Today marks an event of special magnificence my dear Hobbits, Dwarves, Elves, and Men. Today we celebrate 60 years of The Fellowship of the Ring, the first instalment of The Lord of the Rings. Originally, J.R.R. Tolkien wanted to publish LOTR in one volume, but George Allen & Unwin decided to divide LOTR into three books due to high prices for paper during the post-war period.
When FOTR was released in 1954, W. H. Auden expressed his excitement in a book review for the NY Times: “No fiction I have read in the last five years has given me more joy than The Fellowship of the Ring.” (You can read the full review over here). Over the decades, FOTR captured the imagination and fascination of innumerable readers across the globe. The impact of LOTR on the fantasy genre or popular culture is so immense it is difficult to imagine what the world would look like if the LOTR hasn’t been published.
So lets gather together and celebrate my dear Bagginses and Boffins, Tooks and Brandybucks, Grubbs, Chubbs, Hornblowers, Bolgers, Bracegirdles and Proudfoots. One of the simplest ways to celebrate this day is to open the book and read! Sometimes it’s the simple things in life that make one the truly happy. Have a tree nearby? Great, go and read underneath that tree! If you have the desire and time to do more, you could of course devote some time to gardening and make Sam proud. You could also bake Lembas, enjoy a second breakfast and raise a toast to the Professor while doing that. If you want to engage with other people, you should check out your local Tolkien Society (a good starting point would be the tolkiensociety.org ). Maybe there is an upcoming Tolkien related event near you! In the meantime you could post a LOTR reading selfie using the hashtag #lotr60.
Do you have any other ideas on how to celebrate 60 years of LOTR? Let us know and leave a comment down below!
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