The Fellowship of the Ring was published in 1954 as the first volume of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.
George Allen & Unwin published the volume in the United Kingdom on 29 July 1954. The second volume, The Two Towers, followed later that year, and The Return of the King appeared in 1955. Tolkien’s publisher released the story in three volumes because of production and cost considerations, not because Tolkien originally conceived it as a conventional trilogy.
The book begins in the Shire and follows Frodo Baggins after Bilbo leaves him the One Ring. The Fellowship is formed at Rivendell, bringing together representatives of several peoples and the wizard Gandalf.
Some readers confuse the publication date with the dates of the later Peter Jackson film adaptations. The first film, The Fellowship of the Ring, arrived in 2001, nearly half a century after the novel. Tolkien’s book also contains material and pacing that differ substantially from the film.