"The Return of the King" 60th Anniversary
Today, The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings: Part 3 ) turns 60 years old. This also marked the conclusion The Lord of the Rings , 60 years ago. When Tolkien became aware that The Lord of the Rings would be too large to publish as one volume, he envisioned the split as 6 books, rather than 3. Three were published as The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings: Part 1 , July 29, 1954), The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings: Part 2 , November 11, 1954) and finally, The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings: Part 3 , October 20, 1955). Tolkien originally wanted to title The Return of the King , as The War of the Ring.