Since the first volume appeared in 1954, Tolkien's trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, has become one of the most widely loved works of fiction ever published, and the subject of a blockbuster film adaptation. In its blend of epic and fairy-tale, uncanny atmosphere and moral force, it is unique in modern English literature. In Master of Middle-Earth, Paul Kocher focuses on The Lord of the Rings, but also considers Tolkien's fiction as a whole, showing the relationship of the short prose and verse narratives to the major work. In chapters such as 'Sauron and the Nature of Evil', 'The Free Peoples' and 'Aragorn' he traces Tolkien's principal themes and preoccupations and casts a brilliant light on the geography and inhabitants of Middle-Earth.