The Lord of the Rings. The Fellowship of the Ring; The Two Towers; The Return of the King.

Tolkien's modern classic, The Lord of the Rings. Named Britain's best book in the BBC's inaugural The Big Read survey of 2003, The Lord of the Rings regularly features in lists of the world's greatest novels, and continues to be one of the most published works of all time. Found here in the original dust-jackets and slipcase, with the maps in good working order. At first, Tolkien intended the books to be a children's tale in the style of The Hobbit but The Lord of the Rings quickly grew darker and more serious in tone. Though a direct sequel to The Hobbit, it addressed an older audience, drawing on the immense back-story of Beleriand that Tolkien had constructed in previous years and which eventually saw posthumous publication in The Silmarillion and other volumes. Tolkien's influence continues to weigh heavily on the fantasy genre, the popularity of which grew following the success of The Lord of the Rings. First edition, twelfth, ninth and ninth impressions; 3 vols, 8vo (230 x 150 mm); each vol. with folding map printed in red and black to rear; publisher's red cloth, spines lettered in gilt, top edges red, foot of spine a little bumped to vol. I, in the original unclipped pictorial dust-jackets, spines uniformly toned, front panel of vol. III lightly sunned, housed in the original publisher's slipcase, toning to edges of label, a few marks and scuffs, a very good set.…