J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings was complete in its first publication in 1955.
The work was published in three volumes: The Fellowship of the Ring in 1954, followed by The Two Towers and The Return of the King in 1955. The final volume appeared on 20 October 1955, completing the original publication sequence.
Although commonly called a trilogy, Tolkien conceived The Lord of the Rings as one long novel. The three-volume format reflected publishing and production considerations rather than three entirely separate stories.
Readers sometimes give 1954 as the publication year for the whole work because the first volume appeared then. The complete first publication, however, spans 1954 and 1955, with 1955 marking its conclusion.