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The Hobbit

A reluctant hobbit joins a company of dwarves and a wizard to reclaim a treasure-hoard from the dragon Smaug.

Tolkien’s textsSupported by the narratives published in Tolkien’s lifetime.
Author
J.R.R. Tolkien
Published
1937
Format
Novel
The Hobbit

Synopsis

Tolkien’s first published Middle-earth tale follows Bilbo Baggins, a comfortably settled hobbit, who is swept into a quest by Gandalf and thirteen dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield. Crossing troll-infested wilds, the goblin tunnels beneath the Misty Mountains and the enchanted gloom of Mirkwood, Bilbo discovers a courage — and a magic ring — he never knew he had. The journey ends at the Lonely Mountain, where the dragon Smaug guards the dwarves’ stolen gold and where a sudden battle draws elves, men, goblins and wargs into a single field. Written at first as a children’s story, it quietly became the doorway into the larger legendarium.

Setting

The Shire, the Wilderland of Rhovanion, the Misty Mountains, Mirkwood and the Lonely Mountain (Erebor), in the later Third Age.

Chapters

  1. 1.An Unexpected Party

    Gandalf contrives a visit from thirteen dwarves; Bilbo is hired as the expedition’s burglar and rushes out without so much as a pocket-handkerchief.

  2. 2.Roast Mutton

    Bilbo first proves his usefulness when the company is captured by three trolls, and Gandalf tricks the trolls into quarrelling until dawn turns them to stone.

  3. 3.A Short Rest

    The travellers shelter at Rivendell, where Elrond reads the moon-letters on Thorin’s map and identifies the runes of the hidden door.

  4. 4.Over Hill and Under Hill

    In the passes of the Misty Mountains the company is captured by goblins; Gandalf slays the Great Goblin and the dwarves flee in the dark.

  5. 5.Riddles in the Dark

    Lost and alone, Bilbo meets Gollum and wins a riddle contest — and, by accident, takes the strange golden ring that makes its wearer invisible.

  6. 6.Queer Lodgings

    Beorn the skin-changer shelters and supplies the company before they dare the black eaves of Mirkwood.

  7. 7.Flies and Spiders

    Bilbo rescues the dwarves from giant spiders, names his sword Sting, and reveals the ring’s power to his companions.

  8. 8.Barrels Out of Bond

    Imprisoned by the Elvenking, Bilbo frees the dwarves by sealing them inside empty wine-barrels and floating them down the Forest River.

  9. 9.Inside Information

    At the Lonely Mountain Bilbo enters by the secret door, speaks riddling words with the dragon Smaug, and glimpses the weakness in the great worm’s jewelled armour.

  10. 10.Fire and Water

    Smaug flies in wrath to Lake-town; there Bard the Bowman, warned by an old thrush, drives the black arrow into the bare patch and fells the dragon.

  11. 11.The Clouds Burst

    Goblins and wargs attack just as dwarves, elves and men are about to fight one another, and the Battle of the Five Armies is joined.

  12. 12.The Return Journey

    Thorin is mortally wounded and reconciled with Bilbo; the treasure is shared out, and Bilbo turns for home richer, but chiefly in experience.

Themes

  • courage and growth
  • greed and its cost
  • the value of the ordinary
  • luck and providence
  • home versus adventure

Where to go next

Publication note

Publication note

First published by George Allen & Unwin in 1937 and revised in 1951 and 1966 to bring it into line with The Lord of the Rings. It is the only Middle-earth narrative Tolkien saw through the press himself before the great sequel.

Sources

  • The Hobbit · 1937

    Published in Tolkien’s lifetime. The primary narrative of Bilbo’s journey.