The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

Reproduced with kind permission of The Tolkien Estate Limited for the Bodleian Libraries exhibition Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth. The little hobbit and his trusty companion make a terrible journey to the heart of the land of the Shadow in a final reckoning with the power of Sauron. Tolkien had designed for The Fellowship of the Ring. Identity and the three volumes were issued with a dust jacket that Sauron can be seen, top left, stretching out his arm from the east.Īs the publication date approached his publisher decided (and TolkienĪgreed) that one single dust jacket design would create a stronger

The king: seven stars and one white tree. Gandalf has miraculously returned and defeated the evil wizard. It shows the empty throne of GondorĪwaiting the return of the king. Tolkien invited readers to take courage and join in the last battle. Merry and Pippin, captured by Orcs, escape into Fangorn Forest and there encounter the Ents. He preferred the former which he thought less likely to divulge theĮnding but his publisher preferred the latter. Of the Ring' or 'The Return of the King' for the final volume. The Return of the King Being the Third Part of The Lord of the Rings 50th Anniversary ed. Early in 1953 he suggested either 'The War Subtitles for the three volumes under the overall title of The Publish it in three volumes, creating books of a more manageable size Were faced with the technical problem of producing a book which wasĮstimated to run to over one thousand pages. Unwin agreed to publish The Lord of the Rings in 1952, they Title: Dust jacket design for The Return of the King Artist: J.R.R.

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien