The Lord of the Ringsis anepic[1]high-fantasynovel[a]by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set inMiddle-earth, intended to be Earth at some distant time in the past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's bookThe Hobbit, but eventually developed into a much larger work. Written in stages between 1937 and 1949,The Lord of the Ringsis one of thebest-selling books ever written, with over 150 million copies sold.[2] The title refers to the story's mainantagonist, theDark LordSauron, who in an earlier age created theOne Ringto rule the otherRings of Powergiven to Men, Dwarves, and Elves, in his campaign to conquer all of Middle-earth. From homely beginnings inthe Shire, ahobbitland reminiscent of the English countryside, the story ranges across Middle-earth, following the quest to destroy the One Ring mainly through the eyes of the hobbitsFrodo,Sam,MerryandPippin. Although often called a trilogy, the work was intended by Tolkien to be one volume of a
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