The Lord of the Rings » (Fully dramatized; 10.5 hours on 9 CDs)

It seems an unlikely formula for success: an Oxford professor of Anglo-Saxon, and a book that begins with a little man who lives in a hole in the ground. But The Hobbit, followed by The Lord of the Rings, created the modern genre of heroic fantasy and made J.R.R. Tolkien one of the most widely-read authors in the world.

A BBC radio full-cast dramatisation of the first book in JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Brian Sibley's famous 1981 adaptation, starring Ian Holm and Michael Hordern, has been divided into three corresponding parts, with newly-recorded beginning and end narration by Ian Holm.

Time Magazine

One of the great fairy-tale quests in modern literature.

CONTENTS
NOTE ON THE TEXT
FOREWORD TO THE SECOND EDITION
PROLOGUE CONCERNING HOBBITS, AND OTHER MATTERS
1. Concerning Hobbits
2. Concerning Pipe-weed
3. Of the Ordering of the Shire
4. Of the Finding of the Ring
NOTE ON THE SHIRE RECORDS
BOOK ONE
I A Long-expected Party
II The Shadow of the Past
III Three is Company
IV A Short Cut to Mushrooms
V A Conspiracy Unmasked
VI The Old Forest
VII In the House of Tom Bombadil
VIII Fog on the Barrow-Downs
IX At the Sign of The Prancing Pony
X Strider
XI A Knife in the Dark
XII Flight to the Ford
BOOK TWO
I Many Meetings
II The Council of Elrond
III The Ring Goes South
IV A Journey in the Dark
V The Bridge of Khazad-dûm
VI Lothlórien
VII The Mirror of Galadriel
VIII Farewell to Lórien
IX The Great River
X The Breaking of the Fellowship
SYNOPSIS
BOOK THREE
I The Departure of Boromir
II The Riders of Rohan
III The Uruk-Hai
IV Treebeard
V The White Rider
VI The King of the Golden Hall
VII Helm's Deep
VIII The Road to Isengard
IX Flotsam and Jetsam
X The Voice of Saruman 1111
XI The Palantír
BOOK FOUR
I The Taming of Sméagol
II The Passage of the Marshes
III The Black Gate is Closed
IV Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit
V The Window on the West
VI The Forbidden Pool
VII Journey to the Cross-roads
VIII The Stairs of Cirith Ungol
IX Shelob's Lair
X The Choices of Master Samwise
BOOK FIVE
I Minas Tirith
II The Passing of the Grey Company
III The Muster of Rohan
IV The Siege of Gondor
V The Ride of the Rohirrim
VI The Battle of the Pelennor Fields
VII The Pyre of Denethor
VIII The Houses of Healing
IX The Last Debate
X The Black Gate Opens
BOOK SIX
I The Tower of Cirith Ungol
II The Land of Shadow
III Mount Doom
IV The Field of Cormallen
V The Steward and the King
VI Many Partings
VII Homeward Bound
VIII The Scouring of the Shire
IX The Grey Havens
APPENDICES
A ANNALS OF THE KINGS AND RULERS
I The Númenorean Kings
II The House of Eorl
III Durin's Folk
B THE TALE OF YEARS
(CHRONOLOGY OF THE WESTLANDS)
C FAMILY TREES (HOBBITS)
D CALENDARS
E WRITING AND SPELLING
I Pronunciation of Words and Names
II Writing
F
I The Languages and Peoples of the Third Age
II On Translation
INDEXES
I Songs and Verses
II Persons, Beasts and Monsters
III Places
IV Things