Everyone’s excited about the release of the first of Peter Jackson’s films based on The Hobbit, by J. R R. Tolkien. It is a prequel to the Lord of the Rings, and tells the story of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit who impulsively goes off on adventure with a group of dwarves and a wizard named Gandalf. On this journey Bilbo meets elves, orcs and dragons, and finds that he is braver than he ever could have thought. Even today it’s unique among other fantasy books in that its main character is not chosen by destiny to be a hero; rather, he chooses his own path and sticks to his own principles. It would be unfair to reveal anymore of the plot, but the book itself is well worth reading whether or not you go to the film.
The Hobbit was published in 1937, although it was not an immediate success. While it was loved by the critics, it was not immediately popular with the reading public. The English edition, published by Allen and Unwin, featured illustrations by J.R.R Tolkien himself. Indeed, the book cover to the left is a picture by J R.R Tolkien. Not all editions of the book feature his artwork. We’ve got many different editions of The Hobbit in the library; there’s a graphic novel, one full-cast dramatisation, one read by a single actor , a copy in Dutch, an annotated version, plus all the books about the movie that will be flooding our shelves! Click on the pictures below to check out the books we’ve got in our collection
