Hobbit, The, is a fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien, an English author and scholar. The novel’s full name is The Hobbit, or There and Back Again. The book was published in 1937. It served as the prologue to Tolkien’s three-volume novel The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955). Tolkien’s books became enormously successful internationally. Their fame spread in the early 2000’s through a series of popular motion-picture adaptations.
In The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien created a fantasy world called Middle-earth populated by elves, dwarves, goblins, wizards, and human beings. The hobbits are a race of short, hairy-footed, humanlike creatures. They are industrious and good-natured, and capable of great courage and resourcefulness. The hobbits live peacefully in a part of Middle-earth called the Shire.
The reluctant hero of The Hobbit is Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit persuaded by the wizard Gandalf to join a band of dwarves seeking to take back their mountain home from the dragon Smaug. During the expedition, Bilbo discovers a magic ring that makes the wearer invisible but also corrupts them. The ring plays an important role in The Lord of the Rings. As Bilbo faces challenges and dangers during the journey, he gains in maturity and wisdom. Bilbo’s personal growth forms a central theme of the story.
Tolkien was a professor at Oxford University in England, specializing in medieval languages and literature. His hobbit stories reflect the influences of fairy tales and medieval English, German, and Scandinavian languages and literature.
