The Return of the King

by Tolkien, J. R. R.

• ISBN13: 9780618002245
• ISBN10: 0618002243
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-09-15
• Publisher: Mariner Books

Summary

For over fifty years, J.R.R. Tolkien's peerless fantasy has accumulatedworldwide acclaim as the greatest adventure tale ever written.No other writer has created a world as distinct as Middle-earth, completewith its own geography, history, languages, and legends. Andno one has created characters as endearing as Tolkien's large-hearted, hairy-footed hobbits. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings continues toseize the imaginations of readers of all ages, and this new three-volumepaperback edition is designed to appeal to the youngest of them.In ancient times the Rings of Power were crafted by the Elvensmiths, and Sauron, the Dark Lord, forged the One Ring, filling it withhis own power so that he could rule all others. But the One Ring wastaken from him, and though he sought it throughout Middle-earth, stillit remained lost to him . . .

Author Biography

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892–1973), beloved throughout the world as the creator of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, a fellow of Pembroke College, and a fellow of Merton College until his retirement in 1959. His chief interest was the linguistic aspects of the early English written tradition, but even as he studied these classics he was creating a set of his own.

Table of Contents

Synopsis	ix
BOOK FIVE
Minas Tirith	731	(25)
The Passing of the Grey Company	756	(18)
The Muster of Rohan	774	(14)
The Siege of Gondor	788	(24)
The Ride of the Rohirrim	812	(9)
The Battle of the Pelennor Fields	821	(11)
The Pyre of Denethor	832	(8)
The Houses of Healing	840	(14)
The Last Debate	854	(11)
The Black Gate Opens	865	(12)
BOOK SIX
The Tower of Cirith Ungol	877	(18)
The Land of Shadow	895	(17)
Mount Doom	912	(15)
The Field of Cormallen	927	(10)
The Steward and the King	937	(15)
Many Partings	952	(15)
Homeward Bound	967	(8)
The Scouring of the Shire	975	(23)
The Grey Havens	998	(131)
APPENDICES
A Annals of the Kings and Rulers	1009	(48)
I The Numenorean Kings	1009	(29)
II The House of Eorl	1038	(7)
III Durin's Folk	1045	(12)
B The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands)	1057	(16)
C Family Trees (Hobbits)	1073	(6)
D Calendars	1079	(8)
E Writing and Spelling	1087	(14)
I Pronunciation of Words and Names	1087	(4)
II Writing	1091	(10)
F I The Languages and Peoples of the Third Age	1101	(12)
On Translation	1107	(6)
INDEXES
Songs and Verses	1113	(1)
Persons, Beasts and Monsters	1114	(9)
Places	1123	(6)
Things	1129

Excerpts

THE LORD OF THE RINGS THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING BOOK ONE Chapter 1 A Long-Expected Party When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton. Bilbo was very rich and very peculiar, and had been the wonder of the Shire for sixty years, ever since his remarkable disappearance and unexpected return. The riches he had brought back from his travels had now become a local legend, and it was popularly believed, whatever the old folk might say, that the Hill at Bag End was full of tunnels stuffed with treasure. And if that was not enough for fame, there was also his prolonged vigour to marvel at. Time wore on, but it seemed to have little effect on Mr. Baggins. At ninety he was much the same as at fifty. At ninety-nine they began to call him well-preserved; but unchanged would have been nearer the mark. There were some that shook their heads and thought this was too much of a good thing; it seemed unfair that anyone should possess (apparently) perpetual youth as well as (reputedly) inexhaustible wealth. "It will have to be paid for," they said. "It isn"t natural, and trouble will come of it!" But so far trouble had not come; and as Mr. Baggins was generous with his money, most people were willing to forgive him his oddities and his good fortune. He remained on visiting terms with his relatives (except, of course, the Sackville-Bagginses), and he had many devoted admirers among the hobbits of poor and unimportant families. But he had no close friends, until some of his younger cousins began to grow up. The eldest of these, and Bilbo"s favourite, was young Frodo Baggins. When Bilbo was ninety-nine he adopted Frodo as his heir, and brought him to live at Bag End; and the hopes of the Sackville- Bagginses were finally dashed. Bilbo and Frodo happened to have the same birthday, September 22nd. "You had better come and live here, Frodo my lad," said Bilbo one day; "and then we can celebrate our birthday-parties comfortably together." At that time Frodo was still in his tweens, as the hobbits called the irresponsible twenties between childhood and coming of age at thirty-three. Twelve more years passed. Each year the Bagginses had given very lively combined birthday-parties at Bag End; but now it was understood that something quite exceptional was being planned for that autumn. Bilbo was going to be eleventy-one, 111, a rather curious number, and a very respectable age for a hobbit (the Old Took himself had only reached 130); and Frodo was going to be thirty- three, 33, an important number: the date of his "coming of age". Tongues began to wag in Hobbiton and Bywater; and rumour of the coming event travelled all over the Shire. The history and character of Mr. Bilbo Baggins became once again the chief topic of conversation; and the older folk suddenly found their reminiscences in welcome demand. No one had a more attentive audience than old Ham Gamgee, commonly known as the Gaffer. He held forth at The Ivy Bush, a small inn on the Bywater road; and he spoke with some authority, for he had tended the garden at Bag End for forty years, and had helped old Holman in the same job before that. Now that he was himself growing old and stiff in the joints, the job was mainly carried on by his youngest son, Sam Gamgee. Both father and son were on very friendly terms with Bilbo and Frodo. They lived on the Hill itself, in Number 3 Bagshot Row just below Bag End. "A very nice well-spoken gentlehobbit is Mr. Bilbo, as I"ve always said," the Gaffer declared. With perfect truth: for Bilbo was very poli