THE HOBBIT



Author:


JRR Tolkien

First edition:


The Hobbit or There and Back Again, 1937

Main illustrators:


Chica Faivre-Drouhin


In short:


"What is a hobbit? I suppose hobbits need some descriptions nowadays, since they have become rare and shy of the Big People, as they call us. They are (or were) a little people, about half our height, and smaller than the bearded dwarves. Hobbits have no beards. There is little or no magic about them, except the ordinary everyday sort which helps them to disappear quietly and quickly when large stupid folk like you and me come blundering along, making noise like elephants which they can hear a mile off. They are inclined to be fat in the stomach; they dress in bright colours (chiefly green and yellow); wear no shoes because they feet grow natural leathery soles and thick warm brown hair like the stuff on their heads (which is curly); have long clever brown fingers, good-natured faces, and laugh deep fruitly laughs (specially after dinner, which they have twice a day when they can get it). Now you know enough to go on with." (The Hobbit, Unwin paperbacks, p.14)

The period is the ancient time between the age of Faerie and the dominion of men, when the famous forest of Mirkwood was still satnding, and the mountains were full of danger.
Our quiet, nice, funny and well-to-do Bilbo Baggins, the humble hero hobbit of this amazing story, gets involved in an expedition whithout willing to. Together with a tribe of dwarves and Gandalf the wizard, they all set off in search of a stolen treasure, kept by Smaug the Magnificent, the most terrible dragon in the world.
During their journey through the Misty Mountains and the Mirkwood forest, where you must keep by the path, they meet trolls, elves, goblins and many other creatures. Bilbo, in his gripping meeting with the riddle-loving Gollum, manages to get hold of a magic ring, which enables him to become invisible. They need to read runes (some of them are even more difficult to get, for they are moon runes), follow mysterious maps and find keys for keyholes. Wilderland is their objective.
Bibbo will come back to his homely nice hobbit-hole in the quiet neighbourhood of The Hill richer and wiser.



Selection of edition:


The Hobbit, illustrated by the author, Unwin papers, 1975
The Hobbit, illustrated by David Wyatt, Collins Modern Classics.
Bilbo le Hobbit, illustrated by Chica, Hachette, 1969.
Bilbo le Hobbit, illustrated by Evelyne Faivre-Drouhin, Hachette, 1983.


More about The Hobbit:


Similar to Alice in Wonderland origins, The Hobbit was first an oral tale before being written down. Tolkien used to invent hobbit's adventures for his four children. But the fame of the story, its magic and mythology spread and eventually it got published. As Tolkien's first book about this estrange universe of hobbits, dwarves, goblins and wizards, The Hobbit is the starting point of the future saga The Lord of the Rings. We learn about a Necromatian, the powerful enemy called Sauron in the trilogy, and even the first ring appears, owned from this moment on by our Bilbo Baggins.