J.R.R. Tolkien wrote several stories set in Middle-earth along with The Lord of the Rings, each taking place at different points in this fictional universe's timeline. Of course, with many of these books being prequels to Frodo's story, it can sometimes be confusing to pinpoint a reading order. Those looking to get into Tolkien's Middle-earth works can choose between the chronological and release date orders, and both come with pros and cons.

Tolkien's first book set in Middle-earth was The Hobbit, and he expanded his world from there. His The Lord of the Rings books became the figurehead for the overall franchise, and, thanks to Peter Jackson's film trilogy, is what often comes to mind when thinking of Tolkien. However, the author constructed a deep and complex lore for Middle-earth and wrote dozens of stories that spanned thousands of years across his meticulous timeline. Though these were released years after Tolkien's death, many were set centuries before Frodo's story.

How To Read J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings Books In Chronological Order

Tolkien's Middle-Earth Stories In Order From Creation To The End Of The Third Age

Those looking to read all the Lord of the Rings books in chronological order will have to begin with the universe's creation. Tolkien's The Silmarillion outlines the birth of time and space, with everything brought into being by a supreme god called Eru Ilúvatar. From here, the posthumously published book describes the creation of the Ainur — the Valar and Maiar — who assisted Eru in creating Arda (the World).

There are multiple books that follow on from The Silmarillion, and most of these follow the same format (in that they read more like world-building historical s rather than being coherent stories with a traditional narrative arc). While The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are easily the most recognized books in Tolkien's Middle-earth mythos, they're actually at the end of the chronological reading order, with The Return of the King being the final events in the fictional world Tolkien wrote on.

The Silmarillion

The first novel when reading the J.R.R. Tolkien books in chronological order is The Silmarillion, which serves as an of the creation of Middle-earth as it appears in later stories like The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It takes place thousands of years before The Hobbit, and begins with the creation of Middle-earth itself. The Silmarillion carries on into the years before Elves and Men wake in Middle-earth, their eventual rise, and the destruction caused by the Dark Lord Morgoth.

The Silmarillion covers thousands of years of Middle-earth's history in a single volume, and is widely regarded as the most challenging of all J.R.R. Tolkien's books to finish. It was published posthumously in 1977, with various parts completed by Tolkien's son, Christopher Tolkien. Morgoth's defeat marks the end of The Silmarillion and the end of the First Age of Middle-earth. However, it does delver into a few details of events during the Second Age (when The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is set) and the Third Age prior to the events of The Hobbit and LOTR.

Unfinished Tales Of Númenor & Middle-earth

After The Silmarillion it gets a little tricky reading J.R.R. Tolkien's books in chronological order (until The Hobbit, at least) because there's significant overlap. Many of the next books in the chronology tell stories that are also included in the Silmarillion, though there are some differences in how certain events play out. This is because, like The Silmarillion, they were all released posthumously and were incomplete, with Christopher Tolkien finishing his father's work based on J.R.R's notes.

The next book in the timeline order is Unfinished Tales Of Numenor & Middle-Earth, which covers more-or-less the same time period as The Silmarillion but from a different perspective. Unfinished Tales Of Numenor & Middle-Earth also outlines the creation of the universe, but rather than ending with the First Age, it continues all the way to the destruction of the One Ring. Though this takes us to the end of the chronology, its First Age stories place it earlier in the lineup.

Beren And Lúhien, The Children of Húrin, And The Fall of Gondolin

Following on from both Unfinished Tales Of Numenor & Middle-Earth and The Silmarillion are three stories that follow a more traditional narrative format, rather than being a collated collection of expanded notes and essays. These are Beren and Lúhien, The Children of Húrin, and The Fall of Gondolin. The trio sit together in the chronological order of J.R.R. Tolkien books because they all take place within roughly the same time period from the year 464 of the First Age through to 510 in the same era.

Theres three individual novels (all posthumously published) go more in-depth into First Age stories discussed in The Silmarillion. Beren and Lúthien is Tolkien's most famous love story and takes place in the First Age from 464 to 503. Romance isn't an aspect that's explored much in The Lord of the Rings, although it has its moments through characters like Arwen and Aragorn. Beren and Lúthien, however, is a love story through and through, focusing entirely on the doomed titular couple. There are many parallels with Arwen and Aragorn, including Lúthien giving up her elven immortality to share her lover's fate.

The next book in the Middle-earth timeline is The Children Of Húrin, which follows the tragic story of Húrin's cursed descendants and is set around the same time as Beren and Lúthien. It's an epic fantasy tale that feels similar to The Lord of the Rings trilogy in of structure, and was completed by Christopher Tolkien in the early 2000s based on multiple manuscript drafts written by J.R.R. from 1910 to his death in 1973.

The final book in the trio, which is often referred to as the "Great Tales" trilogy, is The Fall of Gondolin. The Fall of Gondolin tells the story of the Secret City, which was destroyed by Morgoth's forces after its location was betrayed. In canon, Gondolin was destroyed in SA 510, so the book is set shortly after the previous two novels. Interestingly, The Fall of Gondolin is one of the first Middle-earth stories J.R.R Tolkien committed to paper, as he wrote the earliest draft in the trenches of WWI.

The Fall Of Númenor

Following on from the Great Tales trilogy in the J.R.R. Tolkien Middle-earth timeline is the 2022 anthology The Fall of Númenor: And Other Tales from the Second Age of Middle-Earth. This story takes place several millennia after the events of The Fall of Gondolin, and the Middle-earth it takes place in is thus markedly different in of the various kingdoms that exist and locations on the map.

The Fall Of Númenor is the only Tolkien novel set in the Second Age of Middle-earth. It tells of the downfall of the island kingdom of Númenor, an event depicted in Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. It's also the first book in the J.R.R Tolkien chronological order that only covers a single year of narrative, with the central story taking place almost entirely in the year 3319 of the second age.

The Hobbit

While it's one of the most well known books in J.R.R. Tolkien's bibliography (second only to The Lord of the Rings trilogy), The Hobbit arrives almost at the end of the chronological order. The events of The Hobbit take place in the years 2941 and 2942 of the Third Age, several millennia after The Fall of Númenor and around 60 years before The Fellowship of the Ring. There aren't any J.R.R Tolkien stories that take place between The Hobbit and the end of the Second Age, though he references several different events in books like The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales Of Númenor & Middle-earth.

There are a few stories in The Book of Lost Tales 1 and The Book of Lost Tales 2, which were released in 1983 and 1984 respectively, but these are among the least fleshed-out of Tolkien's writings on key events in the history of Middle-earth. For example, the chapter "Cirion and Eorl" gives a brief description on how the alliance between Rohan and Gondor was forged, but isn't really detailed enough to be considered a story in its own right.

The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy

The final books in the chronological Middle-earth reading order are also J.R.R. Tolkien's most well-known. These are, of course, the Lord of the Rings novels — The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. The Lord of the Rings is set The Hobbit, although Tolkien wrote very little on key events that happened in this period. There are a few stories in Unfinished Tales Of Númenor & Middle-earth that take place during this timeframe, though Tolkien's trend of writing little of the Third Age beyond the events of the central novels didn't change.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy takes place over four years, starting in the year 3018 of the Third Age and ending in the year 3021. Each book takes place over the course of a single year, with the exception of The Return of the King, which is set between 3019 and 3021. There are no books that take place after The Lord of the Rings written by J.R.R. Tolkien, though it's been confirmed that the animated movie The War of the Rohirrim will expand on the Fourth Age of Middle-earth for the first time.

The Lord of the Rings were initially published as six books but were later republished as three.

How To Read J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings Books In Release Order

Tolkien's Middle-Earth Books Weren't Released In Chronological Order

The release dates of Tolkien's works differ significantly from the chronology. The author originally published The Hobbit as a stand-alone novel in 1937, and it wasn't until many years later that he decided to expand the story with the Lord of the Rings books. These were the only Middle-earth novels to be published before Tolkien died in 1973, but he had written innumerable notes and stories about his fictional world, which were collected and published by his son, Christopher Tolkien, in the following years.

Ultimately, there's no wrong way to enjoy Tolkien's life's work, so long as the magic is thoroughly savored and enjoyed.

The Lord of the Rings is a rare case in which the release-year order may be preferred to the chronological one. The Silmarillion is written more like a textbook than a novel, and it is far easier to read with the context of The Lord of the Rings to build upon. However, since the stories of Beren and Lúthien and The Fall of Gondolin are mentioned in the Lord of the Rings books, there may be some value in reading these stories first. Ultimately, there's no wrong way to enjoy Tolkien's life's work, so long as the magic is thoroughly savored and enjoyed.