Elevenses, anyone? 21st September 1937 saw the release of J. R. R. Tolkien‘s The Hobbit, published by George Allen and Unwin in London. It’s a story that has influenced much fantasy fiction ever since, its initial success leading to The Lord of the Rings – and fascination with Tolkien’s fantasy world of dwarves, elves and dragons ever since.

I’m sure there are many of you reading this who may recall their first encounter with The Hobbit. For me, it was the Unwin Books third edition, published in 1966, featuring Tolkien’s own drawing of “The Death of Smaug” on the cover, memorable not just for that dramatic scene, but because it was a book by mother started reading to us, but which I finished reading myself, my first personal encounter with the fictional worlds of fantasy and science fiction that has so shaped my life, in reading and in my career in comics publishing.

The Hobbit has its origins during Tolkien’s time as Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College in the late 1920s, when he semi-randomly scribbled the words “In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit”, on the back of a School Certificate paper that he was marking. These words evolved into a story like the ones he was making up for his children. He did not go any further than that at the time, but did draw up Thrór’s Map, eventually writing the first version of the adventure in the early 1930s. It was mostly enjoyed by his eldest son John, then 13, than the younger ones. The Tolkien Gateway notes his peers at Oxford also “forced” him to lend copies to read.

Eventually, he lent it to the Reverend Mother Superior of the Cherwell Edge girl’s hostel and to his former pupil Elaine Griffiths who was staying at Cherwell Edge, and it was seen by her student, Susan Dagnall, who worked at Allen & Unwin. The book was given to 10-year-old Rayner, son of Sir Stanley Unwin, who wrote an enthusiastic review of the book, encouraging his father to publish it.

In the early 1970s, during a bout of flu and absence from school, I binge read Lord of the Rings in one omnibus volume, carefully tracing Bilbo Baggins journeys on the map it included, dreaming up the events of “side stories” mentioned as characters separated during the dangerous trek to rid the world of Gollum’s cursed ring.

Although my reading today is more general, often with a preference for science fiction over fantasy, I’m grateful that, back in 1937, a publisher saw The Hobbit’s potential, its commercial and critical success meaning the adventure has never been out of print since, later editions revised by Tolkien to accommodate the wider history of Lord of the Rings, and better describe some characters, such as Gollum, interpreted by one Tove Jansson in her illustrations for the first Swedish publication of the book as being a giant.

For those of you who may never have read the book, HarperCollins published a rather splendid-looking two-volume illustrated edition last year, featuring over 50 sketches, drawings, paintings and maps by J. R. R. Tolkien himself, and with the complete text printed in two colours.

Perhaps it’s time to rediscover Bilbo Baggins world anew…

• For the nostalgic of a certain age, copies of Unwin Books The Hobbit (1966) are readily available, often found in charity shops, and here, for example, on AmazonUK through third party sellers (Affiliate Link)

• The Hobbit: Illustrated by the Author, published by HarperCollins (2023) | ISBN 978-0008627782 (AmazonUK Affiliate Link)

I am surprised it’s recommended now for over 16s. I was much younger than that when I read it!

Web Links

• The Official Site of the Tolkien Estate

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973): writer, artist, scholar, linguist. Known to millions around the world as the author of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien spent most of his life teaching at the University of Oxford where he was a distinguished academic in the fields of Old and Middle English and Old Norse. His creativity, confined to his spare time, found its outlet in fantasy works, stories for children, poetry, illustration and invented languages and alphabets.

• The Tolkien Gateway offers an annotated biography of the life of JRR Tolkien

• The Tolkien Society has well over 1,000 members in over 30 different countries, many of whom play a full and active role in the Society

• About the Author
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John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.

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Categories: Art and Illustration, Books, downthetubes News, Other Worlds

Tags: downthetubes News, JRR Tolkien, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit