The Hobbit

A children's book that opened Middle-earth

The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, is a fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien, published in 1937. Tolkien was a professor of Old English at Oxford, an expert in medieval languages and Norse myth. He began the story for his own children, and the narrator often speaks directly to the reader in the warm, joking voice of someone telling a bedtime tale. The book was an immediate success, and the publisher asked for a sequel. That sequel became The Lord of the Rings.

The story is set in Middle-earth, a world of men, elves, dwarves, goblins and dragons. It has 19 chapters and follows one journey: from Bilbo's home in the Shire, east across the Misty Mountains and the forest of Mirkwood, to the Lonely Mountain, and back.

Tolkien revised the book in 1951 so that it would fit The Lord of the Rings. In the first edition, Gollum bets his ring in the riddle game and is willing to give it up. In the revised one, which almost all editions now print, Gollum is far more dangerous and tied to the ring's power.

An unexpected party

The book begins with its most famous line: in a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Hobbits are small, about half the height of men, with hairy feet and no love of adventure. Bilbo Baggins is about fifty, well off and respectable. But his mother was a Took, a family known for odd, adventurous streaks.

One morning the wizard Gandalf stops by. Bilbo politely gets rid of him. Gandalf scratches a secret mark on Bilbo's green door. The next evening, thirteen dwarves arrive in ones and twos, eat all his food, wash up while singing, and fill his house. Their leader is Thorin Oakenshield, grandson of the last King under the Mountain.

Thorin explains the quest. Long ago, the dragon Smaug drove the dwarves out of their kingdom under the Lonely Mountain, called Erebor, and took their great hoard of gold. Gandalf has a map made by Thorin's grandfather, Thror, and a key to a secret side door. The dwarves plan to sneak in, and they need a burglar. Gandalf has chosen Bilbo. The dwarves doubt him. Bilbo, stung by their doubts and stirred by their songs, agrees. The next morning he runs out of his house without a pocket handkerchief to join them.

Trolls, elves and goblins

On the road, the company stops for the night, and Bilbo is sent to look at a fire. He finds three huge trolls, Bert, Tom and William, cooking mutton. He tries to pick a troll's pocket and is caught. The trolls capture the dwarves one by one in sacks. Gandalf saves them by throwing his voice to keep the trolls arguing until dawn, when sunlight turns them to stone. In the trolls' cave, the company finds treasure and three elvish swords. Gandalf takes Glamdring, Thorin takes Orcrist, and Bilbo takes a short blade that serves him as a sword.

They rest at Rivendell, home of the half-elf Elrond. He reads hidden moon-letters on the map: stand by the grey stone when the thrush knocks, and the last light of the setting sun on Durin's Day will shine on the keyhole.

Crossing the Misty Mountains, they shelter from a storm in a cave. It is a back door into the tunnels of the goblins, who capture them. Gandalf kills the Great Goblin and leads the dwarves out in the dark. In the chase, Bilbo falls and is left behind.

Riddles in the dark

Alone in the black tunnels, Bilbo's hand closes on a small ring lying on the floor. He puts it in his pocket. He comes to an underground lake, where a slimy creature named Gollum lives on an island and catches fish and stray goblins. Gollum talks to himself and calls the ring, which he has lost, his precious.

Gollum proposes a riddle game. If Bilbo wins, Gollum will show him the way out. If Gollum wins, he will eat him. They trade riddles about mountains, wind, eggs, fish and time. Bilbo, running out of ideas, feels the ring in his pocket and asks: what have I got in my pocket? Gollum cannot guess.

Gollum goes to fetch his ring, finds it gone and realizes that Bilbo has it. He comes after him in rage. Bilbo slips the ring on by accident and becomes invisible. He follows Gollum to the goblins' back gate. Gollum blocks the passage. Bilbo could kill him. He feels pity for the miserable creature, and leaps over him instead. He escapes into daylight as Gollum shrieks behind him that he hates the thief forever.

Bilbo finds the dwarves and Gandalf, and he walks into their camp unseen. He does not tell them about the ring. The dwarves start to respect him.

Wolves, eagles and Beorn

Goblins and Wargs, evil wolves, trap the company in pine trees. Gandalf throws burning pinecones. The trees catch fire. The great Eagles, who hate goblins, swoop down and carry the company away to safety.

They stay with Beorn, a huge man who can take the shape of a bear. He is gruff and dangerous but hates goblins. Gandalf gets them welcomed by telling the story slowly and bringing in the dwarves two at a time. Beorn gives them ponies and food and warns them: in the forest of Mirkwood, never leave the path.

Mirkwood and the elves

At the forest's edge, Gandalf leaves them for other business. The forest is dark and hungry. They cross an enchanted stream, and the fat dwarf Bombur falls in and sinks into a deep sleep. They see elves feasting in the woods, leave the path to beg for food, and get lost.

Giant spiders catch the dwarves and wrap them in webs. Bilbo, alone, kills a spider with his blade, which gives him new courage. He names the sword Sting. With the ring on, he leads the spiders away, cuts the dwarves free and fights at their side.

Then the Wood-elves capture the dwarves and take them to the king's halls. The Elvenking distrusts dwarves and wants to know their errand. Thorin will not tell. Bilbo, invisible, lives in the palace for weeks, finds the cells and steals the keys. He packs the dwarves into empty wine barrels that the elves float down the river to Lake-town, a town of men built on stilts on the Long Lake. Bilbo rides on top of a barrel.

The Lonely Mountain and Smaug

The people of Lake-town welcome Thorin, because old songs say the return of the King under the Mountain will bring back gold. The Master of the town is glad to see them go.

At the mountain, they find the hidden door, but cannot open it. On Durin's Day, as Bilbo sits by the grey stone, a thrush knocks a snail on the rock, and the last light of the sun shows the keyhole. Thorin opens the door.

The dwarves send Bilbo down the tunnel alone. He finds Smaug asleep on a mountain of gold. He steals a golden cup and runs. Smaug wakes, sees the cup is missing, and burns the mountainside in fury. On a second visit, invisible, Bilbo talks with the dragon. He calls himself riddling names, such as Barrel-rider and Ringwinner. Smaug tries to make him doubt that the dwarves will pay him fairly. Bilbo flatters the dragon into showing his jeweled belly and sees a bare patch on his left breast. On his way out, Bilbo cannot resist a joke, and Smaug's flame nearly catches him.

Bilbo tells the dwarves about the weak spot. An old thrush nearby listens. Smaug flies off in rage to attack Lake-town, which he blames for helping the thieves.