The Hobbit

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort. Written for J.R.R. Tolkien’s own children, The Hobbit met with instant critical acclaim when it was first published in 1937. Now recognized as a timeless classic, this introduction to the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, the wizard Gandalf, Gollum, and the spectacular world of Middle-earth recounts of the adventures of a reluctant hero, a powerful and dangerous ring, and the cruel dragon Smaug the Magnificent. The text of this 75th-anniversary edition is based on the one Tolkien edited in 1965 to bring the story in closer accord with The Lord of the Rings. This tale of high adventure is set in the earlier history of Middle-earth, before The Lord of the Rings. It tells the story of Bilbo Baggins’ unexpected journey with the wizard Gandalf and thirteen dwarves.