The Hobbit
The Hobbit is a fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien which was published in 1937, and was originally written for children. It introduces the eponymous character Bilbo Baggins who is a "hobbit", a small, manlike creature with large hairy feet who lives in a burrow. He has an adventure involving wizards, dwarves, goblins, elves and a dragon before he returns home with a magic ring which makes its wearer invisible. Bilbo's ring is the subject of Tolkien's sequel, The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955), which is much more "adult".
The book has been continually in print since publication. The "hobbits" are a fictional race created by Tolkien. They are generally a shy and retiring race, keeping out of the way of "tall folk" (i.e., humans), and like their creature comforts very much, especially food – a typical day's meals will include breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and supper!
The book has been filmed as a trilogy, by New Line Cinema, with Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh as executive producers. The original plot of the book was much extended by the inclusion of presumed background events. Jackson, Walsh and New Line Cinema previously produced the successful film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings.
Commonality with The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) trilogy
Besides occurring in the same universe, The Hobbit and LOTR have several common characters and features:
- The characters Bilbo, Gandalf, and Gollum also appear in LOTR.
- Frodo (from LOTR) is the "nephew" of Bilbo (strictly, second cousin once removed, but he calls him "Uncle Bilbo").
- In The Hobbit, Gandalf makes mention of Sauron (from LOTR), referring to him as "The Necromancer", though Sauron does not actually appear in The Hobbit.
- The site where Bilbo is captured by trolls is revisited by Frodo and company in LOTR.
- The race referred to as "goblins" in The Hobbit are usually called "orcs" in LOTR.