Tolkien's first published work of fiction, The Hobbit, appeared in 1937 with the subtitle or There and Back Again. Initially crafted as an independent children's tale set in Middle Earth, it later underwent significant revisions, particularly in the episode where the Ring is found, and became the prelude to the entire Lord of the Rings series.

Although J. R. R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion was published posthumously in 1977, he had been developing it since 1917. This narrative covers the Elder Days, starting with Eru, the One, Ilúvatar, the creator, and concluding with the downfall of Númenor and the transformation of the world, which eliminated the direct passage to the Deathless lands. Unlike The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion does not employ modern novelistic techniques. Christopher Tolkien notes in the Foreword that the work "became the vehicle of his profoundest reflections. In his later writing, mythology and poetry sank down behind his theological and philosophical preoccupations: 'from which arose incompatibilities of tone.'"

Tolkien's Farmer Giles of Ham, published in 1949, features a light-hearted critique of academia and witty commentary on the enduring flaws of central government. The story is a humorous adventure involving a talking dog, a myopic giant, a clever but unfortunate dragon, and a hero who is more cunning than conventionally heroic, yet equally effective.

Tolkien's essay "On Fairy Stories," a revision of his Andre Lang Lecture from 1938 at the University of St. Andrews, was first published in 1947 in "Essays Presented to Charles Williams." It is more widely available in the collections Tree and Leaf and The Tolkien Reader. The essay reflects on his thoughts regarding his objectives in writing The Lord of the Rings.

Grimm's Teutonic Mythology, translated by J. S. Stallybrass (4 volumes, 1882-88) from the original work by the Brothers Grimm, renowned for their fairy tales, is a comprehensive compilation of the remnants of lost Germanic mythology and legend.