How Long Did It Take J.R.R. Tolkien to Write The Lord of The Rings?

Q: How Long Did It Take J.R.R. Tolkien to Write The Lord of The Rings?

ANSWER: Ask anyone how long it took J.R.R. Tolkien to write The Lord of the Rings and they will probably say something like 11 or 12 years. But is that really the correct answer?

Tolkien began working on the story in late 1937. He completed a semi-final draft of the main narrative in 1948 but by 1950 J.R.R. Tolkien had begun working on the Appendices. He paused his work to make changes to the background material that would be compatible with the published 2nd edition of The Hobbit. When The Lord of the Rings was finally accepted for publication Tolkien made numerous changes on the galley proofs, even rewriting many paragraphs. The final galley proofs were sent to the publisher in 1954 or 1955.

It would thus be more accurate to suggest that it took about 17 years (allowing for some breaks) from start to finish for J.R.R. Tolkien to write The Lord of the Rings. And yet, even after the book was published he continued to make changes. There was only one formally announced 2nd edition of The Lord of the Rings, which was published in 1965, but it would not be until 1987 that nearly all of Tolkien’s textual changes would be incorporated into a new edition edited by Douglas Anderson (the so-called “white edition”). And yet in 1994 HarperCollins issued an even more complete edition incorporating further corrections.

So, how long did it take J.R.R. Tolkien to write The Lord of the Rings? More than 12 years. That’s about all we can be sure of.

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