Cover of The Return of the Shadow

The Return of the Shadow

lore reference reference 1988 Middle-earth

Record

First published1988
Original language EN
Work typereference
Canon statuslore reference
First-edition ISBN9780395498637
Volume within its reference series6

Synopsis

The Return of the Shadow, published in 1988, is the sixth volume of the History of Middle-earth series and the first volume documenting the writing of The Lord of the Rings. It traces the early drafting of what became The Fellowship of the Ring, up through the Fellowship's entry into the Mines of Moria, showing how elements like Bilbo's ring and the hobbit "Trotter" evolved into their final forms.

Where it sits

  • Universe: Middle-earth
  • Series: The History of Middle-earth lore reference; position 6 of 12 in the series' recorded order
  • Author: J.R.R. Tolkien

Notes

  • From the series record (The History of Middle-earth): 12-volume posthumous series (1983-1996), edited by Christopher Tolkien.

Neighbouring works

Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.

Sources

← Middle-earth dossier · All universes

Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.