The Fellowship of the Ring

In 1954, writer and scholar of English literature J. R. R. Tolkien published The Fellowship of the Ring, the first of three volumes in his novel The Lord of the Rings. Considered a founding text of high fantasy, The Lord of the Rings is widely regarded as a modern classic. The saga’s roots in epic poetry, philology, and mythology have influenced both academia and popular culture, inspiring scholarship, Tolkien societies, and film adaptations, including Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated movie and Peter Jackson's acclaimed 2001-2003 trilogy. The Fellowship of the Ring is a continuation of the world Tolkien created in The Hobbit (1937); the posthumously published The Silmarillion (1977) takes place in the same setting. Volumes two and three of The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers (1954) and The Return of the King (1955), complete the central story of the Bagginses and protagonist Frodo's efforts to destroy the One Ring of ultimate power before the evil