Cover Page
Description
The Lord of the Rings is an epic high-fantasy novel written by an English author and scholar J.R.R. Tolkien and first published on 29 July 1954. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 fantasy novel The Hobbit, but eventually, it developed into a much larger work. The novel is set between 1937 and 1949.
The title of the novel refers to the story's main antagonist, the Dark Lord 'Sauron', who crafts 'Rings of Power' along with Elven-smith in ancient times. The 'Dark Lord' forges one ring and fills it with his own power. The 'One Ring' is to rule the other 'Rings of Power' as the ultimate weapon in his campaign to conquer and rule all of the 'Middle-Earth'. It is now stolen and remains lost for him. After many ages, it falls by chance in hands of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins.
From the quiet beginning in the Shire, a hobbit land not unlike the English countryside, the story ranges across 'Middle-Earth' following the course of the 'War of the Ring' through the eyes of its characters, most notably the hobbits: Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin.
Rings were created ages ago for different reasons: One ring to rule them all, One ring to find them, One ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them all. From Sauron's fastness in the Dark Tower of Mordor, his power spreads far and wide. Sauron gathers all the Great Rings, but he always searches for the ring that would complete his dominion.
When Bilbo reaches the eleventy-first birthday he disappears, 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.
Review
The Lord of the Rings is one of the best-selling novels ever written, with over 150 million copies sold. Tolkien's work has been the subject of extensive analysis of its themes and origins. Although it is a major work itself, the story was only the last movement of a larger epic Tolkien had worked on since 1917.
The novel describes the 'Great War of the Rings', a strive between good and evil in 'Middle-Earth', following the odyssey of Frodo the hobbit and his companions on a quest to destroy the 'Ring of Power'. The story of 'The Lord of the Rings' includes philology, mythology, religion, and the author's distaste for the effect of industrialization, as well as earlier fantasy works and his experiences in World War.
Although generally known to readers as a trilogy, it was published in three volumes over the Cours of a year from 29 July 1954 to 20 October 1955. The three volumes were titled 'The Fellowship of the Ring', 'The Two Towers' and 'The Return of the King'. The novel was divided internally into six books (two per volume) with several appendixes of background material included at the end. Simultaneously, a special anniversary volume containing the corrected text of all three volumes of the seminal fantasy trilogy, complemented by maps and cover art by acclaimed artist Alan Lee. The Lord of the Rings has since been reprinted numerous times and translated into 38 languages.
The novel has a great impact on the modern fantasy world; Tolkien's work is so influential that the use of the words 'Tolkienian' and 'Tolkienesque' has been recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary.
In 2003, it was named Britain's best novel of all time in the BBC's 'The Big Read'.
In 2015, The BBC ranked 'The Lord of the Rings' #26on the list of the 100 greatest British novels.
Adaptation
The prevailing popularity of The Lord of the Rings has led to numerous references in popular culture, the founding of many societies by fans of Tolkien's work, and publications of many books about Tolkien and his works. The Lord of the Rings has inspired artwork, music, films and television, video games, board games, and subsequent literature.
Radio- In 1955 and 1956, the 13-part BBC broadcast of The Lord of the Rings.
- In the 1960s radio station, WBAI produced a short radio adaptation.
- In 1979 and 1981, a dramatization of the novel was edited into 13 one-hour episodes broadcast in the United States and subsequently issued on tape and CD.
Film
- J.R.R. Tolkien sold his film rights of 'The Lord of The Rings' to United Artist in 1969; Rock and The Beatles were corresponding film projects.
- In 1978, two film adaptations were made with the same name as a novel by animators: Ralph Bakshi and Rankin-Bass.
- The second and commercially successful adaptation was Peter Jackson's live-action 'The Lord of The Rings film trilogy, produced by New Line Cinema and released in three installments in the year 2001-2003. All three parts won multiple Academy Awards including consecutive 'Best Picture' nominations. The final installment of this trilogy was the second film to win a total of 11 Oscars.
- In 2009, 'The Hunt for Gollum' and 'Born of Hope' fan films were based on appendixes on The Lord of The Rings.
Television
In 2017, Amazon acquired the global television rights to 'The Lord of the Rings' for a multi-season television series of new stories set before 'The Fellowship of the Ring'. The deal included the potential for spin-off series as well. In 2018, it was projected to be the most expensive TV show ever produced.
Stage
In 1990, Recorded Books published an audio version of 'The Lord of the Rings' with British actor Rob Inglis -- who had previously starred in his own one-man stage productions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings- reading. 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.
About the Author
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE FRSL (born on 3 January 1892 in Orange Free State, Modern-day South Africa), was an English writer, poet, philologist, and academic. He was the author of classic high fantasy works like 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the Rings'. He was the creator of 'Middle-Earth.
He served as the Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon and Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford, from 1925 to 1945 and Merton Professor of English Language and Literature and Fellow of Merton College, Oxford, from 1945 to 1959. He was a member of the informal literary discussion group known as the 'Inklings'. Tolkien was appointed a 'Commander of the Order of the British Empire' by Queen Elizabeth II on 28 March 1972.
After Tolkien's death, his son Christopher published a series of works based on his father's extensive notes and unpublished manuscripts, including 'The Silmarillion'. These three books form a connected body of tales, poems, fictional histories, invented languages such as Tolkienian, and literary essays about a fantasy world called Arda and Middle-earth within it.
While many other authors had published works of fantasy before Tolkien, the great success of Tolkien's novels led directly to a popular resurgence of the genre. This has caused Tolkien to be popularly identified as the 'father ' of modern fantasy literature- or, more precisely, of high fantasy.
He died on 2 September 1973 at the age of 81 at Bournemouth, England. In 2008, The Times ranked him sixth on a list of 'The 50 greatest British Writers' since 1945. Forbes ranked him the fifth top-earning 'dead celebrity' in 2009.
Rating: 4.6/5
Author: J.R.R.Tolkien
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Published: 12 October 2005
Language: English
Genre: Classic Fiction, Fantasy, Action and Adventure, Classic American Literature
ISBN 10: 0618645616
Pages: 1178 (Hardcover)
Cost: 606.22 INR (Kindle Edition)
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| Cover Page |
The title of the novel refers to the story's main antagonist, the Dark Lord 'Sauron', who crafts 'Rings of Power' along with Elven-smith in ancient times. The 'Dark Lord' forges one ring and fills it with his own power. The 'One Ring' is to rule the other 'Rings of Power' as the ultimate weapon in his campaign to conquer and rule all of the 'Middle-Earth'. It is now stolen and remains lost for him. After many ages, it falls by chance in hands of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins.
From the quiet beginning in the Shire, a hobbit land not unlike the English countryside, the story ranges across 'Middle-Earth' following the course of the 'War of the Ring' through the eyes of its characters, most notably the hobbits: Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin.
Rings were created ages ago for different reasons: One ring to rule them all, One ring to find them, One ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them all. From Sauron's fastness in the Dark Tower of Mordor, his power spreads far and wide. Sauron gathers all the Great Rings, but he always searches for the ring that would complete his dominion.
When Bilbo reaches the eleventy-first birthday he disappears, 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 one of the best-selling novels ever written, with over 150 million copies sold. Tolkien's work has been the subject of extensive analysis of its themes and origins. Although it is a major work itself, the story was only the last movement of a larger epic Tolkien had worked on since 1917.
The novel describes the 'Great War of the Rings', a strive between good and evil in 'Middle-Earth', following the odyssey of Frodo the hobbit and his companions on a quest to destroy the 'Ring of Power'. The story of 'The Lord of the Rings' includes philology, mythology, religion, and the author's distaste for the effect of industrialization, as well as earlier fantasy works and his experiences in World War.
Although generally known to readers as a trilogy, it was published in three volumes over the Cours of a year from 29 July 1954 to 20 October 1955. The three volumes were titled 'The Fellowship of the Ring', 'The Two Towers' and 'The Return of the King'. The novel was divided internally into six books (two per volume) with several appendixes of background material included at the end. Simultaneously, a special anniversary volume containing the corrected text of all three volumes of the seminal fantasy trilogy, complemented by maps and cover art by acclaimed artist Alan Lee. The Lord of the Rings has since been reprinted numerous times and translated into 38 languages.
The novel has a great impact on the modern fantasy world; Tolkien's work is so influential that the use of the words 'Tolkienian' and 'Tolkienesque' has been recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary.
In 2015, The BBC ranked 'The Lord of the Rings' #26on the list of the 100 greatest British novels.
Adaptation
The prevailing popularity of The Lord of the Rings has led to numerous references in popular culture, the founding of many societies by fans of Tolkien's work, and publications of many books about Tolkien and his works. The Lord of the Rings has inspired artwork, music, films and television, video games, board games, and subsequent literature.
Radio
- In 1955 and 1956, the 13-part BBC broadcast of The Lord of the Rings.
- In the 1960s radio station, WBAI produced a short radio adaptation.
- In 1979 and 1981, a dramatization of the novel was edited into 13 one-hour episodes broadcast in the United States and subsequently issued on tape and CD.
- J.R.R. Tolkien sold his film rights of 'The Lord of The Rings' to United Artist in 1969; Rock and The Beatles were corresponding film projects.
- In 1978, two film adaptations were made with the same name as a novel by animators: Ralph Bakshi and Rankin-Bass.
- The second and commercially successful adaptation was Peter Jackson's live-action 'The Lord of The Rings film trilogy, produced by New Line Cinema and released in three installments in the year 2001-2003. All three parts won multiple Academy Awards including consecutive 'Best Picture' nominations. The final installment of this trilogy was the second film to win a total of 11 Oscars.
- In 2009, 'The Hunt for Gollum' and 'Born of Hope' fan films were based on appendixes on The Lord of The Rings.
In 2017, Amazon acquired the global television rights to 'The Lord of the Rings' for a multi-season television series of new stories set before 'The Fellowship of the Ring'. The deal included the potential for spin-off series as well. In 2018, it was projected to be the most expensive TV show ever produced.
Stage
In 1990, Recorded Books published an audio version of 'The Lord of the Rings' with British actor Rob Inglis -- who had previously starred in his own one-man stage productions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings- reading. 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.
About the Author
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE FRSL (born on 3 January 1892 in Orange Free State, Modern-day South Africa), was an English writer, poet, philologist, and academic. He was the author of classic high fantasy works like 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the Rings'. He was the creator of 'Middle-Earth.
He served as the Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon and Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford, from 1925 to 1945 and Merton Professor of English Language and Literature and Fellow of Merton College, Oxford, from 1945 to 1959. He was a member of the informal literary discussion group known as the 'Inklings'. Tolkien was appointed a 'Commander of the Order of the British Empire' by Queen Elizabeth II on 28 March 1972.
After Tolkien's death, his son Christopher published a series of works based on his father's extensive notes and unpublished manuscripts, including 'The Silmarillion'. These three books form a connected body of tales, poems, fictional histories, invented languages such as Tolkienian, and literary essays about a fantasy world called Arda and Middle-earth within it.
While many other authors had published works of fantasy before Tolkien, the great success of Tolkien's novels led directly to a popular resurgence of the genre. This has caused Tolkien to be popularly identified as the 'father ' of modern fantasy literature- or, more precisely, of high fantasy.
He died on 2 September 1973 at the age of 81 at Bournemouth, England. In 2008, The Times ranked him sixth on a list of 'The 50 greatest British Writers' since 1945. Forbes ranked him the fifth top-earning 'dead celebrity' in 2009.
Rating: 4.6/5
Author: J.R.R.Tolkien
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Published: 12 October 2005
Language: English
Genre: Classic Fiction, Fantasy, Action and Adventure, Classic American Literature
ISBN 10: 0618645616
Pages: 1178 (Hardcover)
Cost: 606.22 INR (Kindle Edition)
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Published: 12 October 2005
Language: English
Genre: Classic Fiction, Fantasy, Action and Adventure, Classic American Literature
ISBN 10: 0618645616
Pages: 1178 (Hardcover)
Cost: 606.22 INR (Kindle Edition)
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