The Lord of The Rings is an epic high fantasy novel written by English academic J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier fantasy book, The Hobbit, and soon developed into a much larger story. It was written in stages between 1937 and 1949, with much of it being created during World War II. It was originally published in three volumes in 1954 and 1955 (much to Tolkien's annoyance, since he had intended it to be a single volume). It has since been reprinted numerous times and translated into at least 38 languages, becoming one of the most popular works in 20th-century literature.

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The action in The Lord of The Rings is set in what the author conceived to be the lands of the real Earth, inhabited by humanity but placed in a fictional past, before our science but after the fall of his version of Atlantis, which he calls Númenor. Tolkien gave this setting a modern English name, Middle-earth, derived from the Old English Middangeard, the realm where humans live in Norse and related Germanic mythologies.

The story concerns peoples such as Hobbits, Elves, Men, Dwarves, Wizards, and Orcs and centres on the Ring of Power made by the Dark Lord Sauron. Starting from quiet beginnings in the Shire, the story ranges across Middle-earth and follows the courses of the War of the Ring. The main story is followed by six appendices that provide a wealth of historical and linguistic background material, as well as an index of characters, place names, and terms of note.

Along with Tolkien's other writings, The Lord of The Rings has been subjected to extensive analysis of its literary themes and origins. Although a major work in itself, the story is merely the last movement of a larger cycle, or legendarium, that Tolkien had worked on since 1917. Influences on this earlier work, and on the story of The Lord of The Rings, include philology, mythology, industrialization, and religion, as well as earlier fantasy works and Tolkien's experiences in World War I. The Lord of The Rings in its turn is considered to have had a great effect on modern fantasy, and the impact of Tolkien's works is such that the use of the words "Tolkienian" and "Tolkienesque" have been recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary.

The immense and enduring popularity of The Lord of The Rings has led to numerous references in popular culture, the founding of many societies by fans of Tolkien's works, and a large number of books about Tolkien and his works being published. The Lord of The Rings has inspired (and continues to inspire) short stories, video games, artworks and musical works. Numerous adaptations of Tolkien's works have been made for a wide range of media. Adaptations of The Lord of The Rings in particular have been made for radio, theatre, and film. The 2001-2003 release of the widely acclaimed Lord of The Rings film trilogy prompted a new surge of interest in The Lord of The Rings and Tolkien's other works.

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