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THE HOBBIT by J.R.R. TOLKIEN
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This page is concerned with Tolkien's first bestseller, "The Hobbit". It was first published in 1937 by George Allen and Unwin Publishers. It tells the miraculous story of the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins who travels east to steal a treasure from Smaug, a terrible dragon.
Dustjacket of the first edition of the Hobbit, 1937. © Trustees of the Tolkien Estate.
NAME: The Hobbit, or there and back again
AUTHOR: J.R.R. Tolkien
FIRST PUBLISHED: 21st of September 1937
No FIRST PRINTED: 1,500 copies
No OF PAGES (first print): 312
No OF ILLUSTRATIONS (first print): 11 black-and-white, two maps in black and red.
PUBLISHER: George Allen and Unwin
WORDS: 95,337 excl. title and foreword
No OF COPIES SOLD: approx. 35 - 40,000,000
No OF TRANSLATIONS: 25
ISBN: 0-395-47690-9
The idea for the the Hobbit was produced in a peculiar way. According to his own account, one day, when Tolkien was engaged in the soul-destroying task of marking examination papers, he discovered that one candidate had left one page of an answer-book blank. On this page he wrote "In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit". In typical Tolkien fashion, he then decided he needed to find out what a Hobbit was, what sort of a hole it lived in, why it lived in a hole, etc. From this investigation grew a tale that he told to his younger children, and even passed round (C.S. Lewis read a draft in 1932-33).
Tolkien's desk on which the Hobbit was written (currently at the Marion Wade Center)
In 1936 an incomplete typescript of it came into the hands of Susan Dagnall, an employee of the publishing firm of George Allen and Unwin (merged in 1990 with HarperCollins). She asked Tolkien to finish it, and presented the complete story to Stanley Unwin, the then Chairman of the firm. He tried it out on his 10-year old son Rayner, who wrote an approving report (he received a fee of one shilling; later he claimed "probably the best shilling the company ever spent"), and it was published as The Hobbit in 1937. It immediately scored a success, and was sold out before christmas. The second print of the first edition appeared in the same year and contained a number of colour illustrations. The first American Edition was released on March 1st, 1938. Since then, the Hobbit has been reprinted numerous times and has not been out of especially children's recommended reading lists ever since.
When the writing of the Lord of the Rings trilogy reached its final stage, Tolkien realized that his description of Gollum was inconsistent with the storyline of LOTR. For the second edition of "the Hobbit", appearing in 1951, Tolkien rewrote the Gollem-Bilbo scenes.
Rayner Unwin's original report, 1936
Tolkien himself about The Hobbit (in a NYTimes interview, 1967):
""The Hobbit" wasn't written for children, and it certainly wasn't done just for the amusement of Tolkien's three sons and one daughter, as is generally reported. "That's all sob stuff. No, of course, I didn't. If you're a youngish man and you don't want to be made fun of, you say you're writing for children. At any rate, children are your immediate audience and you write or tell them stories, for which they are mildly grateful: long rambling stories at bedtime.
"'The Hobbit' was written in what I should now regard as bad style, as if one were talking to children. There's nothing my children loathed more. They taught me a lesson. Anything that in any way marked out 'The Hobbit' as for children instead of just for people, they disliked-instinctively. I did too, now that I think about it. All this 'I won't tell you any more, you think about it' stuff. Oh no, they loathe it; it's awful."
Since 1937, the Hobbit has been reprinted several times, and the book has been translated into over 20 languages. Several editions exist, among which one with illustrations by Alan Lee (1997, HarperCollins) and a luxurious edition, bound in black leather with a golden dragon on it (HarperCollins, special edition, 1000 reprints).
FIRST EDITION PRINTS
The first printing of the Hobbit includes the dustjacket designed by Tolkien. The first printing also included 11 black-and-white illustrations and two maps, printed in red and black. The book was constructed of green cloth boards and contained 312 pages. It was 19 x 13.5 cm (7.48 x 5.31in). These boards were impressed with a left-facing dragon and a delightful mountain scene. The spine reads: The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. The center of the binding has a design made from the dwarven runes Th, D, Th. The bottom of the spine includes the publisher's name, George Allen & Unwin, Ltd. The first printing includes no color illustrations.
The Allen & Unwin First edition, first impression prints of the Hobbit (1937) are very rare and valuable, depending on the state, presence of dust cover and authors signature, prices asked vary from $12,500 to $70,000 (average market price for unsigned good edition approx. $20,000-$30,000). The first impression of the first edition has publishers ink corrected text on the rear flap of the dust jacket ("Dodgson" was misspelled " "Dodgeson"). In 2002, a signed first edition (which belonged to Tolkiens aunt) was sold for £41,825 (approx. $77,168).
For an Allen & Unwin first edition, second impression edition (stated 1937, but actually released in January 1938) with 4 colour illustrations, prices range from $6,000 to $19,000. First American editions (Houghton Mifflin, 1938) are offered for $1,500 to $15,000 (average market price approx. $5,000).
**-spoiler alert-**
Do not read below if you plan to read the Hobbit
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THE HOBBIT, or there and back again
"In a hole in the ground lived a hobbit." This hobbit was Mr. Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit of esteemed descent. On a day, his hole (in Hobbiton, the Shire), was visited by the wizard Gandalf. They agreed to meet Wednesday. To his surprise, on Wednesday, Bilbo is visited not only by Gandalf, but also by 13 dwarves. Of them, Thorin Oakenshield, is a dwarf of particular importance. He is the heir of the Kings of the dwarven realm "Erebor", the Lonely Mountain. Years ago, Smaug the Terrible, a giant dragon, conquered Erebor, destroying most of its inhabitants and collecting all treasures. Thorin was one of the few who managed to escape. Now, Thorin and his companions plan to regain the treasures taken from them. They know of a secret entrance to the Lonely Mountain, to which Gandalf provides a key. The only thing they need is a burglar. That is where Bilbo comes to play. To his surprise (and scaring the wits out of him) he is suggested by Gandalf to be the burglar. Although Bilbo protests, he is set on a journey east the next day.
On their way east, they encounter 3 trolls, which are known to be dangerous creatures. Bilbo wants to prove his capabilities as a burglar, but all 13 dwarves end up being captured by the trolls. Gandalf eventually saves them all by causing the trolls to argue until dawn, after which they are turned into stone. They find some Troll treasure, of which Bilbo takes a small sword. This sword is "Sting". Sting has magical properties, because it glows with a faint blue light when Goblins are around. They continue their journey and find a place to rest at Rivendell, where Elrond the Half-Elf reigns. Elrond discovers secret silver letters (moon letters) on a map Thorin has of Erebor, claiming: "Stand by the gray stone when the thrush knocks and the the setting sun with the last light of Durin's Day will shine upon the keyhole".
After their visit to Rivendell, they continue their journey over the great mountains. They end up being captured by the Goblins living under the mountains. Again, Gandalf saves the company. On their rush out, Bilbo is lost in the caves.
In the dark caves under the great mountains, Bilbo, by chance, puts his hand onto a small golden ring. He picks it up and slides it into his pocket. In these caves, a creature named Gollum lives. He has a magic ring which makes him invisible. Bilbo is lost into the very deepest cave, where the creature Gollum lives. They start a riddle game (just to win time, because Gollum cannot find his ring!). They ask each other riddles until Bilbo asks (not knowing what to ask next): "What do I have in my pocket?" Gollum cannot guess the answer and Bilbo wins the game. Too late Gollum realizes that Bilbo has his ring (his "precioussss") in his pocket. In anger Gollum chases Bilbo, but he cannot see him, because Bilbo is wearing the magic ring. Hunting for Bilbo, Gollum shows Bilbo the way out and Bilbo is reunited with his friends.
They travel forth and after being attacked by Goblins and Wargs (wolves), the are saved by the Eagles. The venture forth to meet Beorn, a strange human who can shapechange into a bear. Beorn provides them with food and other supplies. Arriving at the borders of Mirkwood, Gandalf leaves the company "to pay attention to his own business". The company of 14 enters Mirkwood and is attacked by giant spiders. Eventually, all but Bilbo are captured by the Elves of Mirkwood, who are not fond of dwarves. By smart play and his magic ring, Bilbo manages to free the dwarves by putting them into wooden barrels, which are used for wine transport by river. They end up in Esgaroth, a place built on long stakes in the water, inhabited by men.
They travel forth until they reach the Lonely Mountain. They find the secret entrance (a lark reveals the keyhole on Durin's day (the Dwarf new-year)), and Bilbo enters Erebor. He locates Smaug the dragon, who is sleeping, and steals some treasure. Smaug discovers some of his treasure is lost and is furious. In his anger, he flies to Esgaroth, meaning to destroy the town. Fortunately, Bard, a brave leader from Esgaroth, shoots Smaug from the sky with his mighty bow.
Meanwhile, the dwarves have regained control over Erebor. Drawn by mythical treasure, several groups camp before the doors of Erebor: Dwarves, coming to aid Thorin, and Men, claiming their part of the treasure, because they have killed Smaug. Bilbo ends up stealing the famous Arkenstone from Erebor. Because he wants to put and end to the argue, he hands the stone to the men of Esgaroth. Just before a battle is to break loose, news is that a large army of Goblins and Wargs is approaching. Dwarves and Men team up to beat this host in the Battle of the Five Armies. At the same time, Gandalf and other members of the White Council, chase the Evil Wizard from Dol Guldur. He is the one who planned the attack (actually, this Wizard is Sauron).
All ends well and Bilbo returns with bags of gold to Hobbiton, where the other hobbits thought Bilbo had been lost. His close-to-kin relatives the Sacksville-Bagginses had already claimed his beautiful hole at Bag's End. But all ends well and Bilbo regains his home and lives happily for a long time.
SOURCES:
-The Hobbit, by JRR Tokien
-The Annotated Hobbit, by JRR Tolkien and D.A. Anderson
-Tolkien, a biography by H. Carpenter
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