First of the three books that made up the epic novel The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien spent many years in writing it (more than ten years according to his biography). According to Tolkien, it should have been a children's story as The Hobbit, but soon became darker and serious in the writing. Also the audience was different: it was not intended for children but for an older audience, drawing on other stories that later will be seen in The Silmarillion.