The Lord of the Rings1966

Originally published from 1954 through 1956, J.R.R. Tolkien's richly complex series ushered in a new age of epic adventure storytelling. A philologist and illustrator who took inspiration from his work, Tolkien invented the modern heroic quest novel from the ground up, creating not just a world, but a domain, not just a lexicon, but a language, that would spawn countless imitators and lead to the inception of the epic fantasy genre. Today, THE LORD OF THE RINGS is considered "the most influential fantasy novel ever written." (THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FANTASY)

During his travels across Middle-earth, the hobbit Bilbo Baggins had found the Ring. But the simple band of gold was far from ordinary; it was in fact the One Ring - the greatest of the ancient Rings of Power. Sauron, the Dark Lord, had...