the titles of the volumes derive from discarded titles for the separate books of "the lord of the rings". j. r. r. tolkien conceived the latter as a single volume comprising six "books" plus extensive appendices, but the original publisher split the work into three, publishing two books per volume with the appendices included in the third. the titles proposed by tolkien for the six books were: book i, "the first journey" or "the ring sets out"; book ii, "the journey of the nine companions" or "the ring goes south"; book iii, "the treason of isengard"; book iv, "the journey of the ring-bearers" or "the ring goes east"; book v, "the war of the ring"; and book vi, "the end of the third age". the title "the return of the shadow" was a discarded title for volume i.