Status
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Description
In one volume for the first time, this revised and updated examination of how J.R.R. Tolkien came to write his original masterpiece The Hobbit includes his complete unpublished draft version of the story, together with notes and illustrations by Tolkien himself. The Hobbit was first published on September 21,1937. Like its sequel, The Lord of the Rings, it is a story that "grew in the telling," and many characters and plot threads in the published text are quite different from the story J.R.R. Tolkien first wrote to read aloud to his young sons as one of their "fireside reads." Together in one volume, The History of the Hobbit presents the complete text of the unpublished manuscript of The Hobbit, accompanied by John Rateliff's lively and informative account of how the book came to be written and published. Recording the numerous changes made to the story both before and after publication, he examines-chapter by chapter-why those changes were made and how they reflect Tolkien's ever-growing concept of Middle-earth. As well as reproducing the original version of one of the world's most popular novels-both on its own merits and as the foundation for The Lord of the Rings-this book includes many little-known illustrations and draft maps for The Hobbit by Tolkien himself. Also featured are extensive commentaries on the dates of composition, how Tolkien's professional and early mythological writings influenced the story, the imaginary geography he created, and how Tolkien came to revise the book years after publication to accommodate events in The Lord of the Rings. Endorsed by Christopher Tolkien as a companion to his essential 12-volume The History of Middle-earth, this thoughtful and exhaustive examination of one of the most treasured stories in English literature offers fascinating new insights for those who have grown up with this enchanting tale, and will delight any who are about to enter Bilbo's round door for the first time.… (more)
User reviews
After having devoured Christopher Tolkien's twelve-volume History of Middle Earth, I was left (as many no doubt were) with a profound sense of incompletion. Where was the Hobbit? The official explanation was that the Hobbit, at the time
Rateliff goes to great pains to show where this viewpoint was in error. Although its exact place in the legendarium was not decided for some time, the ties were striking and immediate. Was the Elvenking Thranduil originally going to be Thingol? Had Gondolin fallen only a few years before? Was the Arkenstone a Silmaril? As it later transpired, this was not the case, but as this book illustrates, not only did the earlier concepts influence the Hobbit, but the flow of information went both ways.
For the casual reader, it is possible simply to read the earliest drafts of the Hobbit, to read the initial scene with Gollum which was supplanted in later revisions, and generally get a glimpse of a master at his craft. For the more intense and engaged reader, there is sufficient scholarship to satisfy any appetite. The structure is much like that of Christopher Tolkien's work, with end notes to the drafts, long discourses on various subjects pertaining to the drafts, end notes to those discourses, and occasionally, footnotes to the end notes to the discourses to the text. The result is a great depth of information, but presented in a way that allows the reader to go as deep as he or she wishes.
This book is recommended most highly for stalwart fans of Tolkien, but despite its great size, I can't help but think that it could be enjoyed by more casual readers as well.
The sheer amount of information here is staggering, and as much as I love Tolkien, even I was almost overwhelmed by it. Best taken a chapter (with explanatory and end notes) at a time. You'll come out with more knowledge on the book's origins and history than you'll have thought possible.