The Fellowship of the Ring

The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of the three volumes of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, first published in 1954. It begins the great quest to destroy the One Ring and introduces the chief members of the company who set out to oppose the Dark Lord Sauron. The Lord of the Rings was written as a single continuous novel but published in three parts; The Fellowship of the Ring comprises the first two of its six internal books.

The volume opens in the peaceful Shire and follows the One Ring from a quiet inheritance to the launching of a perilous mission that will decide the fate of Middle-earth.

Overview

The story begins with Bilbo Baggins's farewell celebration in the Shire, at which he passes his magic ring to his heir Frodo Baggins. The wizard Gandalf discovers that the ring is in fact the One Ring of Sauron, and that it must be taken away from the Shire before the Dark Lord's servants find it. Frodo sets out with his companions Sam, Merry, and Pippin, pursued by the dreadful Ringwraiths.

After perils on the road and a desperate flight to the Elf-haven of Rivendell, the Council of Elrond determines that the One Ring must be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom where it was made. A company of nine, the Fellowship of the Ring, is formed to aid the Ring-bearer: Frodo and the three other hobbits, the wizard Gandalf, the men Aragorn and Boromir, the Elf Legolas, and the Dwarf Gimli. Their journey takes them through the mines of Moria, where Gandalf falls battling a Balrog, and on to the Elven realm of Lothlórien, before the Fellowship begins to break apart.

Place in the series

The Fellowship of the Ring establishes the central quest and the principal heroes of The Lord of the Rings. Its key viewpoint character is Frodo Baggins, with much of the tale following the hobbits, and it ends with the company sundered, setting up the divided narratives of The Two Towers.

Publication

The Fellowship of the Ring was first published in 1954 by George Allen and Unwin, the first part of The Lord of the Rings to appear. It was followed within months by the second volume.