TODAY in HISTORY (21 September): 'The Hobbit' was published for the first time in 1937

The Hobbit is a children's fantasy novel by John Ronald Reuel (J. R. R.) Tolkien. It was also nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald Tribune for best juvenile fiction.

---

image credit

---

The Tolkien family had emigrated from Germany in the 18th century. Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, on 3 January 1892. When he was three, they moved back to England. Unfortunately, his father died before he could join the family from South Africa. In England, the young Tolkien enjoyed exploring the English countryside which would later inspire scenes in his books.

Places such as his aunt Jane's farm of Bag End he used in the novel The Hobbit.

His mother passed away when he was 12 and Father Francis Xavier Morgan of the Birmingham Oratory, took care of him until he left home.

In 1911 when Tolkien was 19 years old he joined a hiking group in Switzerland over his a summer holiday.

The hiked from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen and camp in the moraines beyond Mürren. The trip related to Bilbo's journey in The Hobbit across the Misty Mountains ("including the glissade down the slithering stones into the pine woods").

In October of the same year, Tolkien began his studies in Classics at Exeter College, Oxford, but changed his major in 1913 to English Language and Literature. He graduated in 1915 with first-class honours.

In August 1914 the United Kingdom entered the First World War. Tolkien did not immediately volunteer for the British Army. He joined a programme wherein enlistment was delayed until the completion of his degree. After he had passed his Finals in July 1915, he was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant in the Lancashire Fusiliers. He trained for eleven months with the 13th (Reserve) Battalion on Cannock Chase, Staffordshire, after which he was summoned to France.

Tolkien arrived at the Somme in early July 1916. During October 1916 his battalion attacked Regina Trench, but Tolkien came down with trench fever - a disease carried by lice and were common in the dugouts. He was removed from active service and sent back to England on 8 November 1916 where he spent the remainder of the war alternating between hospitals and garrison duties.

On 3 November 1920, Tolkien was taken out of active service and retaining his rank of lieutenant. His first job opportunity was at the Oxford English Dictionary, where he worked mainly on the history and etymology of words of Germanic origin beginning with the letter "W". About five years late he returned to Oxford as Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon, with a fellowship at Pembroke College.

During his time at Pembroke College Tolkien wrote The Hobbit and the first two volumes of The Lord of the Rings. On 21 September 1937, The Hobbit was published by George Allen and Unwin in London.

The Hobbit is set in a time "between the Dawn of Færie and the Dominion of Men" in an era called Middle Earth. It describes the quest of home-loving hobbit Bilbo Baggins to steal the treasure Smaug the dragon. The story is told in the form of a quest, and most chapters introduce a specific creature or type of creature. The story illustrates how Bilbo gains a new level of maturity, competence, and wisdom by accepting the adventurous sides of his nature. The climax of the story is reached in the Battle of the Five Armies.

The central theme of the story is personal growth, forms of heroism and the motifs of warfare.

Critics believe that Tolkien's experience in World War I was instrumental in shaping the story. Tolkien did acknowledge the impact of his interest in Germanic philology and fairy tales on the story.

The success of The Hobbit cause the publishers to request a sequel on which Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings.

The work has never been out of print and the Time Magazine has honoured The Lord of the Rings as the book of the twentieth century.

Peter Jackson made three movies based on the The Hobbit as a prequel to his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. The movies are subtitled An Unexpected Journey (2012), The Desolation of Smaug (2013), and The Battle of the Five Armies (2014).

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hobbit_(film_series)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hobbit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien
http://www.tolkiensociety.org/author/biography/