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  • Lord of the Rings book series by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien writer

    Lord of the Rings (LotR) follows the journey of Frodo, a Hobbit, and his friends and companions. Frodo inherited a magic ring by his uncle Bilbo, a ring that not only makes its wearer invisible but also holds a dark secret. When the wizard Gandalf returns to Frodo after a long absence he tells Frodo the true origins of the ring. Frodo then leaves the Shire, his home, with a few friends to reach the elven sanctaury of Rivendell or Imladris. After many adventures and chased by the servants of Sauron, the creator of the ring Frodo holds, and evil Overlord, Frodo finally makes it Rivendell. There the council of Elrond comprised of wise men, elves, dwarfs and wizards is held and the free people decide that the ring must be destroyed ere it falls into the hands of the enemy or beguiles them to use it in his stead. So the fellowship of the ring is formed, comprised of nine travellers of all free races against the one darkness of Mordor, tasked to travel to the dark land itself and destroy the ring at the heart of the enemys realm.

    genresfantasy romance travel
    keywordsaddiction - major character death - genealogy - war - refugees - corruption - faith - good & evil - language - history - ancient legendaria (edda) - perserverance - friendship - hope without hope - power
    content warningsprofanity: no - violence: yes - sex: no
    languagesEnglish
    lengthabout 455 thousand words for the whole trilogy
    source material
    related worksThe Hobbit - written many years before. A children's book that had originally no relation to Tolkien's legendarium but was rewritten to fit into it before the Lord of the Rings was published. The Silmarillion - For advanced readers who hold a love or at least appreciation of the English language, old languages and ancient mythology. Not a classical narrative but the history of the world of Middle-Earth, which in the first writings was still intended to be our own Earth.
    availability of fanfictionMore than 100,000 entries on LotR Fan Fiction
    notesLotR is a rewarding but complicated book to tackle in a classroom setting. Rewarding because of the love of language and humanity that seeps through every page, the rich lore and profound wisdom on the human condition, but complicated because of much the same reasons and its sheer length. It is also very important for teachers to devoid themselves of all the conspiracy theories (the book is Satanist, Christian, Racist etc.) surrounding LotR and remember that the story is not allegorical. As Tolkien explained people confuse applicability with allegory and any observations made in the above mentioned directions are quickly made void by the text itself. Ultimately it is the plurality of diversity that defeats the "One" evil.