THE LORD OF THE RINGS

The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King

by J.R.R. Tolkien

About J.R.R. Tolkien

About Middle-earth

Other Books

Other Resources

"A unique, wholly realized other world, evoked from deep in the well of time, massively detailed, absorbingly entertaining, profound in meaning." — New York Times Book Review

In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost. Then, after many ages, it fell by chance into the hands of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins. Sauron's power spread far and wide from the Dark Tower of Mordor. He gathered all the Great Rings to him, but always searched for the One Ring that would complete his dominion. On Bilbo's eleventy-first birthday, he disappeared, bequeathing to his young cousin, Frodo, the Ruling Ring and a perilous quest: to journey across Middle-earth, deep into the shadow of the Dark Lord, and destroy the Ring by casting it into the Cracks of Doom. The Lord of the Rings tells of the great quest undertaken by Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring: Gandalf the Wizard; the hobbits Merry, Pippin, and Sam; Gimli the Dwarf; Legolas the Elf; Boromir of Gondor; and a tall, mysterious stranger called Strider.

The Lord of the Rings is a sweeping epic told in three parts:

	The Fellowship of the Ring — Part One Frodo Baggins knew the Ringwraiths were searching for him — and the Ring of Power he bore that would enable Sauron to destroy all that was good in Middle-earth. Now it was up to Frodo and his faithful servant, Sam, to carry the Ring to where it could be destroyed — in the very center of Sauron's dark kingdom of Mordor.
	The Two Towers — Part Two The Fellowship was scattered. Some were bracing hopelessly for war against the ancient evil of Sauron. Some were contending with the treachery of the wizard Saruman. Only Frodo and Sam were left to take the accursed Ring of Power to be destroyed in Mordor, seat of Sauron's power. Their guide was Gollum, deceitful and lust-filled, slave to the Ring's corruption.
	The Return of the King — Part Three Frodo and Sam struggled deep into Mordor. But the way was impossibly hard, and Frodo was weakening. Meanwhile, the people of Gondor and Rohan prepared to face the full assault of Sauron's forces.

Following the resounding success of The Hobbit in 1938, J.R.R.Tolkien's publisher warned him that "a large public will be clamoring next year to hear more from you about Hobbits." In 1950, Tolkien wrote his publisher, "My work has escaped from my control, and I have produced a monster . . . it is not really a sequel to The Hobbit, but to The Silmarillion." It was 1954 before the first volume of The Lord of the Rings reached bookstore shelves, but Tolkien would see his "monster" captivate millions of devoted readers all over the world.

Now an epic motion picture trilogy from New Line Cinema

The Lord of the Rings is available in a variety of editions and formats published by Houghton Mifflin. Please find a complete listing in our online catalog. Some of our most popular include:


The Lord of the Rings: 50th Anniversary Edition	The Lord of the Rings	The Lord of the Rings	The Lord of the Rings