J. R. R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings

Brian Rosebury (University of Central Lancashire)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Gina Lyle (University of Glasgow), Graham MacPhee (University of Manchester), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1954 - 1955

Places

South Africa (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Allegory
Novel

Resources

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Recommended Reading

Tolkien began writing

The Lord of the Rings

in 1937, shortly after the publication of

The Hobbit

, to which it is a sequel on a vastly larger scale. During the 1940s parts of it were read in draft to the Oxford literary circle, “the Inklings”, convened by C.S.Lewis, or sent out to Tolkien's son (and, later, map-maker and editor) Christopher Tolkien, then on military service. It was completed in 1949, but difficulties in negotiations with publishers, and a final process of revision, delayed its appearance for some years. Though it was issued in three volumes—

The Fellowship of the Ring

(1954),

The Two Towers

(1954), and

The Return of the King

(1955)—it is a single continuous narrative in six books, not (as it is often wrongly described) a “trilogy”. The publishers Allen & Unwin…

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2440 words

Citation: Rosebury, Brian. "Lord of the Rings". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 March 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=3867, accessed 18 April 2024.]

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