The Lord of the Rings

by Tolkien, J. R. R.

• ISBN13: 9780618129027
• ISBN10: 0618129022
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-04-01
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Summary

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 his fastness in the Dark Tower of Mordor, Sauron's power spread far and wide. He gathered all the Great Rings to him, but ever he searched far and wide for the One Ring that would complete his dominion. On his eleventy-first birthday Bilbo 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, Merry, Pippin, and Sam, Gimli the Dwarf, Legolas the Elf, Boromir of Gondor, and a tall, mysterious stranger called Strider.

Table of Contents

Note on the Text	xi
Foreword to the Second Edition	xv
Prologue Concerning Hobbits, and other matters	1	(20)
THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
BOOK ONE
A Long-expected Party	21	(20)
The Shadow of the Past	41	(23)
Three is Company	64	(20)
A Short Cut to Mushrooms	84	(12)
A Conspiracy Unmasked	96	(11)
The Old Forest	107	(14)
In the House of Tom Bombadil	121	(11)
Fog on the Barrow-downs	132	(14)
At the Sign of The Prancing Pony	146	(14)
Strider	160	(12)
A Knife in the Dark	172	(20)
Flight to the Ford	192	(21)
BOOK TWO
Many Meetings	213	(20)
The Council of Elrond	233	(32)
The Ring Goes South	265	(22)
A Journey in the Dark	287	(26)
The Bridge of Khazad-dum	313	(11)
Lothlorien	324	(20)
The Mirror of Galadriel	344	(14)
Farewell to Lorien	358	(13)
The Great River	371	(15)
The Breaking of the Fellowship	386	(17)
THE TWO TOWERS
BOOK THREE
The Departure of Boromir	403	(8)
The Riders of Rohan	411	(23)
The Uruk-hai	434	(16)
Treebeard	450	(27)
The White Rider	477	(18)
The King of the Golden Hall	495	(19)
Helm's Deep	514	(16)
The Road to Isengard	530	(16)
Flotsam and Jetsam	546	(16)
The Voice of Saruman	562	(12)
The Palantir	574	(15)
BOOK FOUR
The Taming of Smeagol	589	(17)
The Passage of the Marshes	606	(16)
The Black Gate is Closed	622	(12)
Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit	634	(14)
The Window on the West	648	(20)
The Forbidden Pool	668	(11)
Journey to the Cross-roads	679	(9)
The Stairs of Cirith Ungol	688	(13)
Shelob's Lair	701	(10)
The Choices of Master Samwise	711	(20)
THE RETURN OF THE KING
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
APPENDICES
A Annals of the Kings and Rulers	1009
I The Numenorean Kings	1009
II The House of Eorl	1038
III Durin's Folk	1045
B The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands)	1057
C Family Trees (Hobbits)	1073
D Calendars	1079
E Writing and Spelling	1087
I Pronunciation of Words and Names	1087
II Writing	1091
F I The Languages and Peoples of the Third Age	1101
II On Translation	1107
INDEXES
I Songs and Verses	1113
II Persons, Beasts and Monsters	1114
III Places	1123
IV 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