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The Thrifty Reader

The History of Middle-earth books in order

The History of Middle-earth by J. R. R. Tolkien has 12 books, published 1983–1996. Reading all of them takes about 99 hours (5,372 pages). 4 can be borrowed free from Open Library.

1The Book of Lost Ta… 2The Book of Lost Ta… 3The Lays of Beleria… 4The Shaping of Midd… 5The Lost Road and O… 6The Return of the S… 7The Treason of Isen… 8The War of the Ring 9Sauron Defeated 10Morgoth's Ring 11The War of the Jewe… 12The Peoples of Midd…
Spines are sized by page count. The orange dot marks a free ebook.

Reading order

  1. Book 1 · 1983

    The Book of Lost Tales

    304 pages, about 5.6 hours 4.2★ (12)

  2. Book 2 · 1984

    The Book of Lost Tales: Part II

    400 pages, about 7.3 hours 2.0★ (1)

    BORROW FREE

  3. Book 3 · 1985

    The Lays of Beleriand

    393 pages, about 7.2 hours 4.0★ (2)

    BORROW FREE

  4. Book 4 · 1986

    The Shaping of Middle-earth

    400 pages, about 7.3 hours 4.0★ (1)

  5. Book 5 · 1987

    The Lost Road and Other Writings

    460 pages, about 8.4 hours 4.0★ (1)

    BORROW FREE

  6. Book 6 · 1988

    The Return of the Shadow

    497 pages, about 9.1 hours 4.0★ (1)

    BORROW FREE

  7. Book 7 · 1989

    The Treason of Isengard

    504 pages, about 9.2 hours 4.5★ (2)

  8. Book 8 · 1990

    The War of the Ring

    486 pages, about 8.9 hours 4.0★ (1)

  9. Book 9 · 1992

    Sauron Defeated

    482 pages, about 8.8 hours 5.0★ (1)

  10. Book 10 · 1993

    Morgoth's Ring

    479 pages, about 8.8 hours 3.5★ (2)

  11. Book 11 · 1994

    The War of the Jewels

    470 pages, about 8.6 hours 3.5★ (2)

  12. Book 12 · 1996

    The Peoples of Middle-earth

    497 pages, about 9.1 hours 4.5★ (2)

Questions people ask

How many The History of Middle-earth books are there?

There are 12 books in the series, published 1983–1996.

Which The History of Middle-earth book should I read first?

Start with The Book of Lost Tales (1983), book 1. The list above is the reading order.

How long does it take to read the whole series?

About 99 hours at an average pace of 250 words a minute, or 5,372 pages in total. The longest book is The Treason of Isengard at 504 pages.

Can I read The History of Middle-earth for free?

4 books can be borrowed free from Open Library with a free account. The book pages have the links.

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