J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings was published as a complete trilogy in 1955.
The work appeared in three volumes: The Fellowship of the Ring in 1954, The Two Towers later in 1954, and The Return of the King in 1955. The final volume’s publication completed the original British release of the story.
Although readers often call it a trilogy, Tolkien conceived The Lord of the Rings as one continuous novel. The division into three volumes was largely a publishing decision, influenced by printing and paper shortages after the Second World War. Each volume was still divided into two internal books.
The 1955 date refers to the completion of the first publication sequence, not the later American edition or the story’s fictional chronology. The novel follows the quest to destroy the One Ring and the struggle against Sauron across Middle-earth.