Lord of the Rings: Journey Begins, Mosaic

The story of the The Lord of the Rings was originally published in three volumes, entitled The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King.

The Lord of the Rings has had a profound and wide-ranging impact on popular culture, from its publication in the 1950s, but especially throughout the 1960s and 1970s, where young people embraced it as a countercultural saga - "Frodo Lives!" and "Gandalf for President" were two phrases popular among American Tolkien fans during this time.

The Lord of the Rings has received mixed reviews since its inception, ranging from terrible to excellent. Recent reviews in various media have been, in a majority, highly positive and Tolkien's literary achievement is slowly being acknowledged as a significant one. On its initial review the Sunday Telegraph felt it was "among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the twentieth century." The Sunday Times seemed to echo these sentiments when in its review it was stated that "the English-speaking world is divided into those who have read The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and those who are going to read them." The New York Herald Tribune also seemed to have an idea of how popular the books would become, writing in its review that they were "destined to outlast our time." W. H. Auden, a huge admirer of Tolkien's writings, regarded 'The Lord of the Rings' as a 'masterpiece,' furthermore stating that in some cases it outdid the achievement of Milton's Paradise Lost. Other supporters of the book from the literary world included Iris Murdoch, Naomi Mitchison, Richard Hughes and C. S. Lewis.

 
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