The Fellowship of the Ring

The Fellowship of the Ring – J.R.R. Tolkien

In the peaceful Shire, the hobbit Frodo Baggins inherits a plain gold ring from his eccentric relative Bilbo. But the wizard Gandalf soon discovers the terrible truth: it is the One Ring, forged long ago by the Dark Lord Sauron to rule all other rings of power and dominate Middle-earth. Sauron is rising again and searching for his Ring, and if he recovers it, all free peoples will fall under his shadow.

The Fellowship of the Ring, the first part of J. R. R. Tolkien’s epic The Lord of the Rings, follows Frodo as he leaves home with his loyal gardener Sam Gamgee and his friends Merry and Pippin, pursued by the sinister Black Riders. With the help of Strider, a mysterious ranger who is more than he seems, they reach the elven refuge of Rivendell, where a council of elves, dwarves and men decides that the Ring must be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom, in Sauron’s own land of Mordor.

A Fellowship of nine is formed to accompany Frodo: Gandalf, Strider, also known as Aragorn, the elf Legolas, the dwarf Gimli, Boromir of Gondor and the four hobbits. Their journey takes them through snowy mountains, the dark mines of Moria and the golden woods of Lothlórien, as they face terrible dangers and the growing pull of the Ring on those around it.

With its richly imagined world, languages and history, and its themes of friendship, courage, temptation and hope, the novel is one of the most influential works of fantasy ever written.

The Fellowship of the Ring is an essential read for fantasy lovers of all ages, followed by The Two Towers.