How To Read The Lord of the Rings & J.R.R. Tolkien's Other Books In Order
Your chronological guide to the complete Middle Earth saga.
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Way back in 2017, when it was announced that Amazon had acquired the rights to Lord of the Rings and planned to produce a new series adaptation, a lot of fans were deeply skeptical. After all, it's been less than two decades since Peter Jackson's groundbreaking movie trilogy was released, and after such a near-perfect adaptation, what possible reason could there be to do a reboot?
But then, as more information was revealed, it became clear that the new series wasn't going to be a retread of the movie series. In fact, creators J. D. Payne & Patrick McKay aren't allowed to depict any of the events that took place in the movies' timeline. Instead, the Tolkien estate gave them permission to create a prequel series, set during the Second Age of Middle-earth.
The Second Age spans more than 3000 years, and per The Guardian it begins with the dark lord Morgoth being banished, and ends with the defeat of the Dark Lord, Sauron, at the hand of Isildur—these events are depicted briefly in the opening sequence of the first movie, The Fellowship of the Ring. That intro aside, the main Lord of the Rings timeline involving Frodo, Gollum, the Fellowship et al, takes place during the Third Age, so any crossover will be minimal.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is being pitched as "a new epic journey in Middle-earth”, and will focus on events that author J.R.R. Tolkien only sketched out in broad strokes in his novels. But with that being said, the series will still be relying heavily on Tolkien's books, as well as their appendices, and a collection of short stories and essays titled Unfinished Tales. So in other words, the series isn't actually based on Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books, but does draw from many of the events referenced within them, as well as his other works.
If you're hoping to get caught up on the various source material before you binge the series, you may already be feeling overwhelmed—but fear not. While the backstory of Middle-earth may be intricate and complicated, the chronology of Tolkien's various published works is relatively simple. Here's exactly how to read them all in order.
If you want to do a truly chronological read of the Middle-earth series, The Silmarillion is where you need to start—but be warned, it's an infamously tough read. Originally rejected by Tolkien's publisher for being too obscure and dense, this collection of stories was finally published posthumously in 1967, after being edited by his son Christopher Tolkien. The Silmarillion tells a number of epic tales set in Middle-earth and surrounding regions, all of which deal with the fight between good and evil.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Beren and Lúthien
The first of three "great tales" set during the First Age of Middle-earth, Beren and Lúthien follows the romance between a mortal man, Beren, and an immortal Elf, Lúthien. If this sounds familiar, the parallel is intentional—in Lord of the Rings, Aragorn and Arwen are direct descendants of Beren and Lúthien, and their star-crossed fates are aligned.
Houghton Mifflin The Children of Hurin
The second "great tale" set during Middle-earth's First Age, The Children of Hurin is often considered to be one of Tolkien's darkest stories. The book follows Túrin and Niënor Turambar, and their desperate attempts to fight against fate after their family is cursed by the Dark Lord Morgoth.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt The Fall Of Gondolin
The third and final "great tale" of Middle-earth's First Age, The Fall Of Gondolin is an epic historical story following the battle between Morgoth, the Dark Lord, and the holy warrior Ulmo.
Mariner Books Unfinished Tales Of Númenor And Middle-Earth
Like many of the early entries on this list, Unfinished Tales was published posthumously after extensive work by J.R.R. Tolkien's son, Christopher Tolkien. This collection of short stories and essays fills in a lot of gaps and provides plenty of context for events we'll later see in The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings—Gandalf features heavily, as do the Riders of Rohan and the Nazgûl.
Milking this 300-page book into a movie trilogy was arguably a terrible idea, but don't let that put you off going back to the original text, which is a delight. The first of Tolkien's books to be published, The Hobbit centers on Bilbo Baggins, an ordinary hobbit sent on an extraordinary mission to help a group of dwarves recover their stolen treasure from a dragon. But along the way, Bilbo happens upon a mysterious ring, and decides to take it home. Because what's the worst that could happen...?
Mariner Books The Fellowship Of The Ring
The first novel in the Lord of the Rings trilogy has echoes of The Hobbit: Gandalf enlists Bilbo's nephew, Frodo Baggins, to take on the unenviable task of destroying the cursed ring that his uncle brought home, before the dark lord Sauron can use it to enslave Middle-earth. A fellowship of heroes gradually assembles around Frodo, including three of his faithful hobbit friends, an elf, a dwarf, and two men whose fates are tied to the crumbling kingdom of Gondor.
The fellowship is splintered in the second Lord of the Rings installment: Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli are drawn into a battle to defend the kingdom of Rohan. Frodo and Sam begin their treacherous journey to Mount Doom, now with the twisted creature Gollum in tow. And Merry and Pippin... spend a lot of time with some talking trees.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy wraps up with a sweeping and emotional final chapter, as Gandalf and Aragorn lead the charge against Sauron's army, while Frodo and Sam are physically and psychologically tested by their quest to destroy the One Ring.
Emma Dibdin is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles who writes about culture, mental health, and true crime. She loves owls, hates cilantro, and can find the queer subtext in literally anything.
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