RAG Demo

Tag: Middle-earth

  • The Hobbit

    Bilbo Baggins lives a respectable, uneventful life in his hobbit-hole at Bag End until the wizard Gandalf arrives with thirteen dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield. They plan to reclaim their ancestral home under the Lonely Mountain and its treasure from the dragon Smaug, and Gandalf has decided Bilbo will be their burglar, whether he likes it or not.

    The journey east takes them through troll-infested woods, the elvish refuge of Rivendell, goblin tunnels under the Misty Mountains and the dark, spider-haunted forest of Mirkwood. Along the way Bilbo finds a mysterious ring in a cave and wins a riddle contest with the creature Gollum, gradually discovering resourcefulness and courage he never knew he had.

    Tolkien wrote the book for his own children, and its warm, chatty narrator makes it more playful than The Lord of the Rings, which grew out of it. Drawing on Norse myth and Old English literature, it helped define modern fantasy. It has never gone out of print and was adapted into a trilogy of films by Peter Jackson.

    Book details

    AuthorJ. R. R. Tolkien
    First published1937
    Original languageEnglish
    GenreFantasy
    TypeFiction
    Pages (approx.)310
    SettingMiddle-earth, from the Shire to the Lonely Mountain

    Themes

    • Adventure
    • Courage
    • Greed
    • Home
    • Personal growth

    Who should read it

    Children and adults looking for a classic adventure and an easy entry point into Middle-earth.

  • The Fellowship of the Ring

    Years after the events of The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins leaves the Shire and passes his magic ring to his young cousin Frodo. Gandalf discovers that it is the One Ring, forged by the Dark Lord Sauron to dominate the world, and that Sauron is searching for it. Frodo sets out with his gardener Sam Gamgee and friends Merry and Pippin, pursued by sinister Black Riders.

    With help from the mysterious ranger Strider, the hobbits reach the elven house of Rivendell, where a council of elves, dwarves and men decides the Ring must be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom, deep in Sauron's land of Mordor. Nine companions form a Fellowship to escort Frodo, passing through the mines of Moria and the golden wood of Lothlorien as tensions grow within the group.

    The first volume of The Lord of the Rings moves from pastoral comedy to deepening dread, rich with invented languages, songs, histories and landscapes. Tolkien explores temptation, friendship and the courage of ordinary people. Published in 1954, it became one of the best-selling and most influential works of fantasy, and the basis of Peter Jackson's acclaimed 2001 film.

    Book details

    AuthorJ. R. R. Tolkien
    First published1954
    Original languageEnglish
    GenreFantasy
    TypeFiction
    Pages (approx.)423
    SettingMiddle-earth, from the Shire through Rivendell, Moria and Lothlorien

    Themes

    • Temptation and power
    • Friendship
    • Sacrifice
    • Good versus evil
    • Courage of the small

    Who should read it

    Fantasy readers who want the foundational epic that shaped the genre.