J.R.R. Tolkien is one of the most popular authors in modern-day publishing. Since it was first published in 1937, Tolkien's The Hobbit has stayed in print continuously and has sold more than 40 million copies. Tolkien followed The Hobbit with his The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which boosted the genre of fantasy literature to new heights of popularity. Most recently, New Line Cinema's three-part The Lord of the Rings series of films, directed by Peter Jackson, have earned a tremendous amount of both critical and popular acclaim. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was a scholar of the English language and mythology. His interest in languages led him to develop his own language based loosely on Finnish and Welsh. Eventually, Tolkien began to create a mythology around this original language, which evolved into his now-famous books. In this new title in the "Authors Teens Love" series, Edward Willett examines Tolkien's amazing life and career.