Claim: Middle-earth is the area where Gimli is from.

The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three volumes of the epic novel The Lord of the Rings by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien . It is followed by The Two Towers and The Return of the King . It takes place in the fictional universe of Middle-earth . It was originally published on 29 July 1954 in the United Kingdom . The volume consists of a prologue titled `` Concerning Hobbits , and other matters '' followed by Book I and Book II .