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{{cleanup}}{{disambig-more|The Hobbit|[[The Hobbit (disambiguation)]]}}
{{disambig-more|The Hobbit|[[The Hobbit (disambiguation)]]}}
{{disambig-more|There and Back Again|[[There and Back Again (disambiguation)]]}}
{{disambig-more|There and Back Again|[[There and Back Again (disambiguation)]]}}
{{book
{{book
|title=The Hobbit
|title=The Hobbit,<br><small>or There and Back Again</small>
|image=[[Image:The Hobbit (1937).png|225px]]
|image=[[File:The Hobbit 2016-facsimile.jpeg|275px]]
|author=[[J.R.R. Tolkien]]
|author=[[J.R.R. Tolkien]]
|publisher=[[Allen and Unwin|George Allen & Unwin]]; [[Houghton Mifflin]]
|illustrator=J.R.R. Tolkien
|date=[[21 September]] [[1937]]; [[1938]]
|publisherUK=[[George Allen and Unwin]]
|format=
|publisherUS=[[Houghton Mifflin]]
|pages=
|date=[[21 September]] [[1937]]
|isbn=
|format=Hardcover; paperback; deluxe-edition; audio-book
|pages=312
|followedby=[[The Lord of the Rings]] (1954-55)
}}
}}
'''''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again''''' is the first of [[J.R.R. Tolkien]]'s published books about [[Arda]]. It was first published on [[21 September|September 21]], [[1937]], and is now seen as a prelude to Tolkien's more monumental work ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' (published in 1954 and 1955).


== The novel ==
{{quote|In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.|''The Hobbit'', "[[An Unexpected Party]]"}}


Tolkien recollects in a 1955 letter to [[W.H. Auden]] (''Letters'', [[Letter 163|no. 163]]) that, in the late 1920s, when he was  Professor of [[Old English|Anglo-Saxon]] at [[Pembroke College]], ''The Hobbit'' began when he was marking School Certificate papers, on the back of one of which he wrote the words "In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit". He did not go any further than that at the time, although in the following years he drew up Thrór's map, outlining the geography of the tale. The tale itself he wrote in the early 1930s, and it was eventually published because he lent it  to the Reverend Mother of Cherwell Edge when she was sick with the flu; while the Reverend Mother was in possession of the manuscript, it was seen by the 10-year old son of Sir Stanley Unwin, [[Rayner Unwin]], who wrote such an enthusiastic review of the book that it was published by [[Allen and Unwin]].
'''''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again''''', better known as '''''The Hobbit''''', is a children's fantasy novel by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]]. It was published on [[21 September]] [[1937]] to wide critical acclaim. The book remains popular and is recognized as a classic in children's literature.


Tolkien introduced or mentioned characters and places that figured prominently in his legendarium, specifically [[Elrond]] and [[Gondolin]], along with elements from Germanic legend. But the decision that the events of ''The Hobbit'' could belong to the same universe as ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' was made only after successful publication, when the publisher asked for a sequel. Accordingly, ''The Hobbit'' serves both as an introduction to Middle-Earth and as a link between earlier and later events described in ''The Silmarillion'' and ''The Lord of the Rings'', respectively.
''The Hobbit'' is set within Tolkien's [[Middle-earth]] and follows the quest of home-loving [[Bilbo Baggins]], the titular [[hobbit]], to win a share of the treasure guarded by a dragon named [[Smaug]]. Bilbo's journey takes him from his light-hearted, rural surroundings into more sinister territory.


Although a fairy tale, the novel is both complex and sophisticated: it contains many names and words derived from Norse mythology, and central plot elements from the ''[[Beowulf]]'' epic, it makes use of [[Old English|Anglo-Saxon]] [[Runes]], information on calendars and moon phases, and detailed geographical descriptions that fit well with the accompanying maps. Near the end, the tale takes on epic proportions.
The story is told in the form of an episodic quest, and most chapters introduce a specific creature or type of creature of Tolkien's geography. Bilbo gains a new level of maturity, competence, and wisdom by accepting the disreputable, romantic, fey, and adventurous sides of his nature and applying his wits and common sense. The story reaches its climax in the [[Battle of Five Armies]], where many of the characters and creatures from earlier chapters re-emerge to engage in conflict.


== Synopsis ==
==Inscription==
There is an inscription in the [[Cirth]] characters in the title page, it reads:
 
:"''The Hobbit or There and Back Again, being the record of a year's journey made by Bilbo Baggins of Hobbiton; compiled from his memoirs by J.R.R. Tolkien and published by George Allen and Unwin Ltd.''"<ref name=l12/>
 
==Synopsis==
{{hchapters}}
{{hchapters}}
[[Image:Donato Giancola - The Hobbit - Expulsion.jpg|thumb|left|220px|''The Hobbit'' by [[Donato Giancola]]]]Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit, is smoking in his porchway one day when Gandalf the Wizard visits him. After a lengthy discussion, during which Bilbo uses the phrase "Good Morning" several times, in several different ways, Bilbo, finding himself flustered, invites Gandalf to tea, and goes back inside his hobbit hole with a final "Good Morning". Gandalf  scratches a secret mark on Bilbo's front door, which translated means 'Burglar wants a good job, plenty of excitement and reasonable reward'. Thirteen Dwarves ([[Thorin]], [[Óin]], [[Glóin]], [[Dwalin]], [[Balin]], [[Bifur]], [[Kíli]], [[Fíli]], [[Bofur]], [[Dori]], [[Bombur]], [[Nori]], and [[Ori]]) show up and begin excitedly discussing their planned treasure hunt while the hapless Bilbo provides the obligatory hospitality. After the dwarves clean up their mess, a map is produced and Gandalf arranges for Bilbo to get the burglary job&mdash;as well as to break the unlucky number 13. The company's quest: kill [[Smaug]], the [[Dragons|dragon]] who seized the [[Lonely Mountain]] (Erebor) from the Dwarves' forefathers, and, using a secret door into the mountain, recapture it, dividing the riches within its halls.
[[Gandalf]] tricks [[Bilbo Baggins]] into hosting a party for [[Thorin Oakenshield]] and his band of twelve [[dwarves]] ([[Dwalin]], [[Balin]], [[Kili]], [[Fili]], [[Dori]], [[Nori]], [[Ori]], [[Oin]], [[Gloin]], [[Bifur]], [[Bofur]], and [[Bombur]]), who sing of reclaiming their ancient home, [[Lonely Mountain]], and its vast treasure from the dragon [[Smaug]]. When the music ends, Gandalf unveils [[Thrór's Map]] showing a [[Back Door|secret door]] into the Mountain and proposes that the dumbfounded Bilbo serve as the expedition's "burglar". The dwarves ridicule the idea, but Bilbo, indignant, joins despite himself.
 
The group travels into the wild. Gandalf saves the company from [[trolls]] and leads them to [[Rivendell]], where [[Elrond]] reveals more secrets from the map. When they attempt to cross the [[Misty Mountains]], they are caught by [[goblins]] and driven [[Goblin-town|deep underground]]. Although Gandalf rescues them, Bilbo gets separated from the others as they flee the goblins. Lost in the goblin tunnels, he stumbles across [[One Ring|a mysterious ring]] and then encounters [[Gollum]], who engages him in a game, each posing a riddle until one of them cannot solve it. If Bilbo wins, Gollum will show him the way out of the tunnels, but if he fails, his life will be forfeit. With the help of the ring, which confers invisibility, Bilbo escapes and rejoins the dwarves, improving his reputation with them. The goblins and Wargs give chase, but the company are saved by eagles. They rest in the house of [[Beorn]].


The next morning, after oversleeping and nearly missing the start of the journey, Bilbo goes off with the Dwarves. They are nearly eaten by three [[Trolls]], but Gandalf tricks the trolls into staying up all night whereupon they are turned into stone by the first light of dawn. (The stone trolls appear later in ''The Lord of the Rings''.) In the troll's cave they find some swords. Bilbo acquires [[Sting]], which glows blue in the presence of [[Orcs|Goblins]] (another name for [[Orcs]]).
[[File:Donato Giancola - The Hobbit - Expulsion.jpg|thumb|left|220px|''Expulsion'' by [[Donato Giancola]]]]
The company enters the black forest of [[Mirkwood]] without Gandalf, who has other responsibilities. In Mirkwood, Bilbo first saves the dwarves from giant spiders and then from the dungeons of the [[Wood-elves]]. Nearing the Lonely Mountain, the travellers are welcomed by the human inhabitants of [[Lake-town]], who hope the dwarves will fulfil prophecies of Smaug's demise. The expedition reaches the mountain and finds the secret door. The dwarves send a reluctant Bilbo inside to scout the dragon's lair. He steals a great cup and, while conversing with Smaug, spots a gap in the ancient dragon's armour. The enraged dragon, deducing that Lake-town has aided the intruders, flies off to destroy the town. A thrush overhears Bilbo's report of Smaug's vulnerability and tells Lake-town resident [[Bard]]. Smaug wreaks havoc on the town, until Bard fires an arrow into Smaug's hollow spot, killing the dragon.


The party travels to [[Rivendell]] where they enjoy the hospitality of the [[Elves]], then proceed eastwards towards the [[Misty Mountains]]. There they are ambushed by goblins (Orcs), and carried under the mountain. They run away, and during the escape Bilbo loses the Dwarves. Alone in the dark after running away from the goblins, Bilbo finds a [[The One Ring|ring]] on the floor of a cave passage and puts it into his pocket.  
When the dwarves take possession of the mountain, Bilbo finds the [[Arkenstone]], the most-treasured heirloom of Thorin's family, and hides it away. The Wood-elves and Lake-men request compensation for Lake-town's destruction and settlement of old claims on the treasure. When Thorin refuses to give them anything, they besiege the mountain. However, Thorin manages to send a message to his kinfolk in the [[Iron Hills]] and reinforces his position. Bilbo slips out and gives the Arkenstone to the besiegers, hoping to head off a war. When they offer the jewel to Thorin in exchange for treasure, Bilbo reveals how they obtained it. Thorin, furious at what he sees as betrayal, banishes Bilbo, and battle seems inevitable when [[Dáin Ironfoot]], Thorin's second cousin, arrives with an army of dwarf warriors.


Continuing down, he finds himself at the shore of an underground lake. [[Gollum]] quietly paddles up in his boat, and the two enact the [[Riddle-game]], under the condition that if Bilbo wins, Gollum will show him the way out, but if he loses, Gollum will eat Bilbo. After several [[Riddles]], which each manages to answer, Bilbo, whilst fiddling in his pocket unable to think of a riddle, asks himself aloud "What have I got in my pocket?" Gollum thinks this is supposed to be the next riddle, and as it doesn't comply with the rules of the riddle game, demands three guesses; in the end he fails to guess the answer. Bilbo demands his reward, but Gollum refuses and paddles off in his boat to an island in the lake, upon which he lives. After searching around for a while asking aloud "where is it? wheres my precious!?" to which Bilbo replies, "I don't know and I don't care, I just want to get out of here", Gollum becomes suspicious, gets in his boat, and starts paddling back across the lake towards Bilbo. Gollum is unable to find the one weapon he could use to betray and kill Bilbo, a magic ring that makes its wearer invisible; driven by rage, Gollum starts to realize the real answer to Bilbo's previous question "What have I got in my pocket?". Bilbo realises his life is in mortal danger and makes his escape down the maze of pitch black tunnels, and Gollum gives chase. Bilbo trips, and finds the ring on his finger. Realising he has no chance to escape his pursuer, he stays where he is and prepares to meet his fate, but Gollum runs right over him. Bilbo realises the ring makes him invisible. He manages to escape past Gollum, who has gone to guard the only exit, and finds his way to the surface where he rejoins the Dwarves.
Gandalf reappears to warn all of an approaching army of goblins and Wargs. The dwarves, men and elves band together, but only with the timely arrival of the eagles and Beorn do they win the climactic [[Battle of Five Armies]]. Thorin is fatally wounded and reconciles with Bilbo before he dies.


Descending from the [[Misty Mountains]], they survive an encounter with [[Wargs]] (wild wolf creatures) by climbing trees. Eagles rescue them. Then they meet [[Beorn]], a man who can transform into a bear. They depart, having rested for several days. Gandalf leaves soon on an errand. The party traverses the great forest [[Mirkwood]], eventually running out of supplies. Gandalf had warned them not to leave the path, but they saw fire and heard singing, so, hopeless, they leave the path to beg food from [[Elves of Mirkwood|Wood-elves]], only to get lost. They are captured by giant spiders, but Bilbo rescues the Dwarves by becoming invisible and killing many spiders with Sting. Elves then capture the Dwarves and imprison them, but Bilbo manages to sneak into the [[Thranduil|Elvenking]]'s palace unnoticed using the ring; he then helps the Dwarves escape in barrels floated down the river.[[Image:J.R.R. Tolkien - Bilbo comes to the Huts of the Raft-elves (II).jpg|thumb|200px|''Bilbo comes to the Huts of the Raft-elves'' by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]]]]
Bilbo accepts only a small portion of his share of the treasure, having no want or need for more, but still returns [[Bag End|home]] a very wealthy hobbit roughly a year and a month after he first left. Years later, he [[Red Book of Westmarch|writes the story of his adventures]].


After staying for a short period of time at [[Lake-town]], the treasure-seekers proceed to the Lonely Mountain. Finding themselves unable to locate the secret door, the company sit down disconsolate on a cliff. Hearing a thrush knocking on a stone, Bilbo looks up just in time to see the last rays of the Sun of [[Durin's Day]], shining on the cliff wall, to magically reveal the secret door (as was foretold by [[moon-letters]] upon a map that the company was in possession of). Bilbo is sent down to encounter Smaug. The dragon, realising the Company received help from the people of Laketown, sets out to destroy it. However, the thrush that had been knocking on the stone, was no ordinary bird but of an ancient race with whom the men of the lake could communicate, and it had heard Bilbo's report to the dwarves, that Smaug had a bare patch on his belly that could be used to slaughter him, if only you could get close enough. It conveyed this message to one [[Bard|Bard the Bowman]], who seeing the bare patch in the belly of Smaug, despatched the dragon with a single arrow, thus allowing the party of Dwarves to take possession of the treasure.
==Characters==
<div style="-moz-column-width: 300px; -webkit-column-width: 300px; column-width: 300px; -moz-column-gap: 15px; -webkit-column-gap: 15px; column-gap: 15px; -webkit-column-rule: 1px solid #cccccc; -moz-column-rule: 1px solid #cccccc; column-rule: 1px solid #cccccc;">
# [[Bilbo Baggins]]
# [[Belladonna Took]] (mentioned only)
# [[Bungo Baggins]] (mentioned only)
# [[Gerontius Took|Old Took]] (mentioned only)
# [[Gandalf|Gandalf the Grey]]
# [[Thorin|Thorin Oakenshield]]
# [[Dwalin]]
# [[Balin]]
# [[Fíli]]
# [[Kíli]]
# [[Óin]]
# [[Glóin]]
# [[Dori]]
# [[Nori]]
# [[Ori]]
# [[Bifur]]
# [[Bofur]]
# [[Bombur]]
# [[Smaug]]
# [[Thráin]] (mentioned only)
# [[Thrór]] (mentioned only)
# [[Thráin I]] (mentioned only)
# [[Azog]] (mentioned only)
# [[Bandobras Took|Bullroarer Took]] (mentioned only)
# [[Golfimbul]] (mentioned only)
# [[William]]
# [[Tom]]
# [[Bert]]
# [[Elrond]]
# [[Durin]] (mentioned only)
# [[Great Goblin|The Great Goblin]]
# [[Gollum]]
# [[Warg|Wargs]]
# [[Great Eagle|The Lord of the Eagles]]
# [[Beorn]]
# [[Radagast|Radagast the Brown]] (mentioned only)
# [[Thranduil|The Elvenking]]
# [[Galion]]
# [[Bard|Bard the Bowman]]
# [[Master of Lake-town]]
# [[Girion|Girion of Dale]] (mentioned only)
# [[Carc]] (mentioned only)
# [[Roäc]]
# [[Dáin Ironfoot]]
# [[Bolg]]
</div>
==Illustrations==
[[File:J.R.R. Tolkien - Thror's map.jpg|thumb|200px|''[[:File:J.R.R. Tolkien - Thror's map.jpg|Thror's map]]'' by J.R.R. Tolkien]]
All editions of ''The Hobbit'' contain two maps:
* ''[[:File:J.R.R. Tolkien - Thror's map.jpg|Thror's map]]''
* ''[[:File:J.R.R. Tolkien - Map of Wilderland.jpg|Map of Wilderland]]''


The citizens of Laketown arrive to make historical claims and demand compensation for the help they had rendered, as well as reparations for the damage Smaug inflicted during his attack. They're joined by the Elves, who also demand a share based on historical claims. The Dwarves refuse all negotiations and in turn summon kin from the north to strengthen their position. Seeing no other way to avert a war, Bilbo uses the ring to steal the prized [[Arkenstone]] from the Dwarves, which he uses to broker peace.
Most editions include another series of eight black and white illustrations, in some editions these have been coloured by [[H.E. Riddett]], these are:
* ''[[:File:J.R.R. Tolkien - The Trolls.png|The Trolls]]''
* ''[[:File:J.R.R. Tolkien - The Mountain-path.jpg|The Mountain-path]]''
* ''[[:File:J.R.R. Tolkien - The Misty Mountains looking West from the Eyrie towards Goblin Gate.jpg|The Misty Mountains looking West]]''
* ''[[:File:J.R.R. Tolkien - Beorn's Hall.jpg|Beorn's Hall]]''
* ''[[:File:J.R.R. Tolkien - The Elvenking's Gate (II).jpg|The Elvenking's Gate]]''
* ''[[:File:J.R.R. Tolkien - Lake Town.jpg|Lake Town]]''
* ''[[:File:J.R.R. Tolkien - The Front Gate.png|The Front Gate]]''
* ''[[:File:J.R.R. Tolkien - The Hall at Bag-End.jpg|The Hall at Bag-End]]''


Just as a grudging truce is agreed to, the three armies at the Lonely Mountain (Elves, Men and Dwarves) are attacked by [[Orcs|Goblins]] and [[Wargs]] from the Misty Mountains. A bitter battle ensues, named the [[Battle of Five Armies]]. Though suffering heavy losses, Elves, Men and Dwarves prevail. The treasure is apportioned. Bilbo refuses most of the riches, realising he has no way to bring them back home; he nevertheless takes enough with him to make himself a wealthy hobbit and live happily thereafter, unaware of the dangerous nature of his [[The One Ring|ring]].
Tolkien created further new colored illustrations for the American edition by [[Houghton Mifflin]].<ref name=l15 />


== First Edition==
==Conception==
The Hobbit has been published in two editions. The second intended to be more in tune with ''The Lord of the Rings''. For example the first edition makes a reference to "[[tomatoes]]" which was altered to "pickles" by Tolkien in the second.
[[File:J.R.R. Tolkien - Bilbo comes to the Huts of the Raft-elves (II).jpg|thumb|200px|''Bilbo comes to the Huts of the Raft-elves'' by J.R.R. Tolkien]]
Tolkien recollects in a 1955 letter to [[W.H. Auden]] (''Letters'', [[Letter 163|no. 163]]) that, in the late 1920s, when he was  Professor of [[Old English|Anglo-Saxon]] at [[Pembroke College]], ''The Hobbit'' began when he was marking School Certificate papers, on the back of one of which he wrote the words "In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit" which evolved into a story like the ones he was making up for his children. He did not go any further than that at the time, although in the following years he drew up Thrór's map, outlining the geography of the tale.  


In the first edition, Gollum willingly bets his magic ring on the outcome of the riddle game. During the writing of ''The Lord of the Rings'' Tolkien saw the need to revise this passage, in order to reflect the concept of [[the One Ring]] and its powerful hold on Gollum. Tolkien tried many different passages in the chapter that would become chapter 2 of ''the Lord of the Rings'', "The Shadow of the Past". Eventually Tolkien decided a rewrite of ''The Hobbit'' was in order, and he sent a sample chapter of this rewrite ("Riddles in the Dark") to his publishers. Initially he heard nothing further, but when he was sent galley proofs of a new edition he learned to his surprise the new chapter had been incorporated as the result of a misunderstanding.
The tale itself he wrote in the early 1930s. It was mostly enjoyed by his eldest son [[John Tolkien|John]] (13) than the younger ones. His peers at Oxford also "forced" him to lent copies to read.<ref name=l15>{{L|15}}</ref> As early as age four and five, young [[Christopher Tolkien|Christopher]] was concerned with the consistency:
{{Blockquote|[O]n one occasion I interrupted: 'Last time, you said Bilbo's front door was blue, and you said Thorin had a golden tassel on his hood, but you've just said that Bilbo's front door was green and that Thorin's hood was silver'; at which point my father muttered 'Damn the boy,' and then 'strode across the room' to his desk to make a note.|Christopher Tolkien, foreword to The Hobbit}}


Tolkien explained the two different versions in the introduction of ''The Lord of the Rings'', as well as inside "The Shadow of the Past", as a "lie" that Bilbo made up, probably because of the One Ring's influence on him, and which he originally wrote down in his book. Inside ''The Lord of the Rings'', Bilbo finally confesses the real story at the Council of [[Elrond]], although Gandalf had deduced the truth earlier. As Tolkien presented himself as the translator of the supposedly historic ''[[Red Book of Westmarch]]'', where Bilbo and Frodo's stories were recorded, he further explained the two differing stories in ''The Hobbit'' by stating he had originally used Bilbo's original story, but later retranslated the work with the "true story" recorded by Frodo.
It was eventually published because he lent it to the Reverend Mother Superior of Cherwell Edge when she was sick with the flu;{{fact}} he had also sent it to his former pupil [[Elaine Griffiths]] who was staying in the Cherwell Edge girl's hostel, and it was seen by her student, Susan Dagnall, who worked in the Allen and Unwin offices. It was the 10-year old son of Sir Stanley Unwin, [[Rayner Unwin]], who wrote such an enthusiastic review of the book that it was published by [[Allen and Unwin]].<ref>{{L|294}}</ref> By [[January]] of [[1937]] Tolkien was corresponding with Allen and Unwin (who also showed interest for ''[[Mr. Bliss]]'' and had to redraw the maps.<ref>{{L|9}}</ref><ref>{{L|10}}</ref> In February he approved the reduction of his illustrations<ref>{{L|11}}</ref> and in April he provided a dust for the dast cover with its runic inscription.<ref name=l12>{{L|12}}</ref>


This first edition also mentions "[[gnomes]]", an earlier word Tolkien used to refer to the second kindred of the [[High Elves]] &mdash; the [[Noldor]] (or "Deep Elves"). Tolkien thought that "gnome", being derived from the Greek ''gnosis'' (knowledge), was a good name for the Noldor he created to be the wisest of the other Elves. But with its English connotations of a small, secretive, and unattractive creature, Tolkien removed it from later editions. He made other minor changes in order to conform the narrative to events in ''The Lord of the Rings'' and in the ideas he was developing for the ''[[Quenta Silmarillion]]''.
Tolkien introduced or mentioned characters and places that figured prominently in his [[The Book of Lost Tales|personal mythology]], like [[Gondolin]], which added depth, along with elements from Germanic legend.<ref>{{L|257}}</ref> But the decision that the events of ''The Hobbit'' could be part of his [[Legendarium]] was made only after successful publication, when the publisher asked for a sequel. Accordingly, ''The Hobbit'' serves both as an introduction to Middle-Earth and as a link between earlier and later events described in ''The Silmarillion'' and ''The Lord of the Rings'', respectively.


However this still does not fit perfectly: even revised, ''The Hobbit'' is so much different in tone that it sometimes seems to belong in another universe from other Middle-earth works. Examples include the following:
Although a fairy tale, the novel is both complex and sophisticated: it contains many names and words derived from Norse mythology, and central plot elements from the ''[[Beowulf (poem)|Beowulf]]'' epic, it makes use of [[Old English|Anglo-Saxon]] [[Runes]], information on calendars and moon phases, and detailed geographical descriptions that fit well with the accompanying maps. Near the end, the tale takes on epic proportions.


*Anachronisms: Bilbo has a clock. Many artists like [[John Howe]] prefer to omit it from their paintings. Bilbo also is mentioned to have matches for his pipe. In the world of Lord of the Rings matches had not yet been invented and all use flints.
==Publication==
*The Trolls have English first and last names, like fairy-tale characters.
George Allen & Unwin, Ltd. of London published the [[The Hobbit 1st edition|first edition of ''The Hobbit'']] on [[21 September]] [[1937]]. It was illustrated with many black-and-white drawings by Tolkien himself. The original printing numbered a mere 1,500 copies and sold out by [[15 December]] that same year due to enthusiastic reviews. Houghton Mifflin of Boston and New York prepared an American edition to be released early in 1938 in which four of the illustrations would be colour plates. Allen & Unwin decided to incorporate the colour illustrations into their second printing, released at the end of 1937.<ref>{{webcite|author=Laura Massey|articleurl=http://www.peterharrington.co.uk/blog/2012/01/identifying-collecting-tolkien-first-editions/|articlename=Identifying & Collecting Tolkien First Editions|dated=9 January 2012|website=[http://www.peterharrington.co.uk/ PeterHarrington.co.uk]|accessed=12 January 2012}}</ref> Despite the book's popularity, wartime conditions forced the London publisher to print small runs of the remaining two printings of the first edition.
*Lighthearted use of "magic": when Bilbo tries to steal a purse from the Trolls, the purse shouts.
*Elves appear either as silly mischiefs (Rivendell) or hostile (Mirkwood).
*Orcs are still called Goblins, and are more like bogeymen than man-eating humanoid warriors.
*Gandalf mentions Radagast as his cousin. (Then again, both Gandalf and Radagast are angelic [[Maiar]] spirits, and thus in a sense are "related", both being children of the thought of [[Eru Ilúvatar]].)
*The extensive mentioning (and brief appearance) of [[Giants]]. Giants were never developed in Tolkien's other works, but since they should exist and possibly take a grand part in the past and upcoming Wars, they are never mentioned again. Even if Giants are seen as a kind of large Trolls, they are hard to justify, as trolls are described as either incredibly stupid or incredibly evil: quite unlike the Stone Giants of ''The Hobbit''.


Some of the tone differences can be explained by accepting Bilbo as the author of the work: Bilbo wrote the story of his journeys to recount them to the children of Hobbiton and therefore changed the story somewhat. Apparent major differences such as the different perception of the Ring can also be explained by Bilbo's lacking knowledge of these matters.
After its publication, Tolkien's son Christopher was "hired" for his eye for consistency and was paid twopence a correction for subsequent publications.{{fact}}


== Similarities to Beowulf ==
As remarked above, Tolkien substantially revised ''The Hobbit'''s text describing Bilbo's dealings with Gollum in order to blend the story better into what ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' had become. This revision became the second edition, published in 1951 in both UK and American editions. Slight corrections to the text have appeared in the third (1966) and fourth editions (1978). (The original version of the Gollum chapter is included in ''[[The Annotated Hobbit]]'', more information about the book's textual changes can be found in ''[[The History of The Hobbit]]''.)


During his time as a professor at the [[University of Oxford]] Tolkien studied Anglo-Saxon. One of the Anglo-Saxon pieces of literature he studied is the epic poem ''[[Beowulf]]'', about which he wrote essays such as ''[[The Monsters and the Critics]]''. Interesting parallels can be found between ''The Hobbit'' and ''Beowulf''.
New [[The Hobbit/Publication history and gallery|English-language editions of ''The Hobbit'']] spring up often, despite the book's age, with [[The Hobbit/Publication history and gallery|at least fifty editions]] having been published to date. Each comes from a different publisher or bears distinctive cover art, internal art, or substantial changes in format. The text of each generally adheres to the Allen & Unwin edition extant at the time it is published.


The plots of the two stories are very similar. In both of them a party of 13 sets out to seek satisfaction for a crime committed by a dragon. Both parties contain a thief, which in ''The Hobbit'' is Bilbo, who steals a cup from the sleeping dragon's hoard by using a secret passage. Both dragons then awake from their deep slumber and cause terror and destruction. Both dragons are well protected by their armour, a natural one in ''Beowulf'' and one made of gold and diamonds in ''The Hobbit'', but finally they are killed.
==Reception==
On first publication in October 1937, ''The Hobbit'' was met with almost unanimously favourable reviews from publications both in the UK and the US, including ''[[Wikipedia:The Times|The Times]]'', ''[[Wikipedia:Catholic World|Catholic World]]'', and ''[[Wikipedia:New York Post|New York Post]]''. [[C.S. Lewis]], friend of Tolkien (and later author of ''[[Wikipedia:The Chronicles of Narnia|The Chronicles of Narnia]]'' between 1949 and 1954), writing in ''The Times'' reports:


But not only the plots share similarities, both main characters, Bilbo and Beowulf, share characteristics. Both heroes defy their enemies with their supernatural power, which in Bilbo's case is the ring and in Beowulf's case is his supernatural strength. While Beowulf has the help of God, Bilbo often prevails because of his sheer luck. Both are of noble ancestry and both get separated from their group, Bilbo in the mountains, Beowulf when he is captured by Grendel's mother.
{{blockquote|The truth is that in this book a number of good things, never before united, have come together: a fund of humour, an understanding of children, and a happy fusion of the scholar's with the poet's grasp of mythology... The professor has the air of inventing nothing. He has studied trolls and dragons at first hand and describes them with that fidelity that is worth oceans of glib 'originality'.}}


Additionally some elements of Anglo-Saxon culture can be found. In both books a king, which in Anglo-Saxon sometimes is called ring or gold giver, awards his warriors with treasures and war gear. In Anglo-Saxon culture poems are important, as they contain the people's history and they are sung by scops. Two of these songs are found in ''Beowulf'' and more in ''The Hobbit''. Tolkien's dwarves particularly mirror Anglo-Saxon society, both in their warrior nature and in their desire for jewelry and war gear.  The dwarven writing system, or [[Cirth]], also has clear influences from Anglo-Saxon runic alphabets such as ''Futhark''.
Lewis compares the book to ''[[Wikipedia:Alice in Wonderland|Alice in Wonderland]]'' in that both children and adults may find different things to enjoy in it, and places it alongside ''[[Wikipedia:Flatland|Flatland]]'', ''[[Wikipedia:Phantastes|Phantastes]]'', and ''[[Wikipedia:The Wind in the Willows|The Wind in the Willows]]''.<ref>Anderson, Douglas A. (ed.). ''[[The Annotated Hobbit]]''</ref> W.H. Auden, in his review of the sequel ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', calls ''The Hobbit'' "one of the best children's stories of this century".<ref>Auden, W.H. [https://www.nytimes.com/books/01/02/11/specials/tolkien-fellowship.html "The Hero is a Hobbit"]</ref> Auden was later to correspond with Tolkien, and they became friends.


== Adaptations and influences ==
''The Hobbit'' was nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ''New York Herald Tribune'' for best juvenile fiction of the year (1938).<ref>{{HM|A}}Carpenter, Humphrey; Tolkien, Christopher (eds.). ''[[The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien]]''</ref> More recently, the book has been recognized as "Most Important 20th-Century Novel (for Older Readers)" in the ''Children's Books of the Century'' poll in ''Books for Keeps''.<ref>[http://www.tolkiensociety.org/faq01.html#awards "FAQ: Did Tolkien win any awards for his books?"]. The Tolkien Society. 2002</ref> In 2012 it was ranked number 14 on a list of the top 100 children's novels published by ''School Library Journal''.<ref>[http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/afuse8production/2012/07/07/top-100-chapter-book-poll-results "Top 100 Chapter Book Poll Results"]</ref>


''The Hobbit'' has been adapted for other media. [[BBC|BBC Radio 4]] broadcast [[The Hobbit (1968 radio series)|''The Hobbit'' radio drama]], adapted by [[Michael Kilgarriff]], in eight parts (4 hours) from September to November [[1968]], which starred [[Anthony Jackson]] as narrator, [[Paul Daneman]] as Bilbo and [[Heron Carvic]] as Gandalf.
Publication of the sequel ''The Lord of the Rings'' altered many critics' reception of the work. Instead of approaching ''The Hobbit'' as a children's book in its own right, critics such as Randel Helms picked up on the idea of ''The Hobbit'' as being a "prelude", relegating the story to a dry-run for the later work. Countering a presentist interpretation are those who say this approach misses out on much of the original's value as a children's book and as a work of high fantasy in its own right, and that it disregards the book's influence on these genres.<ref>{{HM|A}}Sullivan, C.W. (1996). ''High Fantasy''</ref> Commentators such as Paul Kocher,<ref>{{HM|A}}Kocher, Paul (1974). ''Master of Middle-earth, the Achievement of J.R.R. Tolkien''</ref> John D. Rateliff,<ref>{{HM|A}}Rateliff, John D. (2007). ''[[The History of The Hobbit]]''</ref> and C.W. Sullivan encourage readers to treat the works separately, both because ''The Hobbit'' was conceived, published, and received independently of the later work, and to avoid dashing readers' expectations of tone and style.


[[Middle-earth]] has been featured in songs notably by [[Enya]] and the [[Brobdingnagian Bards]][[Led Zeppelin]]'s songs "Misty Mountain Hop" and "Ramble On" both contain references to Tolkien's mystical world. For ''The Hobbit'' itself, "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins", performed by [[Leonard Nimoy]] as part of his 1968 ''Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy'' album, is the most pertinent because it recounts the book's storyline in its two minutes.  The ballad's music video became a minor Internet meme in the early 2000s when ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy|The Lord of the Rings]]'' movies were released.
==Adaptations==
===Radio and audio===
''The Hobbit'' has been adapted for other media.  [[BBC|BBC Radio 4]] broadcast [[The Hobbit (1968 radio series)|''The Hobbit'' radio drama]], adapted by Michael Kilgarriff, in eight parts (4 hours) from September to November [[1968]], which starred [[Anthony Jackson]] as narrator, [[Paul Daneman]] as Bilbo and [[Heron Carvic]] as Gandalf.


An [[The Hobbit (1977 film)|animated version]] of the story debuted as a television movie in the United States in [[1977]].
[[Middle-earth]] has been featured in songs notably by [[Enya]] and the [[Brobdingnagian Bards]].  [[Led Zeppelin]]'s songs "Misty Mountain Hop" and "Ramble On" both contain references to Tolkien's mystical world. For ''The Hobbit'' itself, "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins", performed by [[Leonard Nimoy]] as part of his 1968 ''Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy'' album, is the most pertinent because it recounts the book's storyline in its two minutes.  The ballad's music video became a minor Internet meme in the early 2000s when ''[[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|The Lord of the Rings]]'' movies were released.


The [[David T. Wenzel's The Hobbit|"Graphic Novel" adaptation of ''The Hobbit'']] by [[David T. Wenzel]] is one of the most successful graphic format adaptations of a piece of classic literature.  
In 1974, Argo Records released an audio adaptation of ''The Hobbit'', with Nicol Williamson providing the voices for all the characters in the book. It was an abridged adaptation , as Williamson re-edited the original script, removing many instances of "he said" and so on, preferring instead to rely on his vocal characteristics to convey who was saying what to whom, feeling that this would keep the audience engrossed in the story rather than slowing the overall pace.


===Video games===
Several computer and video games, both official and unofficial, have been based on the story.  One of the first was ''[[The Hobbit (1982 video game)|The Hobbit]]'', a computer game developed in [[1982]] by Beam Software and published by Melbourne House for most computers available at the time, from the more popular computers such as the ZX Spectrum, and the Commodore 64, through to such esoteric computers as the Dragon 32 and Oric computers. By arrangement with publishers, a copy of the novel was included with each game sold.
Several computer and video games, both official and unofficial, have been based on the story.  One of the first was ''[[The Hobbit (1982 video game)|The Hobbit]]'', a computer game developed in [[1982]] by Beam Software and published by Melbourne House for most computers available at the time, from the more popular computers such as the ZX Spectrum, and the Commodore 64, through to such esoteric computers as the Dragon 32 and Oric computers. By arrangement with publishers, a copy of the novel was included with each game sold.


Vivendi Universal Games published ''[[The Hobbit (2003 video game)|The Hobbit: Prelude to The Lord of the Rings]]'' in 2003 for Windows PCs, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube. It is a hack and slash game produced as a prequel to ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' video games, but also as a softer version of those two games: less brutal, fewer enemies but with an important platform aspect, the game was designed for smaller children.  A similar version of this game was also published for the Game Boy Advance.
Vivendi Universal Games published ''[[The Hobbit (2003 video game)|The Hobbit: Prelude to The Lord of the Rings]]'' in 2003 for Windows PCs, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube. It is a hack and slash game produced as a prequel to ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' video games, but also as a softer version of those two games: less brutal, fewer enemies but with an important platform aspect, the game was designed for smaller children.  A similar version of this game was also published for the Game Boy Advance.


Filming on [[The Hobbit films|''The Hobbit'' films]] began in 2011, under the direction of [[Peter Jackson]].
===Films===
The first adaptation of ''The Hobbit'' was presented as ''[[The Hobbit (1966 film)|J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit]]'', and was created by [[Gene Deitch]] in [[1966]]. The film was produced by [[William Lawrence Snyder]] and took less than a month to create. The film was approximately twelve minutes long and was only created so that Snyder could extend his license for ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' and sell it back to Tolkien and his publishers, which he did for $100,000.<ref>{{webcite|author=[[Gene Deitch]]|articleurl=http://www.awn.com/articles/profiles/hobbit-alized-first-attempt-animating-hobbit|articlename=Hobbit-alized: The First Attempt At Animating The Hobbit|dated=11 December 2001|website=awn.com|accessed=10 January 2012}}</ref>


[[Tolkien Gateway]] is currently hosting an anyone-can-edit [[The Hobbit screenplay]].
An [[The Hobbit (1977 film)|animated film]] was first broadcasted on [[Sunday]], [[27 November]], [[1977]] on NBC by [[Rankin/Bass]]. It managed to squeeze most of the essential story into its 77 minute runtime and adapts many of Tolkien's songs making the film a musical.


== Editions ==
A [[The Hobbit (film series)|three-part live-action film version of ''The Hobbit'']] based on the book, and incorporating elements from the [[The Lord of the Rings Appendices|Apprendices]] of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' was produced and directed by [[Peter Jackson]], who had also produced and directed [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|a film adaptation of ''The Lord of the Rings'']]. Principal photography began in 2011 and ended in 2012, with the majority of the scenes being shot in [[New Zealand]].


George Allen & Unwin, Ltd. of London published the first edition of ''The Hobbit'' in September 1937. It was illustrated with many black-and-white drawings by Tolkien himself. The original printing numbered a mere 1,500 copies and sold out by December due to enthusiastic reviews. Houghton Mifflin of Boston and New York prepared an American edition to be released early in 1938 in which four of the illustrations would be colour plates. Allen & Unwin decided to incorporate the colour illustrations into their second printing, released at the end of 1937. Despite the book's popularity, wartime conditions forced the London publisher to print small runs of the remaining two printings of the first edition.
This film series was released in three parts: ''[[The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey]]'' was released on 14 December 2012; ''[[The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug]]'' was released on 13 December 2013; and ''[[The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies]]'' was released worldwide on 17 December 2014.


As remarked above, Tolkien substantially revised ''The Hobbit'''s text describing Bilbo's dealings with Gollum in order to blend the story better into what ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' had become. This revision became the second edition, published in 1951 in both UK and American editions. Slight corrections to the text have appeared in the third (1966) and fourth editions (1978).
===Miscellaneous===
A [[:File:The Hobbit (dramatised by Patricia Gray).png|drama playscript]] was published in [[1968]], which is made of multiple simple sets and runs about 2 hours. A [[The Hobbit (1985 television film)|live action television dramatization]] was broadcast on USSR televsion in [[1985]]. [[David T. Wenzel]]'s [[David T. Wenzel's The Hobbit|graphic format adaptation]] of ''The Hobbit'' was published in [[1989]].


New [[English-language editions of The Hobbit|English-language editions of ''The Hobbit'']] spring up often, despite the book's age, with [[English-language editions of The Hobbit|at least fifty editions]] having been published to date. Each comes from a different publisher or bears distinctive cover art, internal art, or substantial changes in format. The text of each generally adheres to the Allen & Unwin edition extant at the time it is published.
==Publication history and gallery==
:''Please see [[The Hobbit/Publication history and gallery|Publication history and gallery]].''


The remarkable and enduring popularity of ''The Hobbit'' expresses itself in the collectors' market. The first printing of the first English language edition rarely sells for under $10,000 US dollars in any whole condition, and clean copies in original dust jackets signed by the author are routinely advertised for over $100,000. Online auction site eBay tends to define the market value for those who [[Early American editions of The Hobbit|collect ''The Hobbit'']].
==See also==
 
*[[Poems in The Hobbit|Poems in ''The Hobbit'']]
''The Hobbit'' has been translated into many languages. Known languages, with the first date of publishing, are:
*[[The Hobbit/Translations|Translations of ''The Hobbit'']]
{|-
*"[[The Quest of Erebor]]", from ''[[Unfinished Tales]]''  
|
*[[:Category:Images from The Hobbit|Images from ''The Hobbit'']] illustrated by [[Alan Lee]]
* Breton (2000)
* Belarusian (2002)
* Bulgarian (1975)
* Catalan (1983)
* Chinese (Traditional characters,1996; new translation 2001)
* Czech (1973)
* Danish (1969)
* Dutch (1960)
* Esperanto (2000, ''[[La hobito]]'')
* Estonian (1977)
* Faroese (1990)
* Finnish (1973)
* French (1969)
* Frysk (2009)
* Galician (2000)
* German (1957; new translation 1997)
* Greek (1978)
* Hebrew (1976)
* Hungarian (1975)
* Icelandic (1978)
|
* Irish (forthcoming)
* Indonesian (1977)
* Italian (1973)
* Japanese (1965)
* Latvia ( 1990)
* Lithuanian (1985)
* Norwegian (1972)
* Persian (1383 = 2004)
* Polish (1960; new translations 1997 and 2002)
* Portuguese (1962)
* Romanian (1975, [[O poveste cu un hobbit (1975)|''O poveste cu un hobbit'']])
* Russian (1976: [[Tolkien Through Russian Eyes | 9 different translations total]])
* Serbo-Croatian (1975)
* Slovak (1973)
* Spanish (1964)
* Swedish (1947, ''[[Hompen]]''; new translation 1962)
* Thai (2002)
* Turkish (1996)
* Ukrainian (1985)
|}


==See also==
;Related books
*[[The Quest of Erebor]]
*''[[The Annotated Hobbit]]'' by [[Douglas A. Anderson]]
*[[English-language editions of The Hobbit]]
*''[[The History of The Hobbit]]'' by [[John D. Rateliff]]
*[[Early American editions of The Hobbit]]
*''[[The Art of The Hobbit]]'' by [[Wayne G. Hammond]] and [[Christina Scull]]
*[[The Hobbit screenplay]]
*''[[Poems from The Hobbit]]''
*[[:Category:Characters in The Hobbit|Characters in The Hobbit]]


==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.hobbit.ca/Library.html collection of edition covers, 1937&ndash;2005]
* [http://www.hobbit.ca/Library.html Collection of edition covers, 1937&ndash;2005]
* [http://www.tolkienbooks.net/html/the_hobbit.htm Every UK edition of The Hobbit]
* [http://www.tolkienbooks.net/html/the_hobbit.htm UK editions of ''The Hobbit'']
* [http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/reviews/dutch-de_hobbit.htm Every Dutch edition of The Hobbit]
*[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/9555838/The-Hobbit-What-has-made-the-book-such-an-enduring-success.html ''The Hobbit'': What has made the book such an enduring success?] by [[Tom Shippey]]
* [http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/translations/hobbits/index.htm Hobbits around the globe - gallery]
* [http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/reviews/dutch-de_hobbit.htm Every Dutch edition of ''The Hobbit'']
* [http://www.hobbitcentral.com/lore/hobbitguide.php Hobbit guide] by [[Michael Martinez]]
* [http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/translations/hobbits/index.htm ''Hobbits'' around the globe - gallery]


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[[de:Der kleine Hobbit]]
[[de:Der kleine Hobbit]]
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Latest revision as of 04:12, 11 September 2023

The name The Hobbit refers to more than one character, item or concept. For a list of other meanings, see The Hobbit (disambiguation).
The name There and Back Again refers to more than one character, item or concept. For a list of other meanings, see There and Back Again (disambiguation).
The Hobbit,
or There and Back Again
The Hobbit 2016-facsimile.jpeg
AuthorJ.R.R. Tolkien
IllustratorJ.R.R. Tolkien
PublisherGeorge Allen and Unwin (UK)
Houghton Mifflin (US)
Released21 September 1937
FormatHardcover; paperback; deluxe-edition; audio-book
Pages312
Followed byThe Lord of the Rings (1954-55)
"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit."
The Hobbit, "An Unexpected Party"

The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, better known as The Hobbit, is a children's fantasy novel by J.R.R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim. The book remains popular and is recognized as a classic in children's literature.

The Hobbit is set within Tolkien's Middle-earth and follows the quest of home-loving Bilbo Baggins, the titular hobbit, to win a share of the treasure guarded by a dragon named Smaug. Bilbo's journey takes him from his light-hearted, rural surroundings into more sinister territory.

The story is told in the form of an episodic quest, and most chapters introduce a specific creature or type of creature of Tolkien's geography. Bilbo gains a new level of maturity, competence, and wisdom by accepting the disreputable, romantic, fey, and adventurous sides of his nature and applying his wits and common sense. The story reaches its climax in the Battle of Five Armies, where many of the characters and creatures from earlier chapters re-emerge to engage in conflict.

Inscription[edit | edit source]

There is an inscription in the Cirth characters in the title page, it reads:

"The Hobbit or There and Back Again, being the record of a year's journey made by Bilbo Baggins of Hobbiton; compiled from his memoirs by J.R.R. Tolkien and published by George Allen and Unwin Ltd."[1]

Synopsis[edit | edit source]

The Hobbit chapters
[Preface]
  1. An Unexpected Party
  2. Roast Mutton
  3. A Short Rest
  4. Over Hill and Under Hill
  5. Riddles in the Dark
  6. Out of the Frying-Pan into the Fire
  7. Queer Lodgings
  8. Flies and Spiders
  9. Barrels Out of Bond
  10. A Warm Welcome
  11. On the Doorstep
  12. Inside Information
  13. Not at Home
  14. Fire and Water
  15. The Gathering of the Clouds
  16. A Thief in the Night
  17. The Clouds Burst
  18. The Return Journey
  19. The Last Stage

Gandalf tricks Bilbo Baggins into hosting a party for Thorin Oakenshield and his band of twelve dwarves (Dwalin, Balin, Kili, Fili, Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, Gloin, Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur), who sing of reclaiming their ancient home, Lonely Mountain, and its vast treasure from the dragon Smaug. When the music ends, Gandalf unveils Thrór's Map showing a secret door into the Mountain and proposes that the dumbfounded Bilbo serve as the expedition's "burglar". The dwarves ridicule the idea, but Bilbo, indignant, joins despite himself.

The group travels into the wild. Gandalf saves the company from trolls and leads them to Rivendell, where Elrond reveals more secrets from the map. When they attempt to cross the Misty Mountains, they are caught by goblins and driven deep underground. Although Gandalf rescues them, Bilbo gets separated from the others as they flee the goblins. Lost in the goblin tunnels, he stumbles across a mysterious ring and then encounters Gollum, who engages him in a game, each posing a riddle until one of them cannot solve it. If Bilbo wins, Gollum will show him the way out of the tunnels, but if he fails, his life will be forfeit. With the help of the ring, which confers invisibility, Bilbo escapes and rejoins the dwarves, improving his reputation with them. The goblins and Wargs give chase, but the company are saved by eagles. They rest in the house of Beorn.

Expulsion by Donato Giancola

The company enters the black forest of Mirkwood without Gandalf, who has other responsibilities. In Mirkwood, Bilbo first saves the dwarves from giant spiders and then from the dungeons of the Wood-elves. Nearing the Lonely Mountain, the travellers are welcomed by the human inhabitants of Lake-town, who hope the dwarves will fulfil prophecies of Smaug's demise. The expedition reaches the mountain and finds the secret door. The dwarves send a reluctant Bilbo inside to scout the dragon's lair. He steals a great cup and, while conversing with Smaug, spots a gap in the ancient dragon's armour. The enraged dragon, deducing that Lake-town has aided the intruders, flies off to destroy the town. A thrush overhears Bilbo's report of Smaug's vulnerability and tells Lake-town resident Bard. Smaug wreaks havoc on the town, until Bard fires an arrow into Smaug's hollow spot, killing the dragon.

When the dwarves take possession of the mountain, Bilbo finds the Arkenstone, the most-treasured heirloom of Thorin's family, and hides it away. The Wood-elves and Lake-men request compensation for Lake-town's destruction and settlement of old claims on the treasure. When Thorin refuses to give them anything, they besiege the mountain. However, Thorin manages to send a message to his kinfolk in the Iron Hills and reinforces his position. Bilbo slips out and gives the Arkenstone to the besiegers, hoping to head off a war. When they offer the jewel to Thorin in exchange for treasure, Bilbo reveals how they obtained it. Thorin, furious at what he sees as betrayal, banishes Bilbo, and battle seems inevitable when Dáin Ironfoot, Thorin's second cousin, arrives with an army of dwarf warriors.

Gandalf reappears to warn all of an approaching army of goblins and Wargs. The dwarves, men and elves band together, but only with the timely arrival of the eagles and Beorn do they win the climactic Battle of Five Armies. Thorin is fatally wounded and reconciles with Bilbo before he dies.

Bilbo accepts only a small portion of his share of the treasure, having no want or need for more, but still returns home a very wealthy hobbit roughly a year and a month after he first left. Years later, he writes the story of his adventures.

Characters[edit | edit source]

  1. Bilbo Baggins
  2. Belladonna Took (mentioned only)
  3. Bungo Baggins (mentioned only)
  4. Old Took (mentioned only)
  5. Gandalf the Grey
  6. Thorin Oakenshield
  7. Dwalin
  8. Balin
  9. Fíli
  10. Kíli
  11. Óin
  12. Glóin
  13. Dori
  14. Nori
  15. Ori
  16. Bifur
  17. Bofur
  18. Bombur
  19. Smaug
  20. Thráin (mentioned only)
  21. Thrór (mentioned only)
  22. Thráin I (mentioned only)
  23. Azog (mentioned only)
  24. Bullroarer Took (mentioned only)
  25. Golfimbul (mentioned only)
  26. William
  27. Tom
  28. Bert
  29. Elrond
  30. Durin (mentioned only)
  31. The Great Goblin
  32. Gollum
  33. Wargs
  34. The Lord of the Eagles
  35. Beorn
  36. Radagast the Brown (mentioned only)
  37. The Elvenking
  38. Galion
  39. Bard the Bowman
  40. Master of Lake-town
  41. Girion of Dale (mentioned only)
  42. Carc (mentioned only)
  43. Roäc
  44. Dáin Ironfoot
  45. Bolg

Illustrations[edit | edit source]

Thror's map by J.R.R. Tolkien

All editions of The Hobbit contain two maps:

Most editions include another series of eight black and white illustrations, in some editions these have been coloured by H.E. Riddett, these are:

Tolkien created further new colored illustrations for the American edition by Houghton Mifflin.[2]

Conception[edit | edit source]

Bilbo comes to the Huts of the Raft-elves by J.R.R. Tolkien

Tolkien recollects in a 1955 letter to W.H. Auden (Letters, no. 163) that, in the late 1920s, when he was Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College, The Hobbit began when he was marking School Certificate papers, on the back of one of which he wrote the words "In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit" which evolved into a story like the ones he was making up for his children. He did not go any further than that at the time, although in the following years he drew up Thrór's map, outlining the geography of the tale.

The tale itself he wrote in the early 1930s. It was mostly enjoyed by his eldest son John (13) than the younger ones. His peers at Oxford also "forced" him to lent copies to read.[2] As early as age four and five, young Christopher was concerned with the consistency:

[O]n one occasion I interrupted: 'Last time, you said Bilbo's front door was blue, and you said Thorin had a golden tassel on his hood, but you've just said that Bilbo's front door was green and that Thorin's hood was silver'; at which point my father muttered 'Damn the boy,' and then 'strode across the room' to his desk to make a note.
—Christopher Tolkien, foreword to The Hobbit

It was eventually published because he lent it to the Reverend Mother Superior of Cherwell Edge when she was sick with the flu;[source?] he had also sent it to his former pupil Elaine Griffiths who was staying in the Cherwell Edge girl's hostel, and it was seen by her student, Susan Dagnall, who worked in the Allen and Unwin offices. It was the 10-year old son of Sir Stanley Unwin, Rayner Unwin, who wrote such an enthusiastic review of the book that it was published by Allen and Unwin.[3] By January of 1937 Tolkien was corresponding with Allen and Unwin (who also showed interest for Mr. Bliss and had to redraw the maps.[4][5] In February he approved the reduction of his illustrations[6] and in April he provided a dust for the dast cover with its runic inscription.[1]

Tolkien introduced or mentioned characters and places that figured prominently in his personal mythology, like Gondolin, which added depth, along with elements from Germanic legend.[7] But the decision that the events of The Hobbit could be part of his Legendarium was made only after successful publication, when the publisher asked for a sequel. Accordingly, The Hobbit serves both as an introduction to Middle-Earth and as a link between earlier and later events described in The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings, respectively.

Although a fairy tale, the novel is both complex and sophisticated: it contains many names and words derived from Norse mythology, and central plot elements from the Beowulf epic, it makes use of Anglo-Saxon Runes, information on calendars and moon phases, and detailed geographical descriptions that fit well with the accompanying maps. Near the end, the tale takes on epic proportions.

Publication[edit | edit source]

George Allen & Unwin, Ltd. of London published the first edition of The Hobbit on 21 September 1937. It was illustrated with many black-and-white drawings by Tolkien himself. The original printing numbered a mere 1,500 copies and sold out by 15 December that same year due to enthusiastic reviews. Houghton Mifflin of Boston and New York prepared an American edition to be released early in 1938 in which four of the illustrations would be colour plates. Allen & Unwin decided to incorporate the colour illustrations into their second printing, released at the end of 1937.[8] Despite the book's popularity, wartime conditions forced the London publisher to print small runs of the remaining two printings of the first edition.

After its publication, Tolkien's son Christopher was "hired" for his eye for consistency and was paid twopence a correction for subsequent publications.[source?]

As remarked above, Tolkien substantially revised The Hobbit's text describing Bilbo's dealings with Gollum in order to blend the story better into what The Lord of the Rings had become. This revision became the second edition, published in 1951 in both UK and American editions. Slight corrections to the text have appeared in the third (1966) and fourth editions (1978). (The original version of the Gollum chapter is included in The Annotated Hobbit, more information about the book's textual changes can be found in The History of The Hobbit.)

New English-language editions of The Hobbit spring up often, despite the book's age, with at least fifty editions having been published to date. Each comes from a different publisher or bears distinctive cover art, internal art, or substantial changes in format. The text of each generally adheres to the Allen & Unwin edition extant at the time it is published.

Reception[edit | edit source]

On first publication in October 1937, The Hobbit was met with almost unanimously favourable reviews from publications both in the UK and the US, including The Times, Catholic World, and New York Post. C.S. Lewis, friend of Tolkien (and later author of The Chronicles of Narnia between 1949 and 1954), writing in The Times reports:

The truth is that in this book a number of good things, never before united, have come together: a fund of humour, an understanding of children, and a happy fusion of the scholar's with the poet's grasp of mythology... The professor has the air of inventing nothing. He has studied trolls and dragons at first hand and describes them with that fidelity that is worth oceans of glib 'originality'.

Lewis compares the book to Alice in Wonderland in that both children and adults may find different things to enjoy in it, and places it alongside Flatland, Phantastes, and The Wind in the Willows.[9] W.H. Auden, in his review of the sequel The Fellowship of the Ring, calls The Hobbit "one of the best children's stories of this century".[10] Auden was later to correspond with Tolkien, and they became friends.

The Hobbit was nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald Tribune for best juvenile fiction of the year (1938).[11] More recently, the book has been recognized as "Most Important 20th-Century Novel (for Older Readers)" in the Children's Books of the Century poll in Books for Keeps.[12] In 2012 it was ranked number 14 on a list of the top 100 children's novels published by School Library Journal.[13]

Publication of the sequel The Lord of the Rings altered many critics' reception of the work. Instead of approaching The Hobbit as a children's book in its own right, critics such as Randel Helms picked up on the idea of The Hobbit as being a "prelude", relegating the story to a dry-run for the later work. Countering a presentist interpretation are those who say this approach misses out on much of the original's value as a children's book and as a work of high fantasy in its own right, and that it disregards the book's influence on these genres.[14] Commentators such as Paul Kocher,[15] John D. Rateliff,[16] and C.W. Sullivan encourage readers to treat the works separately, both because The Hobbit was conceived, published, and received independently of the later work, and to avoid dashing readers' expectations of tone and style.

Adaptations[edit | edit source]

Radio and audio[edit | edit source]

The Hobbit has been adapted for other media. BBC Radio 4 broadcast The Hobbit radio drama, adapted by Michael Kilgarriff, in eight parts (4 hours) from September to November 1968, which starred Anthony Jackson as narrator, Paul Daneman as Bilbo and Heron Carvic as Gandalf.

Middle-earth has been featured in songs notably by Enya and the Brobdingnagian Bards. Led Zeppelin's songs "Misty Mountain Hop" and "Ramble On" both contain references to Tolkien's mystical world. For The Hobbit itself, "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins", performed by Leonard Nimoy as part of his 1968 Two Sides of Leonard Nimoy album, is the most pertinent because it recounts the book's storyline in its two minutes. The ballad's music video became a minor Internet meme in the early 2000s when The Lord of the Rings movies were released.

In 1974, Argo Records released an audio adaptation of The Hobbit, with Nicol Williamson providing the voices for all the characters in the book. It was an abridged adaptation , as Williamson re-edited the original script, removing many instances of "he said" and so on, preferring instead to rely on his vocal characteristics to convey who was saying what to whom, feeling that this would keep the audience engrossed in the story rather than slowing the overall pace.

Video games[edit | edit source]

Several computer and video games, both official and unofficial, have been based on the story. One of the first was The Hobbit, a computer game developed in 1982 by Beam Software and published by Melbourne House for most computers available at the time, from the more popular computers such as the ZX Spectrum, and the Commodore 64, through to such esoteric computers as the Dragon 32 and Oric computers. By arrangement with publishers, a copy of the novel was included with each game sold.

Vivendi Universal Games published The Hobbit: Prelude to The Lord of the Rings in 2003 for Windows PCs, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube. It is a hack and slash game produced as a prequel to The Lord of the Rings video games, but also as a softer version of those two games: less brutal, fewer enemies but with an important platform aspect, the game was designed for smaller children. A similar version of this game was also published for the Game Boy Advance.

Films[edit | edit source]

The first adaptation of The Hobbit was presented as J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, and was created by Gene Deitch in 1966. The film was produced by William Lawrence Snyder and took less than a month to create. The film was approximately twelve minutes long and was only created so that Snyder could extend his license for The Lord of the Rings and sell it back to Tolkien and his publishers, which he did for $100,000.[17]

An animated film was first broadcasted on Sunday, 27 November, 1977 on NBC by Rankin/Bass. It managed to squeeze most of the essential story into its 77 minute runtime and adapts many of Tolkien's songs making the film a musical.

A three-part live-action film version of The Hobbit based on the book, and incorporating elements from the Apprendices of The Lord of the Rings was produced and directed by Peter Jackson, who had also produced and directed a film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. Principal photography began in 2011 and ended in 2012, with the majority of the scenes being shot in New Zealand.

This film series was released in three parts: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was released on 14 December 2012; The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug was released on 13 December 2013; and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies was released worldwide on 17 December 2014.

Miscellaneous[edit | edit source]

A drama playscript was published in 1968, which is made of multiple simple sets and runs about 2 hours. A live action television dramatization was broadcast on USSR televsion in 1985. David T. Wenzel's graphic format adaptation of The Hobbit was published in 1989.

Publication history and gallery[edit | edit source]

Please see Publication history and gallery.

See also[edit | edit source]

Related books

External links[edit | edit source]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 12, (dated 13 April 1937)
  2. 2.0 2.1 J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 15, (dated 31 August 1937)
  3. J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 294, (dated 8 February 1967)
  4. J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 9, (dated 4 January 1937)
  5. J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 10, (dated 17 January 1937)
  6. J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 11, (dated 5 February 1937)
  7. J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 257, (dated 16 July 1964)
  8. Laura Massey, "Identifying & Collecting Tolkien First Editions" dated 9 January 2012, PeterHarrington.co.uk (accessed 12 January 2012)
  9. Anderson, Douglas A. (ed.). The Annotated Hobbit
  10. Auden, W.H. "The Hero is a Hobbit"
  11. Carpenter, Humphrey; Tolkien, Christopher (eds.). The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
  12. "FAQ: Did Tolkien win any awards for his books?". The Tolkien Society. 2002
  13. "Top 100 Chapter Book Poll Results"
  14. Sullivan, C.W. (1996). High Fantasy
  15. Kocher, Paul (1974). Master of Middle-earth, the Achievement of J.R.R. Tolkien
  16. Rateliff, John D. (2007). The History of The Hobbit
  17. Gene Deitch, "Hobbit-alized: The First Attempt At Animating The Hobbit" dated 11 December 2001, awn.com (accessed 10 January 2012)
Illustrators of The Hobbit
Internal art J.R.R. Tolkien (1937-present) · Eric Fraser (The Folio Society: 1979, 1992-present) · Michael Hague (1984-1992) · David T. Wenzel (graphic novel: 1989-present) · Alan Lee (1997-present) · David Wyatt (1998-2001, 2012-2013) · John Howe (pop-up: 1999) · Jemima Catlin (2013-present)
Cover art only J.R.R. Tolkien (1937-present) · Pauline Baynes (1961) · Roger Garland (1987-1989) · John Howe (1991-present) · Ted Nasmith (1989-1991) · Barbara Remington (1965 US)
A J.R.R. Tolkien book guide
Books by or mainly by Tolkien
Of Arda Authored by
J.R.R. Tolkien
The Hobbit · The Lord of the Rings
(i.The Fellowship of the Ring · ii.The Two Towers · iii.The Return of the King) ·
The Road Goes Ever On · Bilbo's Last Song
Edited by Christopher Tolkien The Silmarillion · Unfinished Tales · The History of Middle-earth series
(i.The Book of Lost Tales: Part One · ii.The Book of Lost Tales: Part Two · iii.The Lays of Beleriand · iv.The Shaping of Middle-earth · v.The Lost Road and Other Writings · vi.The Return of the Shadow · vii.The Treason of Isengard · viii.The War of the Ring · ix.Sauron Defeated · x.Morgoth's Ring · xi.The War of the Jewels · xii.The Peoples of Middle-earth · Index) ·
The Children of Húrin · Beren and Lúthien · The Fall of Gondolin
Edited by others The Annotated Hobbit · The History of The Hobbit · The Nature of Middle-earth ·
The Fall of Númenor · The Maps of Middle-earth
Not of Arda Short stories
and poems
Leaf by Niggle · Farmer Giles of Ham · Smith of Wootton Major · The Adventures of Tom Bombadil ·
Letters from Father Christmas · Mr. Bliss · Roverandom ·
Tree and Leaf (compilation) · Tales from the Perilous Realm (compilation)
Fictional works The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún · The Fall of Arthur · The Story of Kullervo · The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun
Translations and academic works Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo · Finn and Hengest ·
The Monsters and the Critics, and Other Essays · Beowulf and the Critics · Tolkien On Fairy-stories ·
Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary · A Secret Vice · The Battle of Maldon
Collected letters and poems The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien · The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien
Edited old texts A Middle English Vocabulary · Sir Gawain and the Green Knight · Ancrene Wisse · The Old English Exodus
Books by other authors
Biographies J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography · The Inklings · Tolkien and the Great War
Reference works The Complete Guide to Middle-earth · The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide
Scholarly studies The Road to Middle-earth · The Keys of Middle-earth · The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion ·
The Ring of Words · A Companion to J.R.R. Tolkien · Tolkien's Lost Chaucer ·
Tolkien's Library · Tolkien on Chaucer, 1913-1959
Scholarly journals Tolkien Studies · (The Chronology)
Other works by Tolkien
Linguistic journals Vinyar Tengwar various issues · Parma Eldalamberon issue 11-22
Collections of artwork
and manuscripts
Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien · J.R.R. Tolkien: Life and Legend · J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator ·
The Art of The Hobbit · The Art of The Lord of the Rings · Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth ·
Tolkien: Treasures · J.R.R. Tolkien: The Art of the Manuscript
This list is only a selection of works, for a fuller bibliography of Tolkien see here or here. See also a timeline.
The Hobbit film series
Source material: The Hobbit · The Lord of the Rings
Films An Unexpected Journey (extended editionThe Desolation of Smaug (extended edition) · The Battle of the Five Armies (extended edition)
Music An Unexpected Journey (Special Edition) · The Desolation of Smaug (Special Edition) · The Battle of the Five Armies (Special Edition) · "Song of the Lonely Mountain" · "I See Fire" · "The Last Goodbye"
Tie-in books An Unexpected Journey Official Movie Guide · Visual Companion · Movie Storybook · Annual 2013 · Chronicles: Art & Design · Chronicles: Creatures & Characters · The World of Hobbits
The Desolation of Smaug Official Movie Guide · Visual Companion · Movie Storybook · Annual 2014 · Chronicles: Art & Design · Chronicles: Cloaks & Daggers · Smaug: Unleashing the Dragon · Activity Book · Sticker Book · Ultimate Sticker Collection
The Battle of the Five Armies Official Movie Guide · Visual Companion · Movie Storybook · Annual 2015 · Chronicles: Art & Design · Chronicles: The Art of War · Activity Book
Video games Kingdoms of Middle-earth · Armies of The Third Age · Lego The Hobbit
Characters Bilbo · Thorin · Gandalf · Balin · Fíli · Kíli · Dwalin · Dori · Nori · Ori · Óin · Glóin · Bifur · Bofur · Bombur · Smaug · Radagast · Elrond · Galadriel · Saruman · Azog · Bolg · Thranduil · Legolas · Tauriel · Bard · Bain · Tilda · Sigrid · Master of Lake-town · Alfrid · Dáin Ironfoot · Necromancer · Bert · William · Tom · Beorn · Thráin · Thrór · Goblin King · Gollum · Frodo
The Lord of the Rings film series
Source material: The Hobbit · The Lord of the Rings
Films The Fellowship of the Ring (extended editionThe Two Towers (extended edition) · The Return of the King (extended edition)
Music The Fellowship of the Ring (The Complete Recordings) · The Two Towers (The Complete Recordings) · The Return of the King (The Complete Recordings) · "May It Be" · "Gollum's Song" · "Into the West"
Tie-in books Official Movie Guide · The Making of the Movie Trilogy · Complete Visual Companion · Gollum: How We Made Movie Magic · There and Back Again: An Actor's Tale · Weapons and Warfare · The Art of The Lord of the Rings · Sketchbook
The Fellowship of the Ring Visual Companion · The Art of The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers Visual Companion · Photo Guide · The Art of The Two Towers
The Return of the King Visual Companion · The Art of The Return of the King
Video games The Two Towers · The Return of the King · The Third Age · Tactics · Conquest · Aragorn's Quest · Lego The Lord of the Rings
Characters Frodo · Bilbo · Gandalf · Sam · Merry · Pippin · Gandalf · Aragorn · Boromir · Legolas · Gimli · Elrond · Galadriel · Théoden · Éomer · Éowyn · Saruman · Sauron · Witch-king · Denethor · Faramir · Gollum · Gríma · Treebeard · Celeborn · Haldir · Lurtz · Sharku · Grishnákh