nation's Best-loved Book" <ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml</ref>.
* In the 2003 "Big Read" survey conducted by the BBC, ''The Lord of the Rings'' was found to be the "Nation's Best-loved Book". <ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml</ref>
* Australians voted The Lord of the Rings "My Favourite Book" in a 2004 survey conducted by the Australian ABC
* Australians voted ''The Lord of the Rings'' "My Favourite Book" in a 2004 survey conducted by the Australian ABC.
* In a 1999 poll of Amazon.com customers, The Lord of the Rings was judged to be their favourite "book of the millennium". <ref>http://archive.salon.com/books/feature/2001/06/04/tolkien/</ref>
* In a 1999 poll of Amazon.com customers, ''The Lord of the Rings'' was judged to be their favourite "book of the millennium". <ref>http://archive.salon.com/books/feature/2001/06/04/tolkien/</ref>
* In 2002 Tolkien was voted the ninety-second "greatest Briton" in a poll conducted by the BBC
* In 2002 Tolkien was voted the ninety-second "greatest Briton" in a poll conducted by the BBC.
* In 2004 he was voted thirty-fifth in the SABC3's Great South Africans, the only person to appear in both lists
* In 2004 he was voted thirty-fifth in the SABC3's Great South Africans, the only person to appear in both lists.
* In a 2004 poll inspired by the UK’s "Big Read" survey, about 250,000 Germans found The Lord of the Rings to be their favourite work of literature. <ref>http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/10/04/1096871805007.html?from=storyrhs</ref>
* In a 2004 poll inspired by the UK’s "Big Read" survey, about 250,000 Germans found ''The Lord of the Rings'' to be their favourite work of literature. <ref>http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/10/04/1096871805007.html?from=storyrhs</ref>
* The Lord of the Rings came in 3rd in the Librarians' Poll <ref>http://tolkiensociety.org/news/librarians-poll.html</ref>
* The Lord of the Rings came in 3rd in the Librarians' Poll. <ref>https://2005euballoons.com/#/news/librarians-poll.html</ref>


{{lotr}}
==Publication history and gallery==
:''For 3-volume editions, see [[The Lord of the Rings/Publication history and gallery three-volume|here]].''
:''For 1-volume editions, see [[The Lord of the Rings/Publication history and gallery one-volume|here]].''
:''For 7-volume editions, see [[The Lord of the Rings/Publication history and gallery seven-volume|here]].''


==See also==
==See also==
*[[The Lord of the Rings/Quotations|''The Lord of the Rings''/Quotations]]
*[[Poems in The Lord of the Rings|Poems in ''The Lord of the Rings'']]
*[[The Lord of the Rings/Quotations|''The Lord of the Rings'' quotations]]
*[[:Category:Images from The Lord of the Rings|Images from the illustrated edition]] by [[Alan Lee]]
 
;Related books
*''[[The History of The Lord of the Rings]]'' by [[Christopher Tolkien]]
*''[[The Art of The Lord of the Rings]]'' by [[Wayne G. Hammond]] and [[Christina Scull]]
*''[[Poems from The Lord of the Rings]]''


{{References}}
{{References}}
 
{{lotr}}
{{IllustratorsLOTR}}
{{lordoftheringsfilms}}
{{Publishedmajorbooks}}
{{title|italics}}
{{title|italics}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lord of the Rings}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lord of the Rings}}

Revision as of 17:57, 26 September 2022

The name The Lord of the Rings refers to more than one character, item or concept. For a list of other meanings, see The Lord of the Rings (disambiguation).
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings 1954-55.png
AuthorJ.R.R. Tolkien
PublisherGeorge Allen and Unwin (UK)
Houghton Mifflin (US)
Releasedvol.1: July 29 1954
vol.2: November 11 1954
vol.3: October 20 1955
FormatHardcover; paperback; deluxe-edition; audio-book
Pagesvol.1: 423
vol.2: 352
vol.3: 416
Preceded byThe Hobbit (1937)
Followed byThe Silmarillion (1977)
"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."
― Sunday Times

The Lord of the Rings is an epic high-fantasy novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier work, The Hobbit, but eventually developed into a much larger work. The writing began in 1937, and was published in three volumes in 1954 and 1955. The Lord of the Rings is one of the best-selling books ever written, with over 150 million copies sold.[1]

The book's title refers to the story's main antagonist, the Dark Lord Sauron, who in an earlier age created the One Ring 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 mainly through the eyes of the hobbits Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin.

Synopsis

For the synopsis of volume 1, see The Fellowship of the Ring.
For the synopsis of volume 2, see The Two Towers.
For the synopsis of volume 3, see The Return of the King.

Inscriptions

There are inscriptions in the title pages of all three volumes. Cirth is used in the upper inscription of the title page, where it reads:

"The Lord of the Rings translated from the Red Book …"

The sentence follows in the bottom inscription, written in Tengwar:

"... of Westmarch by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. Herein is set forth the history of the War of the Ring and the Return of the King as seen by the hobbits."

Maps

Three maps in total have been included since the first edition, these are:

Writing process

"It is written in my life-blood, such as that is, thick or thin; and I can do no other."
― J.R.R. Tolkien to his publisher, Letter 109 (dated 31 July 1947).

Tolkien did not originally intend to write a sequel to The Hobbit, and instead wrote several other children's tales, including Roverandom and Farmer Giles of Ham. As his main work, Tolkien began to outline the history of Arda, telling tales of the Silmarils, and many other stories of how the races and situations that we read about in The Lord of the Rings came to be. Tolkien died before he could complete and put together The Silmarillion, but his son Christopher Tolkien edited his father's work, filled in gaps and published it in 1977.

Tolkien had a deep desire to write a mythology for England, especially after his horrific experiences during the First World War. He was also influenced by the effects of continued industrialisation, where he saw much of the England he loved passing away and became aware of the immense evil in the world. Thus to understand his writings we must be aware of how Tolkien the scholar influences Tolkien the author. His writing of this mythology emerges as an Oxford philologist well acquainted with Northern European Medieval Literature including the great mythic works such as the Hervarar saga, the Völsunga saga, the influential Beowulf as well as other Old Norse, Old and Middle English Texts. He was also inspired by non-Germanic works such as the Finnish epic Kalevala. A man who had created his first language by the age of seven, he was driven by a desire to write a mythology for England influenced by his exposure and expertise of these ancient traditions. The need for such a myth was often a topic of conversation in his meetings with the Inklings, fellow Oxford scholars who have been described as Christian Romantics, meeting weekly and discussing Icelandic myths and their own unpublished compositions. Tolkien agreed with one of the other members of the group, C.S. Lewis, that if there were no adequate myths for England then they would have to write their own. Tolkien's work has been commonly interpreted in this light.

Persuaded by his publishers, he started 'a new hobbit' in December 1937. After several false starts, the story of the One Ring soon emerged, and the book mutated from being a sequel to The Hobbit to being, in theme, more of a sequel to the unpublished Silmarillion. The idea of the first chapter (A Long-Expected Party) arrived fully-formed, although the reasons behind Bilbo's disappearance, and the significance of the Ring did not arrive, along with the title The Lord of the Rings until spring 1938. Originally he was going to write another 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 the powers it had and decided to write about that instead. He started to write it with Bilbo as the main character but decided that the story was too serious to use the fun loving Hobbit so Tolkien looked to use a member of Bilbo's family. He thought about using Bilbo's son but this generated some difficult questions — Where was his wife? How could Bilbo let his son go into that kind of danger? — so he looked for an alternate character to carry the ring. In Greek legend, it was a hero's nephew that gained the item of power, and so into existence came the Hobbit Frodo.

Writing was slow due to Tolkien's perfectionism, and was frequently interrupted by his obligations as an examiner, and other academic duties. In fact, the first sentence of The Hobbit was written on a blank page a student had left on an exam paper that Tolkien was grading — "In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit". He seems to have abandoned the book during most of 1943 and only re-started it in April 1944. This effort was written as a serial for Christopher Tolkien and C.S. Lewis — the former would be sent copies of chapters as they were written while he was serving in Africa in the Royal Air Force. He made another push in 1946, and showed a copy of the manuscript to his publishers in 1947. The story was effectively finished the next year, but Tolkien did not finish revising earlier parts of the work until 1949.

A dispute with his publishers, Allen and Unwin, led to the book being offered to Collins in 1950. He intended the Silmarillion (itself largely unrevised at this point) to be published along with The Lord of the Rings, but Allen and Unwin were unwilling to do this. After his contact at Collins, Milton Waldman, expressed the belief that The Lord of the Rings itself 'urgently needed cutting', he eventually demanded that they publish the book in 1952. They did not do so, and so Tolkien wrote to Allen and Unwin, saying "I would gladly consider the publication of any part of the stuff".

Some locations and characters were inspired by Tolkien's childhood in Sarehole, then a Warwickshire village, now part of Birmingham, and in Birmingham itself.

Publication

For publication, due largely to post-war paper shortages, but also to keep the price of the first volume down, the book was divided into three volumes (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, 6 appendices). Delays in producing appendices and maps led to these being published later than originally hoped — on the 29 July and 11 November 1954 and 20 October 1955 in the United Kingdom, slightly later in the United States. The Return of the King was especially delayed. He did not, however, much like the title The Return of the King, believing it gave away too much of the storyline. He had originally suggested The War of the Ring which was dismissed by his publishers.

The books were published under a 'profit-sharing' arrangement, where Tolkien would not receive an advance or royalties until the books had broken even, but after then take a large share of the profits.

An index to the entire 3-volume set at the end of third volume was promised in the first volume. However, this proved impractical to compile in a reasonable timescale. Later, in 1966, four indices which were not compiled by Tolkien were added to The Return of the King.

Because the three-volume binding was so widely distributed, the work is usually referred to as the Lord of the Rings "trilogy". Tolkien himself made use of the term "trilogy" for the work, though he did at other times consider this incorrect, as it was written and conceived as a single novel.

The name of the complete work is often abbreviated to LotR, LOTR, or simply LR, and the three volumes as FR, FOTR, or FotR (The Fellowship of the Ring), TT or TTT (The Two Towers), and RK, ROTK, or RotK (The Return of the King).

Seven-volume set

A 1999 (Millennium Edition) UK 7-volume box set (ISBN 0261103873) followed the six-book division authored by Tolkien, but with the Appendices from the end of Book VI bound as a separate volume. The letters of Tolkien appear on the spines of the boxed set which includes a CD.

The individual names for books in this series were decided posthumously, based on suggestions Tolkien had made during his lifetime.

  • T Book I: The Ring Sets Out
  • O Book II: The Ring Goes South
  • L Book III: The Treason of Isengard
  • K Book IV: The Ring Goes East
  • I Book V: The War of the Ring
  • E Book VI: The End of the Third Age
  • N Appendices

Four of the titles, The Return of the Shadow, The Treason of Isengard, The War of the Ring and The End of the Third Age, were used by Christopher Tolkien for The History of The Lord of the Rings.

Alternative titles

J.R.R. Tolkien contemplated numerous alternative titles for The Lord of the Rings and its volumes before the final titles were chosen. An early title for the book was "The Magic Ring" (John D. Rateliff, The History of The Hobbit). From a letter to Rayner Unwin, Tolkien writes:

Would it not do if the 'book-titles' were used: e.g. The Lord of the Rings: Vol. I The Ring Sets out (sic) and The Ring Goes South; Vol. II The Treason of Isengard, and The Ring goes East; Vol. III The War of the Ring, and The End of the Third Age? "If not, I can at the moment think of nothing better than: I The Shadow Grows II The Ring in the Shadow III The War of the Ring or The Return of the King.
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 136

A note from this letter states a manuscript located at Marquette University, Milwaukee, USA, has a different set of titles: Vol. I The First Journey and The Journey of the Nine Companions; Vol. II The Treason of Isengard and The Journey of the Ringbearers; Vol. III The War of the Ring and The End of the Third Age.

In Letter 139 Tolkien writes again to Unwin with his new preferences: The Return of the Shadow, II The Shadow Lengthens, and III The Return of the King. On August 17th he writes his updated choices: I The Fellowship of the Ring, II The Two Towers (deliberately ambiguous), III The War of the Ring.

Original dust-jacket designs

Original cover for Volume 1  
Original cover for Volume 2  
Original cover for Volume 3  
The Ring and Eye device  

In late 1953, Allen & Unwin asked Tolkien to create dust-jacket designs for The Lord of the Rings. Three were needed, because the work was divided into three volumes for reasons of cost. Tolkien proceeded to work on the book covers, creating multiple versions for each of the three volumes, before settling the design and sending them to Allen & Unwin. A description of the final designs and their meanings are given below.[2]

For the information please see Original dust-jacket designs.

Although Allen & Unwin chose instead to use a uniform design, with the Ring and Eye device, on each volume, in recent years (since 1997) editions have been published with dust-jackets closely adapting Tolkien's original drawings.

Influences on the book

The Lord of the Rings began as a personal exploration by Tolkien of his interests in philology, religion (particularly Roman Catholicism); fairy tales, and Norse and Celtic mythology. Tolkien detailed his creation to an astounding extent; he created a complete mythology for his realm of Middle-earth, including genealogies of characters, languages, runes, calendars and histories. Some of this supplementary material is detailed in the appendices to The Lord of the Rings, and the mythological history was woven into a large, biblically-styled volume entitled The Silmarillion.

J.R.R. Tolkien once described The Lord of the Rings as "a fundamentally religious and Catholic work" he wrote to his friend, the English Jesuit Father Robert Murray, "unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision."(The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, 142). There are many theological themes underlying the narrative, the battle of good versus evil, the triumph of humility over pride, the activity of grace, Death and Immortality, Resurrection, Salvation, Repentance, Self-Sacrifice, Free Will, Humility, Justice, Fellowship, Authority and Healing. In it the great virtues of Mercy and Pity (shown by Bilbo and Frodo towards Gollum) win the day and the message from the Lord's Prayer "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" was very much on Tolkien's mind as Frodo struggled against the power of the One Ring (Letters, 181 and 191).

Religious motifs other than Christian can be discerned as strong influences in Tolkien's Middle Earth. The pantheon of the Valar and Maiar (greater and lesser gods/angels) responsible for the creation and maintenance of everything from skies (Manwë) and seas (Ulmo), to dreams (Lórien) and dooms (Mandos) suggest a pre-Christian mythology in style, albeit that these Valar and Maiar are themselves creations of a monotheistic entity — Illuvatar or Eru, "The One".

Other pre-Christian mythological references can be seen in the representations of: a "Green Man" — Tom Bombadil, wise-men — the Istari (commonly referred to as the Wizards, perhaps more of angels), shapechangers — Beorn, undead spirits — Barrow Wights, Oathbreakers, sentient nonhumans — Dwarves, Elves, Hobbits, and, of course, Ents. Magic is utilised freely in Middle-earth, and may be found not only in the incantations of Wizards, but in the weapons and tools of warriors and craftspeople, in the perceptions and abilities of heroes, and in the natural world itself.

Tolkien did repeatedly insist that his works were not an allegory of any kind, and even though his thoughts on the matter are mentioned in the introduction of the book, there has been heavy speculation about the Ruling Ring being an allegory for the atom bomb. However, Tolkien had already completed most of the book, and planned the ending in entirety, before the first atom bombs were made public to the world during the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. However there is a strong theme of despair in front of new mechanized warfare that Tolkien himself had experienced in the trenches of World War One. The development of a specially bred orc army, and the destruction of the environment to aid this have modern resonances. Nevertheless, the author's own opinion on the matter of allegories was that he disliked them, and it would be irresponsible to dismiss such direct statements on these matters lightly.

Criticism

The book was characterized as "juvenile balderdash" by American critic Edmund Wilson in his essay "Oo, those awful Orcs", and in 1961 Philip Toynbee wrote, somewhat prematurely, that it had "passed into a merciful oblivion" [3]. Although she had never read The Lord of the Rings, Germaine Greer wrote "it has been my nightmare that Tolkien would turn out to be the most influential writer of the twentieth century. The bad dream has materialized."

W.H. Auden also criticized the book in a 1968 Critical Quarterly article, "Good and evil in The Lord of the Rings," objecting to Tolkien's conception of sentient species that are intrinsically evil without possibility of redemption. (This is a criticism often directed at Dungeons and Dragons-like fantasy worlds as well as at fantasy literature in general, and a criticism that Tolkien himself increasingly struggled with during his last years.) On the other hand, in a 1956 New York Times book review, "At the end of the Quest, Victory," Auden also called the book "a masterpiece of its genre" that "succeeded where Milton failed" in depicting an epic battle between good and evil, and wrote that it "never violated" the "reader's sense of the credible."

Furthermore, like almost every fantasy book, Lord of the Rings is also accused by Evangelicals for its alleged references to quasi-pagan elements and "occultism".

Science-fiction author David Brin has criticized the books for unquestioning devotion to a traditional elitist social structure, their positive depiction of the slaughter of the opposing forces, and their romantic backward-looking worldview [4]. These criticisms often supply also similar accusations about racism.

Another notable SF writer Michael Moorcock wrote a long and piercing critique of the book under the title Epic Pooh advancing the thesis that it was simply a child's tale written in the language of epic myth.

China Mieville, a modern fantasy writer, criticised Tolkien's works as "reactionary." Mieville is also a detractor of later fantasy which draws heavily upon Tolkien's work, based on the idea that such work is cliche.

Adaptations

1978 film
Main article: The Lord of the Rings (1978 film)

This film, originally released by United Artists, was directed by Ralph Bakshi and used an animation technique called rotoscoping in which footage of live actors was filmed and then traced over.

The film was part one of what was originally to be a two-part adaptation of Tolkien's story, Part I ending after the battle of Helm's Deep, but before Sam, Frodo and Gollum traverse the Dead Marshes, and Part II picking up from where the first film left off. Made for a minimal budget of $8 million dollars, the film earned $30 million dollars at the box office.

United Artists viewed the film as a flop, and refused to fund a Part II (covering the rest of the story), leaving the door open for Rankin/Bass to do the work for him.

1980 film
Main article: The Return of the King (1980 film)

The 1980 animated television version of The Return of the King picked up from where the book began, and not from where Bakshi's film left off. Additionally, the change in style and character design was quite noticeable.

Since this film was targeted to a younger audience, adult enthusiasts have complained that much of the depth and darkness of the book was discarded.

2001-2003 films
Main article: The Lord of the Rings (film series)

This is a series of three epic fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson. The films are subtitled The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), and The Return of the King (2003). Produced and distributed by New Line Cinema with the co-production of WingNut Films, the series is an international venture between New Zealand and the United States. The films feature an ensemble cast including Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Christopher Lee, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Andy Serkis and Sean Bean.

Radio

The BBC produced a 13-part radio adaptation of The Lord of the Rings in 1955. It was panned by Tolkien, complaining about the "sillification" of it and the changing of characters, such as Old Man Willow in league with Mordor and Goldberry being Tom Bombadil's daughter rather than his wife. No recording has survived to date.[source?]

A 1979 dramatization was broadcast in the USA and subsequently issued on tape and CD. In 1981 the BBC broadcast a new, ambitious dramatization of The Lord of the Rings in 26 half-hour installments.

Stage

Mirvish Productions has started rehearsals for a three-hour stage musical adaptation of The Lord of the Rings that will have a cast of over 65 actors and cost C$27 million (£11.5 million). The show will be written by Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus with music by A. R. Rahman and Värttinä, collaborating with Christopher Nightingale and will be directed by Matthew Warchus. It will open on March 23 2006 at Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre, with preview performances from February 2 until March 22. It is planned to premiere in London in autumn 2006 and New York City within two years.

Awards

  • In 1957 it was awarded the International Fantasy Award.
  • In the 2003 "Big Read" survey conducted by the BBC, The Lord of the Rings was found to be the "Nation's Best-loved Book". [5]
  • Australians voted The Lord of the Rings "My Favourite Book" in a 2004 survey conducted by the Australian ABC.
  • In a 1999 poll of Amazon.com customers, The Lord of the Rings was judged to be their favourite "book of the millennium". [6]
  • In 2002 Tolkien was voted the ninety-second "greatest Briton" in a poll conducted by the BBC.
  • In 2004 he was voted thirty-fifth in the SABC3's Great South Africans, the only person to appear in both lists.
  • In a 2004 poll inspired by the UK’s "Big Read" survey, about 250,000 Germans found The Lord of the Rings to be their favourite work of literature. [7]
  • The Lord of the Rings came in 3rd in the Librarians' Poll. [8]

Publication history and gallery

For 3-volume editions, see here.
For 1-volume editions, see here.
For 7-volume editions, see here.

See also

Related books

References


The Lord of the Rings
Foreword · Prologue · The Fellowship of the Ring · The Two Towers · The Return of the King · Appendices · Index
Illustrators of The Lord of the Rings
Internal art J.R.R. Tolkien (1937-present) · Eric Fraser/Ingahild Grathmer (The Folio Society: 1979, 1992-present) · Alan Lee (1997-present)
Cover art only J.R.R. Tolkien (1937-present) · Pauline Baynes (1970-1989) · Roger Garland (1983-1991) · John Howe (1991-present) · Ted Nasmith (1990) · Geoff Taylor (1999)
The Lord of the Rings film series
Source material: The Hobbit · The Lord of the Rings
Films The Fellowship of the Ring (extended editionThe Two Towers (extended edition) · The Return of the King (extended edition)
Music The Fellowship of the Ring (The Complete Recordings) · The Two Towers (The Complete Recordings) · The Return of the King (The Complete Recordings) · "May It Be" · "Gollum's Song" · "Into the West"
Tie-in books Official Movie Guide · The Making of the Movie Trilogy · Complete Visual Companion · Gollum: How We Made Movie Magic · There and Back Again: An Actor's Tale · Weapons and Warfare · The Art of The Lord of the Rings · Sketchbook
The Fellowship of the Ring Visual Companion · The Art of The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers Visual Companion · Photo Guide · The Art of The Two Towers
The Return of the King Visual Companion · The Art of The Return of the King
Video games The Two Towers · The Return of the King · The Third Age · Tactics · Conquest · Aragorn's Quest · Lego The Lord of the Rings
Characters Frodo · Bilbo · Gandalf · Sam · Merry · Pippin · Gandalf · Aragorn · Boromir · Legolas · Gimli · Elrond · Galadriel · Théoden · Éomer · Éowyn · Saruman · Sauron · Witch-king · Denethor · Faramir · Gollum · Gríma · Treebeard · Celeborn · Haldir · Lurtz · Sharku · Grishnákh
A J.R.R. Tolkien book guide
Books by or mainly by Tolkien
Of Arda Authored by
J.R.R. Tolkien
The Hobbit · The Lord of the Rings
(i.The Fellowship of the Ring · ii.The Two Towers · iii.The Return of the King) ·
The Road Goes Ever On · Bilbo's Last Song
Edited by Christopher Tolkien The Silmarillion · Unfinished Tales · The History of Middle-earth series
(i.The Book of Lost Tales: Part One · ii.The Book of Lost Tales: Part Two · iii.The Lays of Beleriand · iv.The Shaping of Middle-earth · v.The Lost Road and Other Writings · vi.The Return of the Shadow · vii.The Treason of Isengard · viii.The War of the Ring · ix.Sauron Defeated · x.Morgoth's Ring · xi.The War of the Jewels · xii.The Peoples of Middle-earth · Index) ·
The Children of Húrin · Beren and Lúthien · The Fall of Gondolin
Edited by others The Annotated Hobbit · The History of The Hobbit · The Nature of Middle-earth ·
The Fall of Númenor · The Maps of Middle-earth
Not of Arda Short stories
and poems
Leaf by Niggle · Farmer Giles of Ham · Smith of Wootton Major · The Adventures of Tom Bombadil ·
Letters from Father Christmas · Mr. Bliss · Roverandom ·
Tree and Leaf (compilation) · Tales from the Perilous Realm (compilation)
Fictional works The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún · The Fall of Arthur · The Story of Kullervo · The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun
Translations and academic works Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo · Finn and Hengest ·
The Monsters and the Critics, and Other Essays · Beowulf and the Critics · Tolkien On Fairy-stories ·
Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary · A Secret Vice · The Battle of Maldon
Collected letters and poems The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien · The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien
Edited old texts A Middle English Vocabulary · Sir Gawain and the Green Knight · Ancrene Wisse · The Old English Exodus
Books by other authors
Biographies J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography · The Inklings · Tolkien and the Great War
Reference works The Complete Guide to Middle-earth · The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide
Scholarly studies The Road to Middle-earth · The Keys of Middle-earth · The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion ·
The Ring of Words · A Companion to J.R.R. Tolkien · Tolkien's Lost Chaucer ·
Tolkien's Library · Tolkien on Chaucer, 1913-1959
Scholarly journals Tolkien Studies · (The Chronology)
Other works by Tolkien
Linguistic journals Vinyar Tengwar various issues · Parma Eldalamberon issue 11-22
Collections of artwork
and manuscripts
Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien · J.R.R. Tolkien: Life and Legend · J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator ·
The Art of The Hobbit · The Art of The Lord of the Rings · Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth ·
Tolkien: Treasures · J.R.R. Tolkien: The Art of the Manuscript
This list is only a selection of works, for a fuller bibliography of Tolkien see here or here. See also a timeline and an index.