Few twentieth-century authors can compete with J.R.R. Tolkien. More than three-quarters of a century after the publication of The Hobbit in 1937, his works continue to captivate millions of readers across the world. As a collection of papers delivered in 2012 at the Tolkien Society's international conference of the same name, The Return of the Ring is representative of the wide and varied responses Tolkien's works have generated over the decades. The first volume focuses primarily on Tolkien's life, examining the influence of war, philosophy, and religion on his...

Few twentieth-century authors can compete with J.R.R. Tolkien. More than three-quarters of a century after the publication of The Hobbit in 1937, his works continue to captivate millions of readers across the world. As a collection of papers delivered in 2012 at the Tolkien Society's international conference of the same name, The Return of the Ring is representative of the wide and varied responses Tolkien's works have generated over the decades. The first volume focuses primarily on Tolkien's life, examining the influence of war, philosophy, and religion on his...