While Tolkien had already mentally divided his story into 6, his publisher wasn't keen on this idea either. Tolkien's initial insistence that The Lord of the Rings be published in its entirety was rebuffed by several prospective publishers, and the author was forced to drop this request out of fear that The Lord of the Rings might not see the light of day at all. Unfortunately, the publishing company didn't agree on either count. Instead, the entire story from Bag End to Mordor and back again was penned as a single, giant tome, which Tolkien hoped would then be followed by a second work, The Silmarillion. Upon completion, The Lord of the Rings was divided into six books by the author, and although he wanted it published in one hit, Tolkien confirmed in his letters that he thought of this new Middle-earth adventure as six separate books.

Here's why The Lord of the Rings is often considered to be six books, and how Amazon's new Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power show fits in with the movies.Īccording to Tolkien's private letters released to the public in the 1980s, the writer did not envision or create The Lord of the Rings as a three-part saga. Although Peter Jackson's initial trilogy provides a fairly direct adaptation of The Lord of the Rings' story, the source material is far from straightforward, particularly when it comes to The Rings of Power. With Amazon's Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power debuting in 2022, the question of exactly how Tolkien's writings have been categorized and interpreted over the years becomes even more relevant and interesting. Related: Lord Of The Rings: Saruman's Movie Death Explained (& Why It Was Cut) Unlike The Hobbit, which was intended and released as a single work, things got complicated with The Lord of the Rings. The legendary author had already enjoyed success with The Hobbit and was encouraged to write a follow-up, in addition to his ongoing work on Lord of the Rings' relative, The Silmarillion.

In fact, this structure has been in place for so long that Tolkien's original intentions have been mostly forgotten. The release of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy also consolidated the idea that the story is split into 3 parts, although this notion had already been firmly established by half a century of printing LOTR in three chunky installments.

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