Synopsis
This 1937 fantasy is the prequel, or "prelude" to the classic epic trilogy THE LORD OF THE RINGS. Bilbo Baggins is the hobbit of the title: a short, round, and hairy-footed creature fond of small comforts and his rural home. What he doesn't like (or at least thinks he doesn't like) is adventure, but that's just what he gets when a wizard and several dwarves show up on his doorstep, eat him out of house and home, and induce him to join them on a perilous quest to steal a dragon's treasure. Along the way, he picks up a golden ring with the power to turn the wearer invisible; this ring will turn out to be central to the later volumes. While THE LORD OF THE RINGS is a serious epic about the nature of good and evil, written in highly formal language and intended for adults, this earlier work is considerably lighter in tone and clearly directed toward a younger audience, having sprung out of the stories that Tolkien used to tell his own children. However, that does not and has not prevented adults the world over from enjoying THE HOBBIT.

Details
Publication Date:	1999-09-15
Edition Description:	Reprint

Size
Length:	271 pages
Height:	8.3 in
Width:	5.8 in
Thickness:	0.8 in
Weight:	10.4 oz

Publisher's Note
J.R.R. Tolkien's own description for the original edition: If you care for journeys there and back, out of the comfortable Western world, over the edge of the Wild, and home again, and can take an interest in a humble hero (blessed with a little wisdom and a little courage and considerable good luck), here is a record of such a journey and such a traveler. The period is the ancient time between the age of Faerie and the dominion of men, when the famous forest of Mirkwood was still standing, and the mountains were full of danger. In following the path of this humble adventurer, you will learn by the way (as he did) -- if you do not already know all about these things -- much about trolls, goblins, dwarves, and elves, and get some glimpses into the history and politics of a neglected but important period.

Whisked away from his comfortable, unambitious life in his hobbit-hole by a wizard and a company of dwarves, Bilbo Baggins finds himself caught up in a plot to raid the treasure hoard of a large and very dangerous dragon. Maps. Line drawings.

Industry Reviews
"Seventeen years ago there appeared, without any fanfare, a book called "The Hobbit" which in my opinion, is one of the best children's stories of this century."
New York Times Book Review - W. H. Auden (10/31/1954)

"The English-speaking world is divided into those who have read 'The Hobbit' and 'The Lord of the Rings' and those who are going to read them."
Sunday Times (London)