The first ever illustrated paperback of part one of Tolkien's epic masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings, featuring 19 colour paintings by Alan Lee, Conceptual Designer on Peter Jackson's THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY. Sauron, the Dark Lord, has gathered to him all the Rings of Power - the means by which he intends to rule Middle-earth. All he lacks in his plans for dominion is the One Ring - the ring that rules them all - which has fallen into the hands of the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. In a sleepy village in the Shire, young Frodo Baggins finds himself faced with an immense task, as his elderly cousin Bilbo entrusts the Ring to his care. Frodo must leave his home and make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ring and foil the Dark Lord in his evil purpose. Part of a set of three paperbacks, this sumptuous edition is illustrated throughout by Alan Lee, Conceptual Designer on Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.