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It’s difficult to imagine a world without The Lord of the Rings. J.R.R. Tolkien’s sprawling magnum opus popularized the fantasy genre, galvanized a counterculture movement, and snowballed into a global pop culture phenomenon. Peter Jackson’s early aughts film adaptations have only compounded the series’ enduring popularity, inviting new fans into Tolkien’s fantastical world by way of Academy Awards, timeless memes, and astounding filmmaking. Now, with Amazon's Rings of Power closing the curtain on a successful Season One, a whole new generation of fans have discovered Middle-earth.
If you haven’t read the series, how I envy you! Newcomers are in for an unforgettable reading experience. You’ll always remember the first time you encountered these moving, masterfully imagined epics about the struggle between good and evil, the delicate balance of death and immortality, and the addictive danger of power. But The Lord of the Rings is just the tip of the iceberg; Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium encompasses thousands of years and dozens of other works, meaning that if you dive in, it may be quite a long time before you make it there and back again.
What’s the best path for reading your way through, you ask? It’s a simple question, but one bound to rile up Tolkien fans, who love and study the author’s works with serious devotion. I know because I’m one of them. Yes, dear reader, you caught me—I’ve been a Tolkienite since age eight, when I got my hands on The Hobbit and it changed my little brain forever. I grew up in Tolkien’s wide, wild world in the way that other members of my generation grew up in Narnia or Hogwarts; these books are an enduring part of my heart and identity, and they can be for you, too.
Below, I’ve charted a choose your own adventure course through the lore, with exit points for the casual reader and bonus material for the newly converted Tolkienite. Additionally, for anyone looking to do their homework about the Rings of Power lore, I've flagged the books that will enrich your viewing of the series. What kind of Tolkien reader will you be? Time to start reading and find out. (And once you've finished, check out our maps to Dune, Game of Thrones, and The Wheel of Time next.)
1
Mariner Books
The Hobbit
2
Mariner Books
The Fellowship of the Ring
3
Mariner Books
The Two Towers
4
Mariner Books
The Return of the King
5
Mariner Books
The Silmarillion
6
Mariner Books
Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth
7
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
The Children of Húrin
8
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Beren and Lúthien
9
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
The Fall of Gondolin
10
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
The History of Middle-earth
11
The Fall of Númenor: And Other Tales From the Second Age
12
Bodleian Library, University of Oxford
Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth
Adrienne Westenfeld Books and Fiction Editor Adrienne Westenfeld is the Books and Fiction Editor at Esquire, where she oversees books coverage, edits fiction, and curates the Esquire Book Club.
"An extraordinary work -- pure excitement." -- New York Times Book Review One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elven-smiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it with his own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring was taken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, it remained lost to him. After many ages it fell by chance into the hands of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins.
From Sauron's fastness in the Dark Tower of Mordor, his power spread far and wide. Sauron gathered all the Great Rings, but always he searched for the One Ring that would complete his dominion.
When Bilbo reached his eleventy-first birthday he disappeared, bequeathing to his young cousin Frodo the Ruling Ring and a perilous quest: to journey across Middle-earth, deep into the shadow of the Dark Lord, and destroy the Ring by casting it into the Cracks of Doom.
The Lord of the Rings tells of the great quest undertaken by Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring: Gandalf the Wizard; the hobbits Merry, Pippin, and Sam; Gimli the Dwarf; Legolas the Elf; Boromir of Gondor; and a tall, mysterious stranger called Strider.
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About the Author
J.R.R. TOLKIEN (1892–1973) is the creator of Middle-earth and author of such classic and extraordinary works of fiction as The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. His books have been translated into more than fifty languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.
Date of Birth:
January 3, 1892
Date of Death:
September 2, 1973
Place of Birth:
Bloemfontein, Orange Free State (South Africa)
Place of Death:
Oxford, England
Education:
B.A., Exeter College, Oxford University, 1915; M.A., 1919
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"A unique, wholly realized other world, evoked from deep in the well of Time, massively detailed, absorbingly entertaining, profound in meaning." The New York Times
"Among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the twentieth century."—- Sunday Telegraph
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