Which British publishing house first published The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings?

George Allen & Unwin first published both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

The London firm George Allen & Unwin published The Hobbit in 1937 after Tolkien submitted the manuscript. The book became a major success, creating strong demand for another story set in the same wider world. Tolkien then spent years developing The Lord of the Rings.

The company published The Fellowship of the Ring in 1954, followed by The Two Towers and The Return of the King in the same year. Although the novel is commonly discussed as one work, it was issued in three volumes because of production and cost considerations.

The publisher’s chairman, Sir Stanley Unwin, played an important role in supporting Tolkien’s work. George Allen & Unwin later became part of larger publishing groups, but its association with Tolkien’s major Middle-earth books remains central to the history of modern fantasy publishing.