The Lord of the Rings 2. The Two Towers

The Company of the Ring is sundered. Frodo and Sam continue their journey alone down the great River Anduin - alone that is, save for a mysterious creeping figure that follows wherever they go.

J.R.R.Tolkien (1892-1973) was a distinguished academic, though he is best known for writing The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and The Children of Hurin, plus other stories and essays. His books have been translated into over 50 languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.

'Tolkien's invention of strange peoples, curious incidents, miraculous doings, is poured out in this second volume of his trilogy as exuberantly and convincingly in a dreamlike way, as ever. As the story goes on the world of the Ring grows more vast and mysterious and crowded with curious figures, horrible, delightful or comic. The story itself is superb.' The Observer 'Among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the twentieth century.' Sunday Telegraph