The Return of the King
- Published
- 20 October 1955
- Pages
- 495
- ISBN-13
- 9780358380252
- Type
- novel
About this book
The Return of the King closed out the three-volume publication a full year after the first, in October 1955, at 495 pages -- the longest of the three volumes, though Tolkien wrote all three as a single continuous novel.
Key facts about The Return of the King
J. R. R. Tolkien wrote The Return of the King, a novel on our list. It has been out since 20 October 1955. The book has 495 pages.
We list 3 editions of this novel. Since each edition has its own ISBN, search for 9780358380252 to find the main one.
The Return of the King is book 3 of 3 in The Lord of the Rings series. The series has 3 published books. However, the series starts with The Fellowship of the Ring (1954). It is also the latest book in the series with a full release date.
That series sits on our epic fantasy shelf. Meanwhile, The Bovadium Fragments is the latest published J. R. R. Tolkien book on file, from 2025.
About J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien (1892-1973) was a British philologist and novelist whose The Lord of the Rings, published in three volumes between 1954 and 1955, effectively created the modern epic fantasy genre and remains one of the best-selling novels ever written. See every J. R. R. Tolkien book in order.
Its place in The Lord of the Rings
The Return of the King is book 3 in the The Lord of the Rings series. It follows The Two Towers. See the full The Lord of the Rings reading order.
When the hobbit Frodo Baggins inherits a plain gold ring from his uncle Bilbo, he learns it is the One Ring — the master weapon forged by the Dark Lord Sauron to dominate Middle-earth, lost for centuries and now hunted again. Frodo leaves the safety of the Shire with a small fellowship of men, elves, dwarves and hobbits, and the story splits into two journeys: the desperate trek to destroy the Ring in the fires of Mount Doom, and the gathering war to hold off Sauron's armies while that quest has any chance of…
Editions
- edition · unknown publisher · — · ISBN 9780358380252
- edition · unknown publisher · — · ISBN 9782070612901
- edition · unknown publisher · — · ISBN 9788324133086