The One Ring was not merely a plot device but the central engine of a narrative that would eventually sell over 150 million copies and reshape the entire landscape of modern fantasy literature. Written by the English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings began as a sequel to his 1937 children's book The Hobbit, yet it evolved into a massive epic that spanned from the quiet, pastoral Shire to the fiery depths of Mount Doom. The story follows the hobbits Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin as they attempt to destroy the Ring, an artifact created by the Dark Lord Sauron to enslave the Free Peoples of Middle-earth. While the title refers to Sauron, the narrative is primarily told through the eyes of the hobbits, aided by a diverse fellowship including the wizard Gandalf, the men Aragorn and Boromir, the elf Legolas, and the dwarf Gimli. This group, known as the Company of the Ring, must rally the Free Peoples against Sauron's armies to give Frodo a chance to cast the Ring into the fires of Mount Doom where it was forged. The work is one of the best-selling books ever written, with its influence extending far beyond the pages of the original text to inspire countless adaptations, societies, and derivative works in film, television, and video games.
The Slow Birth of a Mythos
Tolkien did not write The Lord of the Rings in a single burst of inspiration but rather labored over the manuscript for over a decade, writing in stages between 1937 and 1949. The story started as a sequel to The Hobbit, which had been published in 1937, and the publishers George Allen & Unwin requested another story about hobbits. Tolkien warned them that he wrote quite slowly, yet he persisted, eventually abandoning the project during most of 1943 before restarting it in April 1944 as a serial for his son Christopher Tolkien. The original manuscripts total 9,250 pages and now reside in the J. R. R. Tolkien Collection at Marquette University. Writing was slow because Tolkien held a full-time academic position, marked exams to bring in extra income, and wrote many drafts. The story was effectively finished the next year, but Tolkien did not complete the revision of earlier parts of the work until 1949. He drew inspiration from various influences including philology, mythology, Christianity, earlier fantasy works, and his own experiences in the First World War. The militarization and industrialization of the war inspired the character of Sauron and his forces, with the Orcs representing the worst of it as workers that have been tortured and brutalized by the war and industry. Tolkien stated that he had been influenced by his childhood experiences of the English countryside of Worcestershire near Sarehole Mill, and its urbanization by the growth of Birmingham.
The narrative begins with Bilbo Baggins celebrating his birthday and leaving the Ring to Frodo, his heir. Gandalf, a wizard, suspects it is a Ring of Power and seventeen years later confirms it is the One Ring, lost by the Dark Lord Sauron. He counsels Frodo to take it away from the Shire, but when Gandalf fails to return, Frodo sets out on foot with his cousin Pippin Took and gardener Sam Gamgee. They are pursued by Black Riders, but meet some Elves whose singing to Elbereth wards off the Riders. The Hobbits take an evasive shortcut to Bucklebury Ferry, where they meet their friend Merry Brandybuck. Merry and Pippin reveal they know about the Ring and insist on joining Frodo on his journey. They try to shake off the Black Riders by cutting through the Old Forest, where they are trapped by the malign Old Man Willow but rescued by Tom Bombadil. Leaving Tom's house, they are caught by a barrow-wight, but Frodo, awakening from the barrow-wight's spell, calls Tom Bombadil, who frees them and gives them ancient swords from the wight's hoard. The Hobbits reach the village of Bree, where they meet Strider, a Ranger. The innkeeper gives Frodo an old letter from Gandalf, which identifies Strider as a friend. Knowing the Black Riders will attempt to seize the Ring, Strider guides the group toward the Elvish sanctuary of Rivendell. At Weathertop, they are attacked by five Black Riders. Their leader wounds Frodo with a cursed blade. Strider fights them off and treats Frodo with the herb athelas. They are joined by the Elf Glorfindel, who rides with Frodo, now deathly ill, towards Rivendell. The Black Riders pursue Frodo into the Ford of Bruinen, where they are swept away by flood waters summoned by Elrond. Frodo recovers in Rivendell under Elrond's care. Gandalf informs Frodo that the Black Riders are the Nazgûl, Men enslaved by Rings of Power to serve Sauron. The Council of Elrond discusses what to do with the Ring. Strider is revealed to be Aragorn, the heir of Isildur who had cut the Ring from Sauron's hand in the Second Age, but claimed it for himself. The Ring was lost when Isildur was killed; it passed to Gollum and then to Bilbo. Gandalf reports that the chief wizard, Saruman, is a traitor. The Council decides that the Ring must be destroyed in the fire of Mount Doom in Mordor, where it was forged. Frodo takes this task upon himself. Elrond chooses companions for him: Sam, Merry, and Pippin; Gandalf; the Men Aragorn and Boromir, son of the Steward of Gondor; the Elf Legolas; and the Dwarf Gimli, representing the Free Peoples of the West. After a failed attempt to cross the Misty Mountains, the Fellowship risk the path through the Mines of Moria. They learn that Balin and his Dwarves, who had attempted to regain possession of Moria, were killed by Orcs. They are attacked by Orcs and a Balrog, a fire demon. Gandalf confronts the Balrog: both fall into an abyss. The others escape to the Elvish forest of Lothlórien, where the Lady Galadriel tests their loyalty, and gives them magical gifts. She allows Frodo and Sam to look into her vision-giving fountain, the Mirror of Galadriel. Frodo offers her the Ring: she refuses, knowing that it would master her. Galadriel's husband Celeborn gives the Fellowship boats, cloaks, and waybread. They travel down the River Anduin. At Amon Hen, Boromir tries to take the Ring, but Frodo puts on the Ring and disappears. Frodo chooses to cross the river and go alone to Mordor, but Sam, guessing what he intends, intercepts and joins him.
The War of the Ring
A party of Orcs sent by Saruman and Sauron attack the Fellowship. Boromir tries to protect Merry and Pippin from the Orcs, but they kill him and capture the two Hobbits. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas decide to pursue the Orcs. The Orcs are killed by Riders of Rohan, led by Éomer. The Hobbits escape into Fangorn Forest, where they are befriended by the Ent Treebeard. Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas track the hobbits to Fangorn, where they meet Gandalf: he explains that he killed the Balrog; he too was killed in the fight, but was sent back to Middle-earth. He is now Gandalf the White, replacing Saruman as chief of the wizards. They ride to Edoras, capital of Rohan. Gandalf frees King Théoden from the influence of Saruman's spy Gríma Wormtongue. Théoden musters his army and rides to the fortress of Helm's Deep; Gandalf departs to seek help from Treebeard. The Ents destroy Isengard, Saruman's stronghold, and flood it, trapping the wizard in the tower of Orthanc. Gandalf convinces Treebeard to send an army of Huorns to Théoden's aid. He brings an army of Riders of Rohan to Helm's Deep. They defeat the Orcs, who flee into the forest of Huorns and are destroyed. Gandalf, Théoden, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli ride to Isengard, where they find Merry and Pippin relaxing amidst the ruins. Gandalf offers Saruman a chance to turn away from evil. When Saruman refuses, Gandalf strips him of his rank and most of his powers. Wormtongue throws down a hard round object to try to kill Gandalf. Pippin picks it up; Gandalf swiftly takes it, but Pippin steals it in the night. It is a palantír, a seeing-stone that Saruman used to speak with Sauron, becoming ensnared. Sauron sees Pippin, but misunderstands the circumstances. Gandalf rides for Minas Tirith, chief city of Gondor, taking Pippin with him. Frodo and Sam struggle through the barren hills of the Emyn Muil. They realize they are being tracked; on a moonlit night they capture Gollum, who has followed them from Moria. Frodo makes Gollum swear to serve him, as Ringbearer, and asks him to guide them to Mordor. Gollum leads them across the Dead Marshes. Sam overhears Gollum debating with his alter ego, Sméagol, whether to steal the Ring. The Black Gate of Mordor is too well guarded, so they travel south through Ithilien to a secret pass that Gollum knows. They are captured by rangers led by Faramir, Boromir's brother, and brought to the secret fastness of Henneth Annûn. Faramir resists the temptation to seize the Ring and, disobeying orders to arrest strangers, releases them. Gollum guides the hobbits to the pass, but leads them into the lair of the great spider Shelob in the tunnels of Cirith Ungol. Frodo holds up his gift, the Phial of Galadriel, which holds the light of Eärendil's star: it drives Shelob back. Frodo cuts through a giant web using his sword Sting. Shelob attacks again, and Frodo falls to her venom. Sam picks up Sting and the Phial. He wounds the monster. Believing Frodo to be dead, a devastated Sam takes the Ring to continue the quest alone. Orcs take Frodo; Sam overhears them saying that Frodo is still alive, and sets out to rescue him. Sauron sends a great army against Gondor. Gandalf arrives at Minas Tirith to warn Denethor of the attack, while Théoden musters the Riders of Rohan to go to Gondor's aid. Minas Tirith is besieged; the Lord of the Nazgûl uses a spell-wound battering ram to destroy the city's gates. Denethor, deceived by Sauron, falls into despair. He burns himself alive on a pyre; Pippin and Gandalf rescue his son Faramir from the same fate. Aragorn, accompanied by Legolas, Gimli, and the Rangers of the North, takes the Paths of the Dead to recruit the Dead Men of Dunharrow, oathbreakers who will have no rest until they fight for the King of Gondor. Aragorn unleashes the Army of the Dead on the Corsairs of Umbar invading southern Gondor. He and men of southern Gondor sail in the Corsairs' ships up the Anduin, reaching Minas Tirith just in time to turn the tide of battle. Théoden's niece Éowyn, who joined the army in disguise, kills the Lord of the Nazgûl with help from Merry; both are wounded. Gondor and Rohan defeat Sauron's army in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, but Théoden is killed. Aragorn enters Minas Tirith and heals the sick. He leads an army through Ithilien to the Black Gate to distract Sauron from his true danger. At the Battle of the Morannon, his army is vastly outnumbered.
The End of the Third Age
Sam rescues Frodo from the tower of Cirith Ungol. They set out across Mordor. When they reach the edge of the Cracks of Doom, Frodo cannot resist the Ring any longer: he claims it for himself and puts it on. Gollum reappears. He bites off Frodo's Ring finger. Celebrating wildly, Gollum loses his footing and falls into the Fire, taking the Ring with him. When the Ring is destroyed, Sauron loses his power. All he created collapses, the Nazgûl perish, Aragorn wins the battle of the Morannon, and the Eagles rescue Frodo and Sam from the ruin of Mount Doom. Aragorn is crowned King, and weds Arwen, Elrond's daughter. Théoden is buried; Éomer is crowned King of Rohan. His sister Éowyn is engaged to Faramir, now Steward of Gondor and Prince of Ithilien. Galadriel, Celeborn, and Gandalf say farewell to Treebeard, and to Aragorn. The four hobbits travel home, only to find it has been taken over by Saruman's men. Merry raises a rebellion and scours the Shire. Saruman reveals crimes that Wormtongue has done, causing Wormtongue to turn on Saruman and kill him in front of Bag End, Frodo's home. Wormtongue then is killed by hobbit archers. Merry and Pippin are celebrated as heroes. Sam marries Rosie Cotton and uses his gifts to heal the Shire. Frodo, broken by the quest, leaves a few years later, sailing from the Grey Havens over the Sea to find peace. Extensive appendices outline more details of the history, cultures, genealogies, and languages that Tolkien imagined for the peoples of Middle-earth. In antiquarian style, they provide background details for the narrative, with much detail for Tolkien fans who want to know more about the stories. Tolkien presents The Lord of the Rings within a fictional frame story where he is not the original author, but merely the translator of part of an ancient document, the Red Book of Westmarch. That book is modelled on the real Red Book of Hergest, which similarly presents an older mythology. Various details of the frame story appear in the Prologue, its Note on Shire Records, and in the Appendices, notably Appendix F. In this frame story, the Red Book is the purported source of Tolkien's other works relating to Middle-earth: The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.
The Unlikely Bestseller
A dispute with his publisher, Allen & Unwin, led Tolkien to offer the work to William Collins in 1950. Tolkien intended The Silmarillion to be published along with The Lord of the Rings, but Allen & Unwin was unwilling to do this. After Milton Waldman, his contact at Collins, expressed the belief that The Lord of the Rings itself urgently wanted cutting, Tolkien eventually demanded that they publish the book in 1952. Collins did not; and so Tolkien wrote to Allen & Unwin, telling that he would have gladly considered the publication of any part of the stuff, fearing his work would never see the light of day. For publication, the work was divided into three volumes to minimize any potential financial loss due to the high cost of type-setting and modest anticipated sales: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. Delays in producing appendices, maps and especially an index led to the volumes being published later than originally hoped , on the 29th of July 1954, on the 11th of November 1954 and on the 20th of October 1955 respectively in the United Kingdom. In the United States, Houghton Mifflin published The Fellowship of the Ring on the 21st of October 1954, The Two Towers on the 21st of April 1955, and The Return of the King on the 5th of January 1956. The Return of the King was especially delayed as Tolkien revised the ending and prepared appendices. Tolkien did not like the title The Return of the King, believing it gave away too much of the storyline, but deferred to his publisher's preference. Tolkien wrote that the title The Two Towers can be left ambiguous, but considered naming the two as Orthanc and Barad-dûr, Minas Tirith and Barad-dûr, or Orthanc and the Tower of Cirith Ungol. However, a month later he wrote a note published at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring and later drew a cover illustration, both of which identified the pair as Minas Morgul and Orthanc. Tolkien was initially opposed to titles being given to each two-book volume, preferring instead the use of book titles: e.g. The Lord of the Rings: Vol. 1, The Ring Sets Out and The Ring Goes South; Vol. 2, The Treason of Isengard and The Ring Goes East; Vol. 3, The War of the Ring and The End of the Third Age. However, these individual book titles were dropped, and after pressure from his publishers, Tolkien suggested the volume titles: Vol. 1, The Shadow Grows; Vol. 2, The Ring in the Shadow; Vol. 3, The War of the Ring or The Return of the King. Because the three-volume binding was so widely distributed, the work is often referred to as the Lord of the Rings trilogy. In a letter to the poet W. H. Auden, who famously reviewed the final volume in 1956, Tolkien himself made use of the term trilogy for the work though he did at other times consider this incorrect, as it was written and conceived as a single book. It is often called a novel; however, Tolkien objected to this term as he viewed it as a heroic romance. The books were published under a profit-sharing arrangement, whereby Tolkien would not receive an advance or royalties until the books had broken even, after which he would take a large share of the profits. It has ultimately become one of the best-selling novels ever written, with at least 50 million copies sold by 2003 and over 150 million copies sold by 2007. The work was published in the UK by Allen & Unwin until 1990, when the publisher and its assets were acquired by HarperCollins.
The Cultural Phenomenon
Early reviews of the work were mixed. The initial review in the Sunday Telegraph described it as among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the twentieth century. The Sunday Times echoed this sentiment, stating that the English-speaking world is divided into those who have read The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and those who are going to read them. The New York Herald Tribune appeared to predict the books' popularity, writing in its review that they were destined to outlast our time. W. H. Auden, a former pupil of Tolkien's and an admirer of his writings, regarded The Lord of the Rings as a masterpiece, further stating that in some cases it outdid the achievement of John Milton's Paradise Lost. Kenneth F. Slater wrote in Nebula Science Fiction, April 1955, if you don't read it, you have missed one of the finest books of its type ever to appear. On the other hand, in 1955, the Scottish poet Edwin Muir attacked The Return of the King, writing that All the characters are boys masquerading as adult heroes ... and will never come to puberty ... Hardly one of them knows anything about women, causing Tolkien to complain angrily to his publisher. In 1956, the literary critic Edmund Wilson wrote a review entitled Oo, Those Awful Orcs!, calling Tolkien's work juvenile trash, and saying Dr. Tolkien has little skill at narrative and no instinct for literary form. Within Tolkien's literary group, The Inklings, the work had a mixed reception. Hugo Dyson complained loudly at its readings, whereas C. S. Lewis had very different feelings, writing, here are beauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron. Here is a book which will break your heart. Lewis observed that the writing is rich, in that some of the good characters have darker sides, and likewise some of the villains have good impulses. Despite the mixed reviews and the lack of a paperback until the 1960s, The Lord of the Rings initially sold well in hardback. In 1957, The Lord of the Rings was awarded the International Fantasy Award. Despite its numerous detractors, the publication of the Ace Books and Ballantine paperbacks helped The Lord of the Rings become immensely popular in the United States in the 1960s. The book has remained so ever since, ranking as the most popular works of fiction of the twentieth century, judged by all of three different measures: sales, library borrowings, and reader surveys. In the 2003 Big Read survey conducted in Britain by the BBC, The Lord of the Rings was found to be the Nation's best-loved book. In similar 2004 polls both Germany and Australia chose The Lord of the Rings as their favourite book. In a 1999 poll of Amazon.com customers, The Lord of the Rings was judged to be their favourite book of the millennium. In 2019, the BBC News listed The Lord of the Rings on its list of the 100 most inspiring novels. The enormous popularity of Tolkien's work expanded the demand for fantasy. Largely thanks to The Lord of the Rings, the genre flowered throughout the 1960s and enjoys popularity to the present day. The opus has spawned many imitations, such as The Sword of Shannara, which Lin Carter called the single most cold-blooded, complete rip-off of another book that I have ever read, as well as alternate interpretations of the story, such as The Last Ringbearer. The Legend of Zelda, which popularized the action-adventure game genre in the 1980s, was inspired by The Lord of the Rings among other fantasy books. Dungeons & Dragons, which popularized the role-playing game genre in the 1970s, features several races from The Lord of the Rings, including halflings, elves, dwarves, half-elves, orcs, and dragons. However, Gary Gygax, the lead designer of the game, stated that he included these elements as a marketing move to draw on the popularity the work enjoyed at the time he was developing the game. Because Dungeons & Dragons has gone on to influence many popular games, especially role-playing video games, the influence of The Lord of the Rings extends to many of them, with titles such as Dragon Quest, EverQuest, the Warcraft series, and The Elder Scrolls series of games as well as video games set in Middle-earth itself.
The Screen and The Stage
The Lord of the Rings has been adapted into various media, including radio, stage, motion pictures, and videogames. The book has been adapted for radio four times. In 1955 and 1956, the BBC broadcast The Lord of the Rings, a 13-part radio adaptation of the story. In the 1960s radio station WBAI produced a short radio adaptation. A 1979 dramatization of The Lord of the Rings was broadcast in the United States and subsequently issued on tape and CD. In 1981, the BBC broadcast The Lord of the Rings, a new dramatization in 26 half-hour instalments. A variety of filmmakers considered adapting Tolkien's book, among them Stanley Kubrick, who thought it unfilmable, Michelangelo Antonioni, Jim Henson, Heinz Edelmann, and John Boorman. A Swedish live action television film, Sagan om ringen, was broadcast in 1971. In 1978, Ralph Bakshi made an animated film version covering The Fellowship of the Ring and part of The Two Towers, to mixed reviews. In 1980, Rankin/Bass released an animated TV special based on the closing chapters of The Return of the King, gaining mixed reviews. The 1991 Soviet Union live-action adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring, Khraniteli, was aired once and thought lost, but was rediscovered and republished on the Web. It includes Tom Bombadil and the Barrow-wight, omitted from Jackson's version. In Finland, a live action television miniseries, Hobitit, was broadcast in 1993 based on The Lord of the Rings, with a flashback to Bilbo's encounter with Gollum in The Hobbit. A far more successful adaptation was Peter Jackson's live action The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, produced by New Line Cinema and released in three instalments as The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. All three parts won multiple Academy Awards, including consecutive Best Picture nominations. The final instalment of this trilogy was the second film to break the one-billion-dollar barrier and won a total of 11 Oscars, something only two other films in history, Ben-Hur and Titanic, have accomplished, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. Commentators including Tolkien scholars, literary critics and film critics are divided on how faithfully Jackson adapted Tolkien's work, or whether a film version is inevitably different, and if so the reasons for any changes, and the effectiveness of the result. The Hunt for Gollum, a 2009 film by Chris Bouchard, and the 2009 Born of Hope, written by Paula DiSante and directed by Kate Madison, are fan films based on details in the appendices of The Lord of the Rings. From September 2022, Amazon has been presenting a multi-season television series of stories, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. It is set at the beginning of the Second Age, long before the time of The Lord of the Rings, based on materials in the novel's appendices. In 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery began making a series of films set in Middle-earth, produced along with New Line Cinema and Freemode. The first was The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, an anime written by Jeffrey Addiss, Will Matthews and Philippa Boyens, directed by Kenji Kamiyama and released in December 2024. It was based on the story of the legendary Rohan king Helm Hammerhand. In 1990, Recorded Books published an audio version of The Lord of the Rings, read by the British actor Rob Inglis. A large-scale musical theatre adaptation, The Lord of the Rings, was first staged in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 2006 and opened in London in June 2007; it was a commercial failure. In 2013, the artist Phil Dragash recorded the whole of the book, using the score from Peter Jackson's movies. During the COVID-19 lockdown, Andy Serkis read the entire book of The Hobbit online to raise money for charity. He then recorded the work again as an audiobook. The cover art was done by Alan Lee. In 2021, Serkis recorded The Lord of the Rings novels. In 1965, the composer and songwriter Donald Swann, best known for his collaboration with Michael Flanders as Flanders & Swann, set six poems from The Lord of the Rings and one from The Adventures of Tom Bombadil to music. When Swann met with Tolkien to play the songs for his approval, Tolkien suggested for Namárië a setting reminiscent of plain chant, which Swann accepted. Tolkien had recorded a version of his theme on a friend's tape recorder in 1952. This was later issued by Caedmon Records in 1975 as part of J. R. R. Tolkien reads and sings The Lord of the Rings. The songs were published in 1967 as The Road Goes Ever On: A Song Cycle, and a recording of the songs performed by singer William Elvin with Swann on piano was issued that same year by Caedmon Records as Poems and Songs of Middle Earth. Rock bands of the 1970s were musically and lyrically inspired by the fantasy-embracing counter-culture of the time. The British rock band Led Zeppelin recorded several songs that contain explicit references to The Lord of the Rings, such as mentioning Gollum and Mordor in Ramble On, the Misty Mountains in Misty Mountain Hop, and Ringwraiths in The Battle of Evermore. In 1970, the Swedish musician Bo Hansson released an instrumental concept album entitled Sagan om ringen. The album was subsequently released internationally as Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings in 1972. From the 1980s onwards, many heavy metal acts have been influenced by Tolkien. In 1988, the Dutch composer and trombonist Johan de Meij completed his Symphony No. 1 The Lord of the Rings. It had 5 movements, titled Gandalf, Lothlórien, Gollum, Journey in the Dark, and Hobbits. In 1991 the album Shepherd Moons by the Irish musician Enya contains an instrumental titled Lothlórien, in reference to the home of the wood-elves. The Lord of the Rings has had a profound and wide-ranging impact on popular culture, beginning with its publication in the 1950s, but especially during the 1960s and 1970s, when young people embraced it as a countercultural saga. Frodo Lives! and Gandalf for President were two phrases popular among United States Tolkien fans during this time. Its impact is such that the words Tolkienian and Tolkienesque have entered the Oxford English Dictionary, and many of his fantasy terms, formerly little-known in English, such as Orc and Warg, have become widespread in that domain. Among its effects are numerous parodies, especially Harvard Lampoon Bored of the Rings, which has had the distinction of remaining continuously in print from its publication in 1969, and of being translated into at least 11 languages. In 1969, Tolkien sold the merchandising rights to The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit to United Artists under an agreement stipulating a lump sum payment of £10,000 plus a 7.5% royalty after costs, payable to Allen & Unwin and the author. In 1976, three years after the author's death, United Artists sold the rights to Saul Zaentz Company, who now trade as Tolkien Enterprises. Since then all authorised merchandise has been signed off by Tolkien Enterprises, although the intellectual property rights of the specific likenesses of characters and other imagery from various adaptations is generally held by the adaptors. Outside commercial exploitation from adaptations, from the late 1960s onwards there has been an increasing variety of original licensed merchandise, with posters and calendars created by illustrators such as Barbara Remington. The work was named Britain's best novel of all time in the BBC's The Big Read. In 2015, the BBC ranked The Lord of the Rings 26th on its list of the 100 greatest British novels. It was included in Le Mondes list of 100 Books of the Century.