The Lord of the Rings: Difference between revisions

| author = [[wikipedia:J. R. R. Tolkien|J. R. R. Tolkien]]

| publisher = [[wikipedia:Allen & Unwin|Allen & Unwin]]

'''''The Lord of the Rings''''' is an [[wikipedia:Epic (genre)|epic]]<ref>{{cite book |title=The Lord of the Rings: Tolkien's Epic |work=Tolkien's Art: A Mythology for England |last=Chance |first=Jane <!--Nitzsche, at that time--> |authorlink=[[wikipedia:Jane Chance|Jane Chance]] |publisher=Macmillan |year=1980 |origyear=1979 |isbn=0333290348 |pp=97–127}}</ref> [[wikipedia:high-fantasy|high-fantasy]] novel{{efn|[[wikipedia:J. R. R. Tolkien|J. R. R. Tolkien]] did not like it when the word "novel" was used to describe his works, but the term is commonly applied. He preferred the phrase "heroic romance".<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Carpenter|1981|loc=letter #329 to Peter Szabo Szentmihalyi, October 1971}}</ref>}} by the English author and scholar [[wikipedia:J. R. R. Tolkien|J. R. R. Tolkien]]. Set in [[wikipedia:Middle-earth|Middle-earth]], the world at some distant time in the past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''[[wikipedia:The Hobbit|The Hobbit]]'', but eventually developed into a much larger work. Written in stages between 1937 and 1949, ''The Lord of the Rings'' is one of the [[wikipedia:List of best-selling books|best-selling books ever written]]<!--See Talk Page-there is no definitive list of best-sellers-->, with over 150 million copies sold.<ref name="thestar">{{cite web |last=Wagner |first=Vit |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/203389 |title=Tolkien proves he's still the king |work=[[wikipedia:Toronto Star|Toronto Star]] |date=16 April 2007 |accessdate=8 March 2011|url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110309035210/http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/203389 |archivedate=9 March 2011}}</ref>