The Lord of the Rings
A great book. First published AD 1954, written in English
The Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel written by the English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book The Hobbit but eventually developed into a much larger work. Written in stages between 1937 and 1949, The Lord of the Rings is one of the best-selling books ever written, with over 150 million copies sold.
Your reading
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Where it is set
What it draws on
BeowulfGreat book
AD 1000*
Tolkien was a scholar of Beowulf long before he was a novelist, and his 1936 lecture on it changed how the poem is read. Its mead-halls, barrows and dragon-guarded hoards run through Middle-earth; Meduseld, the golden hall of Rohan, is built on Heorot.
Source: Wikidata
Wikidata records The Lord of the Rings as inspired by Beowulf. Read it there
The author’s life
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On these lists
- Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century, number 58
- BBC The Big Read, number 1