Back Die hobbit Afrikaans O Hobbit AN Se Holbytla ANG الهوبيت Arabic El Hobbit AST Hobbit Azerbaijani Хобіт, або Туды і назад Byelorussian Хобіт, або Туды і назад BE-X-OLD Хобитът Bulgarian দ্য হবিট Bengali/Bangla
 Title page of first American print | |
| Author | J. R. R. Tolkien |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | J. R. R. Tolkien |
| Cover artist | J. R. R. Tolkien |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Tolkien's legendarium |
| Genre | |
| Set in | Middle-earth |
| Publisher | George Allen & Unwin (UK) |
Publication date | 21 September 1937 |
| Pages | 310 (first edition) |
| OCLC | 1827184 |
| LC Class | PR6039.O32 H63 |
| Followed by | The Lord of the Rings |
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again''', is a book written by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was first published on September 21, 1937. Tolkien wrote it in the 1930s for his children as a bedtime story. The story takes place before The Lord of the Rings.
The plot is about a hobbit (which is one of a small race of people invented by Tolkien) named Bilbo Baggins who goes on an adventurous quest with a group of dwarves and the wizard Gandalf in order to fight a dragon called Smaug, which has stolen the treasures and home of the dwarves.
Although Tolkien borrowed (for example names and background) from his own Middle-earth storyline that he created, The Hobbit was at first not intended to be part of it. Later, when Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings, he made small changes to the story of the Hobbit to make it fit into The Lord of the Rings and the rest his Middle-earth world.