J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings was published in three volumes. The volumes are The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King.
Although the work is commonly described as a trilogy, Tolkien conceived it as one continuous novel rather than three independent stories. Paper shortages and production costs after World War II helped lead publisher George Allen & Unwin to issue it in separate volumes between 1954 and 1955.
Each volume is divided into two books, so the complete novel contains six internal books plus appendices. This structure can cause confusion: “three volumes” refers to the publication format, while “six books” refers to Tolkien’s internal organization. The three-part format also influenced later adaptations, including Peter Jackson’s film trilogy.