J R R Tolkien’s masterpiece Lord of the Rings, is a series of books which are part of his Middle Earth lore. The books were initially split into six sections, although today is typically sold as a trilogy, comprised of firstly The Fellowship of the Ring, plus The Twin Towers, and The Return of the King. The series follows the protagonist Frodo Baggins, as he has to take a magical ring to the only place in the world that it can be destroyed, Mount Doom. The books take place over many years, although the exact passage of time is not always readily apparent to the reader. Frodo’s party starts off with just two but soon expands when he reaches Rivendell, the home of Elrond.
The story also follows many other characters and various battles that take place, which do not involve the main character but are essential in setti
ng the stage, in that the consequences of Frodo’s journey will decide the fate of the entire world, rather than just a small part of it.
The book series has been highly successful, remains a classic to this day and is Tolkien’s most well-known and most read work. This has been helped by a film series which was highly successful and well-received commercially by both those who were fans of Tolkien’s work, and those who had never even come across his novels.
Lord of the Rings is well known for its lengthy appendices, which cover background stories and information which had to be removed from the main story, as well as languages used both by dwarves and elves. This has even been learned by several people and played an essential part in the film series, with the actors themselves having to learn the languages as they were spoken by the characters in the story.