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

First editions. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the most popular and influential works of literature in the 20th century, depicting an extraordinarily detailed mythological world. C. S. Lewis wrote that "no imaginary world has been projected which is at once as multifarious and so true to its own inner laws; none so seemingly objective, so disinfected from the taint of an author's merely individual psychology; none so relevant to the actual human situation yet so free from allegory". Tolkien, a noted scholar of Old English, began writing the trilogy in December 1937, long after his service in the First World War. Hammond & Anderson A5a(i-iii). 3 vols, octavo (214 x 137 mm). Finely bound by the Chelsea Bindery in red morocco, spines lettered and decorated gilt, "Eye of Sauron" to front boards gilt, dark green endpapers, gilt edges. Housed in a red leather entry slipcase. The occasional minor blemish. An excellent set finely bound.