The History of The Lord of the Rings "The Lord of the Rings". J. R. R. Tolkien conceived the latter as a single volume comprising six "books" plus extensive appendices, but the original publisher split the work into three, publishing two books per volume with the appendices included in the third. The titles proposed by Tolkien for the six books were: Book I, "The First Journey" or "The Ring Sets Out"; Book II, "The Journey of the Nine Companions" or "The Ring Goes South"; Book III, "The Treason of Isengard"; Book IV, "The Journey of the Ring-Bearers" or "The Ring Goes East"; Book V, "The War of the
The Lord of the Rings and fantasy author Michael Moorcock critiques the world-view displayed by the book as deeply conservative, in both the "paternalism" of the narrative voice and the power-structures in the narrative. Tom Shippey cites the origin of this portrayal of evil as a reflection of the prejudices of European middle-classes during the inter-war years towards the industrial working class. Other observers have cited Christian, specifically Catholic, themes in "The Lord of the Rings". The book has been read as fitting the model of Joseph Campbell's "monomyth". "The Lord of the Rings" has been adapted for film, radio and stage. The book has