The Lord of the Rings is an epic fantasy written by J.R.R. Tolkien, philologist and professor of Oxford’s University. The trilogy and The Hobbit, the beginning of the sequel, were written in stages between 1937 and 1949, much of it during World War II. Although it is known as a trilogy, the work was initially intended by Tolkien to be one volume. However, when he submitted the first volume for economic reasons he decided to public the work as three separate volumes. The three volumes were entitled “The Fellowship of the Ring”, “The Two Towers” and “The Return of the King”; they form the full “Lord of the Rings”. The volumes are divided into six books, each volume contains two books; with several appendices of background material, much abbreviated from Tolkien’s originals, included at the end of the third volume. The tittle of the novel refers to the story’s main antagonist, the Dark Lord Sauron, who had created the One Ring to rule the other Rings of Power as the ultimate weapon in his campaign to conquer the Middle-earth.
The Lord of the Rings has been reprinted numerous times and translated into many languages. Moreover, it has inspired artwork, music, films and television, video games and subsequent literature. Adaptations of the Lord of the Rings made for radio, theatre and film have been winners of several awards.
The story takes place in North-West Middle-earth. Long before the start of the novel the Dark Lord Sauron forged the One Ring to gain power over other rings held by the leaders of Men, Elves and Dwarves. He is defeated in battle; Isildur cut his finger and stood the One Ring. Isildur is later killed by Orcs, and the Ring is lost in the river Anduin. Over two thousand years later, the Ring comes into the hands of the hobbit Sméagol, who hides under the mountains, where the Ring transforms him into a strange creature called Gollum. Then, he loses the Ring, and, as recounted in “The Hobbit”, it is found by Bilbo Baggins. Meanwhile Sauron takes a new physical form and reoccupies Mordor. Gollum is captured by Sauron, and told him that Bilbo has the Ring. Sauron, who needs the Ring to regain his full power, sends his submits to looking for the ring.
The trilogy begins in the Shire, where Bilbo gives the Ring to Frodo, his nephew. Both ignore the origin of it; however Gandalf the Grey, a wizard, tells Frodo the Ring’s history and advises him to take away from the Shire. Frodo leaves to start their mission accompanied of his best friend, Sam, and Pippin and Merry, two cousins. They have to past the Old Forest, where they meet Aragorn, Isildur’s heir, who joins them as guide and protector. After leaving the Forest there are attacked by the Ringwraiths and Frodo is hurt with a magical knife. Aragorn leads the hobbits to the refuge of Rivendell, while Frodo gradually succumbs to the wound. After to arrive they are attacked again, but this time Elrond saves them.
In Rivendell, elf’s city, the Council of Elrond reveals the importance of the Ring and that Sauron has corrupted the wizard Saruman. For this, the Council decides that the only way to defeat Saruman is to destroy the Ring at Mount Doom in Mordor, where it was forged. Frodo volunteers to take the Ring, and a Felloship of the Ring is chosen to accompany and protect him: Sam, Pippin, Merry, Aragorn, Gandalf, Gimli the Dwarf, Legolas the Elf and the man Boromir, son of Gondors’s King.
The company passes through the Mines of Moria, where they are attacked by orcs. Gandalf hurts with the Balrog allowing the other to escape, however he disappears. After, the company travels down the River Anduin to the hill of Amon Hen, where Boromir succumbs to the lure of the Ring and attempts to take it from Frodo. For this reason, Frodo decides to separate of the Fellowship and go to Mordor alone, but Sam insists on coming to protect him.
Meanwhile, orcs kills Boromir and kidnap Merry and Pippin. The hobbits escape when they are killed by the Rohirrim, then enter in Fangorn forest, where meet the tree-like Ents. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas go to Fangorn forest to find the hobbits but they don’t find them, they find Gandalf. He resurrected, after his battle with the Balrog, like the more powerful “Gandalf the White” and he says them that Merry and Pippin are safe. All together travel to Rohan to save Théoden from an incantation inflicted by Saruman and to help the Rohirrim to fight Saruman’s armies. Gandalf rides off to gather more soldiers while Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli ride with Théoden to Helm's Deep. They are besieged by orcs, but Gandalf arrives with reinforcements, and the orcs are defeated.
On the other hand, the Ents attack Isengard catching saruman in the tower of Orthanc. After, Galdalf and the others arrive at Isengard to confront him. Saruman refuses to acknowledge the mistakes of his acts so Gandalf use of his power to fight with him. Pippin and Merry rejoin the other and Pippin looks into into a palantir, a seeing-stone that Sauron had used to communicate with Saruman, unknowingly leading Sauron to think that Saruman has captured the Ring-bearer, so Gandalf takes Pippin to Gondor.
On their way to Mordor, Frodo and Sam capture Gollum and force him to guide them to Mordor. Like the principal gate of Mordor is impassable they decide to follow Gollum to a passage. In the tunnels of Cirith Ungol, Frodo is attacked by the great spider Shelob and she almost killed him but Sam fights her off. Sam takes the Ring, and forces himself to leave Frodo because he thinks that Frodo is died. Orcs find Frodo and Sam learn that Frodo is not dead if not unconscious. Frodo is carried to the tower of Cirith Ungol and Sam rescues him.
Gandalf arrives at Minas Tirith in Gondor with Pippin to alert Denethor of the imminent attack. Minas Tirith is besieged and Denethor loses hope and commits suicide.
Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli come to Gondor by the Paths of the Dead, where Aragorn raises an undead army of oath-breakers in fulfilment of an old prophecy. The ghostly army helps him to defeat the Corsairs of Umbar invading southern Gondor, and the forces freed from the south, along with Rohan's cavalry, help break the siege at Minas Tirith.
Sam rescues Frodo, and they journey through Mordor. Frodo weakens as they near Mount Doom, but is aided by Sam. Meanwhile, in the climactic battle at the Black Gate of Mordor, the vastly outnumbered alliance of Gondor and Rohan fight desperately against Sauron's armies, with the intent of diverting Sauron's attention from Mount Doom. When Frodo is willing to through the Ring into the fire of the Cracks of Doom he can’t resist the Ring and he puts it. However, Gollum reappears and fight with Frodo for the Ring. Finally Gollum cut Frodo’s finger and falls to the fire. While the Ring is unmaking Sauron perishes, his armies retreat, his tower crumbles into dust, the Ringwraiths disintegrate, and the War of the Ring seemingly ends. In the instant of its destruction, Aragorn is crowned Elessar, King of Arnor and Gondor, and marries his long-time love, Arwen, the daughter of Elrond.The four hobbits returns to the Shire, Sam gets married with Rosie Cotton, Merry and Pippin are acclaimed heroes and Frodo, some years later accompanied by Bilbo and Gandalf, sails from the Grey Haven west over the Sea to the Undying Lands to find peace.
