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Events on Thursday 20 October 1955 1
1954 – 1955The Lord of the Rings publishedThe Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers are published on 29 July 1954; The Return of the King follows on 20 October 1955. The reviews are divided: W.H. Auden calls it 'a masterpiece'; C.S. Lewis proclaims it 'lightning from a clear sky'; Edmund Wilson dismisses it as 'juvenile trash.' The book sells steadily but not spectacularly in the UK. Then in 1965 an unauthorised American paperback edition by Ace Books — exploiting a copyright technicality — triggers an explosion of popularity that makes The Lord of the Rings a cultural phenomenon.