The first volume of The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, was first published on July 21, 1954. It's difficult to think of a more influential book in the last 60 years, one that completely transformed (reinvented?) its genre.
Love it or hate it, it's hard to imagine a world with no Lord of the Rings. Without it, there'd likely be no fantasy genre as we know it, no Star Wars, no a lot of things.
(Note: This is the first of a series of Celebrations that will be posted on this blog over the next several months, marking birthdays or death days of favorite children's writers, or the publication date of important books. Other UCW bloggers are welcome to write their own Celebrations of their own favorites.)
4 comments:
I'm a total Lord of the Rings fan. I even love the Hobbit which most people can't even read.
What you say is so true . . . Lord of the Rings opened doors for a lot of authors.
I love the Hobbit too. The Silmarillion was a one-time read, though.
The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales were both very challenging--more like an academic exercise than a story. But I was astounded at the added depth and significance I found in the main story when I went back to The Lord of the Rings knowing the stories behind the stories behind the references to the First and Second ages.
Reading The Silmarillion is not something I would recommend for everyone, but if you have the interest, and the patience, it's a worthwhile endeavor.
Love Lord of the Rings and the Silmarillion. Could Tolkein be a bigger genius?! What an imagination! I heard Christopher Lee say he reads the trilogy once a year!
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