What are the three volumes of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings collectively called?

The three volumes are collectively called The Lord of the Rings.

Tolkien’s epic was published in three volumes: The Fellowship of the Ring in 1954, and The Two Towers and The Return of the King in 1955. Although often called a trilogy, Tolkien conceived it as one continuous novel rather than three independent stories.

The work follows Frodo Baggins and his companions as they attempt to destroy the One Ring, while Aragorn, Gandalf, and many others resist Sauron’s return. The volumes divide the narrative for publication, but their plot and mythology are closely connected.

A frequent misconception is that the book was written as three separate novels from the start. Tolkien instead described it as a single large work, and production and printing constraints helped determine its three-volume publication format.