The Lord of the Rings is an epic high fantasy novel written by the English author and scholar [[author:ScTz3ifarWJxpU2rZ2SPF|J. R. R. Tolkien]]. Set in [[universe:3dad4dSlhZcM6SXDXw20Y|Middle-earth]], the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book The Hobbit but eventually developed into a much larger work. Written in stages between 1937 and 1949, The Lord of the Rings is one of the best-selling books ever written, with over 150 million copies sold.