Novel
The Lord of the Rings
J. R. R. Tolkien · 1954
Synopsis
In the Shire, a land of peaceful little folk, Frodo inherits from his cousin Bilbo a gold ring that makes its wearer invisible. The wizard Gandalf reveals to him that it is the One Ring, forged by the dark lord, who is seeking it in order to enslave Middle-earth. Pursued by Black Riders, Frodo leaves the Shire with three friends and reaches an elvish house where a council is held. It is decided there that the ring will be destroyed in the fire where it was forged, and Frodo offers to bear it.
Context
The writing began in December 1937 and occupied more than a decade. He regarded it as a single book in six parts, which he wanted to see published together with the collection of myths he was emerging from; his publisher refused that collection, which appeared only after his death, and did the sums: a single volume would have cost at least three pounds ten shillings in 1952. The division into three was a decision about price, not about form. As early as 1954, its author noted that publication in three parts led people to judge the book formless, and he later repeated that it was not a trilogy. An American paperback edition issued in 1965 without his agreement sold more than a hundred thousand copies; from then on he enclosed with his letters to American readers a notice denouncing it.
Who it is for
More than twelve hundred pages in the first French translation; translated twice, in 1972 and 1973, then from 2014 to 2016.
Prizes and reception
Three thousand copies in the first print run of the first volume, seven thousand for the third, and one of the greatest successes in the history of publishing.
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