What is considered to be the most important fantasy epic of the 20th century roars to a close in this third and final volume of THE LORD OF THE RINGS. The armies of the West mass for their final assault upon the forces of Sauron, but they have little hope of prevailing against the Dark Lord. All depends on whether the Ring-bearer Frodo will complete his quest, and destroy Sauron's Ring of Power in the fires of Mount Doom. But Frodo is imprisoned in the dungeons of Mordor. Are the quest--and Middle-earth--doomed? There are very few fantasy writers who can claim to be as detailed a world-builder as Tolkien was, and that comes to the fore in this book, as it contains over one hundred pages of appendices concerning the history, cultures, and languages of the peoples of Middle-earth, including the ultimate destinies of most of the main characters in the story

约翰·罗纳德·鲁埃尔·托尔金（1892—1973）是牛津大学教授，古英语专家，写了不少小说，其中最著名的是《霍比特人》（又译作《小矮人历险记》〈1937〉）与《魔戒》（1954—1955）。

托尔金是日耳曼人后裔，他的父系祖先十八世纪从萨克森移居英国，父亲是银行职员，母亲家族则是当地人。童年托尔金的家境窘迫，四岁时父亲客死他乡，十二岁时，母亲死于糖尿病，这在当时是不治之症。他与弟弟成了孤儿，由法兰西斯神父抚养。