Two books in one volume
The Two Towers is not one story told in order but two. Book III follows the scattered Company after the breaking of the Fellowship: Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli chase the Orcs across Rohan, Merry and Pippin escape into Fangorn, and the threads meet again at Isengard. Book IV leaves all of that behind and goes back in time to follow Frodo, Sam and Gollum from the Emyn Muil to the borders of Mordor.
Tolkien interlaced the two halves of the war throughout The Lord of the Rings, but this volume is where the split is sharpest. A reader of Book IV hears nothing of Helm’s Deep while Frodo is in the Dead Marshes, even though the two stories run side by side in time; the Tale of Years in Appendix B is the easiest way to line them up day by day. The films cut the books together scene by scene, which is the main reason film memories get the order of events wrong.
Even the title is uncertain. Tolkien considered several pairs of towers, among them Orthanc, Barad-dûr, Minas Tirith, Minas Morgul and the tower of Cirith Ungol, and never settled the question in the text itself. Both books end at a tower: Book III after the fall of Isengard, Book IV at Cirith Ungol.
Rohan, Fangorn and Isengard
Book III is the book of Rohan. Éomer, Third Marshal of the Riddermark, meets Aragorn on the plains, Gandalf frees Théoden from Wormtongue’s counsel in Meduseld, and the Rohirrim hold the Hornburg through a night of rain and assault. The people of Rohan speak their own tongue, which Tolkien rendered through Old English; our guide to Rohirric, the language of Rohan explains how that works.
At the same time the Ents wake. The Entmoot takes days, and then the Ents and the Huorns march together. In the book the Huorns are the moving forest that traps the fleeing Orcs at Helm’s Deep, while the Ents break Isengard and turn the river on it. Our article on Ents and Huorns covers both kinds of tree-folk.
Book III also contains a scene the cinema release left out: Saruman on the balcony of Orthanc, trying his voice on his visitors, and Gandalf breaking his staff. In the book that confrontation closes the Isengard story before the volume turns to Frodo. It also sets up the palantír, which Pippin looks into that same night, and Gandalf’s ride to Minas Tirith with Pippin in front of him.
Book IV: the road to Mordor
Book IV is a smaller, darker story. Frodo tames Sméagol in the Emyn Muil, Gollum guides the hobbits through the Dead Marshes, and the Black Gate proves impossible to pass. Gollum then offers another way in, by the pass above Minas Morgul, and the hobbits cross Ithilien, the last green country before the Shadow.
There Faramir finds them, and he is the character most changed by adaptation. In the book he guesses that Isildur’s Bane is the Ring and says plainly that he would not take it even if he found it by the road. That refusal is the counterweight to his brother Boromir, whose death opens the volume, and it is why Sam tells him he has shown his quality.
The last chapters climb the Stairs of Cirith Ungol into Shelob’s Lair. On the Stairs Gollum very nearly repents, until Sam wakes and speaks roughly to him; soon after comes the betrayal, Shelob’s sting and Sam’s choice to take the Ring. Readers who know the films often expect the spider in the third book, but Tolkien ends The Two Towers on it, with Frodo a prisoner and Sam outside the gate.
The Elvish words of The Two Towers
Elvish is quieter in this volume than in The Fellowship of the Ring, but it is there at the key moments. Treebeard’s Sindarin name is Fangorn, and his long description of a hill, lind-or-burúmë, mixes Elvish fragments into Entish; see Entish explained. Faramir’s refuge, Henneth Annûn, is Sindarin, with henneth meaning window.
The most famous Elvish of the book comes in the dark. In Shelob’s Lair Frodo raises the Phial and cries Aiya Eärendil Elenion Ancalima!, words he does not know he is speaking, and after Frodo is stung it is Sam who calls on Elbereth. Our page on Elbereth explains the name.
If those lines make you want to read the languages for yourself, the free Elvish course starts with the sounds and the first words, and you can write your own name in Tengwar in a few seconds.
Book versus film: what to watch for
Several answers in this quiz differ from the films. In the book no Elves come to Helm’s Deep. At dawn Gandalf returns with Erkenbrand and his men, and a wood of Huorns has appeared in the valley overnight; in the film it is Éomer who rides down with Gandalf. The Ents decide to march at the end of their own Entmoot rather than being tricked into it by Pippin. Faramir never takes the Ring-bearer to Osgiliath.
The shape of the story changes as well. The film ends with the fall of Isengard and Gollum already plotting to lead the hobbits to a hidden ally, while the book carries Frodo’s journey all the way to the tower of Cirith Ungol. Théoden’s recovery differs too: in the book Gandalf rouses an old king from Wormtongue’s counsel of despair, with no possession by Saruman.
None of this makes one version wrong, but it does mean that a quiz on the book rewards readers rather than viewers. If you want the film version, there is a separate film quiz for that.
Frequently asked questions
What happens in The Two Towers book?
Is Shelob in The Two Towers book?
Which are the two towers?
Are there Elves at Helm’s Deep in the book?
How many chapters are in The Two Towers?
Answer key (10 questions)
- When Gandalf returns in Fangorn Forest, what is he now called? Gandalf the White The Two Towers, Book III ch. 5 “The White Rider”
- Whom is Boromir defending when he falls at Parth Galen? Merry and Pippin The Two Towers, Book III ch. 1 “The Departure of Boromir”
- What is Treebeard’s name in Sindarin? Fangorn The Two Towers, Book III ch. 4 “Treebeard”
- What does Pippin drop as a sign for anyone following the Orcs? His Lórien leaf-brooch The Two Towers, Book III ch. 2 “The Riders of Rohan” and ch. 3 “The Uruk-hai”
- Which young, “hasty” Ent looks after Merry and Pippin during the Entmoot? Quickbeam The Two Towers, Book III ch. 4 “Treebeard”
- What is the fortress at the head of Helm’s Deep called? The Hornburg The Two Towers, Book III ch. 7 “Helm’s Deep”
- Who throws the palantír down from the tower of Orthanc? Gríma Wormtongue The Two Towers, Book III ch. 10 “The Voice of Saruman”
- In the book, where does Faramir take Frodo and Sam? Henneth Annûn, his hidden refuge The Two Towers, Book IV ch. 5 “The Window on the West”
- What final Orc count does Gimli claim after Helm’s Deep? Forty-two The Two Towers, Book III ch. 7 “Helm’s Deep” and ch. 8 “The Road to Isengard”
- How does the book of The Two Towers end? Sam learns Frodo is alive but taken by Orcs The Two Towers, Book IV ch. 10 “The Choices of Master Samwise”
