when did lord of the rings become popular
The Lord of the Rings In 1957, The Lord of the Rings was awarded the International Fantasy Award. Despite its numerous detractors, the publication of the Ace Books and Ballantine paperbacks helped The Lord of the Rings become immensely popular in the United States in the 1960s. The book has remained so ever since, ranking as one of the most popular works of fiction of the twentieth century, judged by both sales and reader surveys.[63] In the 2003 "Big Read" survey conducted in Britain by the BBC, The Lord of the Rings was found to be the "Nation's best-loved book". In similar 2004 polls both Germany[64] and Australia[65] also found The Lord of the Rings to be their favourite book. In a 1999 poll of Amazon.com customers, The Lord of the Rings was judged to be their favourite "book of the millennium".[66] The Lord of the Rings was awarded the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award in 2009.
Gandalf Sir Ian McKellen portrayed Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings film series (2001â€“2003) directed by Peter Jackson, after Sean Connery and Patrick Stewart both turned down the role.[25][26] The make-up and costumes were based on designs by John Howe and Alan Lee. According to Jackson, McKellen based his performance as Gandalf on Tolkien himself: