<P> Among them is The Silmarillion, which provides a creation story and description of the cosmology that includes Middle - earth . The Silmarillion is the primary source of information about Valinor, Númenor, and other lands . The Unfinished Tales and the multiple volumes of The History of Middle - earth include many incomplete stories and essays as well as numerous drafts of Tolkien's Middle - earth mythology, from the earliest forms down through the last writings of his life . </P> <Ul> <Li> 1937 The Hobbit <Ul> <Li> The Hobbit Bilbo Baggins joins a company of dwarves and the wizard Gandalf in a quest to reclaim an old Dwarvish kingdom from the dragon Smaug . </Li> </Ul> </Li> <Li> 1954 The Fellowship of the Ring, part 1 of The Lord of the Rings <Ul> <Li> Bilbo's cousin and heir Frodo Baggins sets out on a quest to rid Middle - earth of the One Ring, joined by the Fellowship of the Ring . </Li> </Ul> </Li> <Li> 1954 The Two Towers, part 2 of The Lord of the Rings <Ul> <Li> The Fellowship is split apart: while Frodo and his friend Sam continue their quest, Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas fight to rescue the hobbits Peregrin Took (Pippin) and Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry) from Orcs and to save the Kingdom of Rohan . </Li> </Ul> </Li> <Li> 1955 The Return of the King, part 3 of The Lord of the Rings <Ul> <Li> Frodo and Sam reach Mordor, while Aragorn arrives in Gondor and reclaims his heritage . </Li> </Ul> </Li> <Li> 1962 The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book <Ul> <Li> An assortment of poems, only loosely related to The Lord of the Rings </Li> </Ul> </Li> <Li> 1967 The Road Goes Ever On <Ul> <Li> A song cycle with the composer Donald Swann (long out of print but reprinted in 2002) </Li> </Ul> </Li> </Ul> <Li> 1937 The Hobbit <Ul> <Li> The Hobbit Bilbo Baggins joins a company of dwarves and the wizard Gandalf in a quest to reclaim an old Dwarvish kingdom from the dragon Smaug . </Li> </Ul> </Li> <Ul> <Li> The Hobbit Bilbo Baggins joins a company of dwarves and the wizard Gandalf in a quest to reclaim an old Dwarvish kingdom from the dragon Smaug . </Li> </Ul>

When is the lord of the rings supposed to take place