For readers throughout the world, The Hobbit serves as an introduction to the enchanting world of Middle-earth, home of elves, wizards, dwarves, goblins, dragons, orcs and a host of other creatures depicted in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion — tales that sprang from the mind of the most beloved author of all time, J.R.R. Tolkien.

Newly expanded and completely redesigned, Douglas A. Anderson's The Annotated Hobbit is the definitive explication of the sources, characters, places, and things of J.R.R. Tolkien's timeless classic. Integrated with Anderson's notes and placed alongside the fully restored and corrected text of the original story are more than 150 illustrations showing visual interpretations of The Hobbit specific to many of the cultures that have come to know and love Tolkien's Middle-earth. Tolkien's original line drawings, maps and color paintings are also included, making this the most lavishly informative edition of The Hobbit available.

The Annotated Hobbit shows how Tolkien worked as a writer, what his influences and interests were, and how these relate to the invented world of Middle-earth. It gives a valuable overview of Tolkien's life and the publishing history of The Hobbit, and explains how every feature of The Hobbit fits within the rest of Tolkien's invented world. Here we learn how Gollum's character was revised to accommodate the true nature of the One Ring, and we can read the full text of The Quest of Erebor, Gandalf's explanation of how he came to send Bilbo Baggins on his journey with the dwarves. Anderson also makes meaningful and often surprising connections to our own world and literary history — from Beowulf to The Marvellous Land of Snergs, from the Brothers Grimm to C. S. Lewis.

'Not only fascinating, but useful. It makes of The Hobbit a kind of Tolkien handbook.'

'Hobbit fans will treasure it.'

As a reader's introduction to Tolkien's Middle-earth, this guide contains references to the ancient history of this imaginary world which, though rarely explained, contribute greatly to the effect of Tolkien's art. This edition authoritatively illuminates the novel's antecedents and curiosities. Illustrations.

'Douglas A. Anderson, a leading American Tolkien scholar, is acknowledged as the worldwide expert on the textual history of The Hobbit. He has contributed the text notes for all Houghton Mifflin Tolkien editions for more than a decade. He is also a bookseller, formerly in Ithaca, New York, now in northern Indiana.J.R.R. Tolkien (18921973), beloved throughout the world as the creator of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, a fellow of Pembroke College, and a fellow of Merton College until his retirement in 1959. His chief interest was the linguistic aspects of the early English written tradition, but even as he studied these classics he was creating a set of his own.'

Preface to the Second Edition  xi

introduction  1

1. an unexpected party  29

2. roast mutton  60

3. a short rest  87

4. over hill and under hill  100

5. riddles in the dark  115

6. out of the frying-pan into the fire  137

7. queer lodgings  161

8. flies and spiders  191

9. barrels out of bond  222

10. a warm welcome  241

11. on the doorstep  255

12. inside information  267

13. not at home  289

14. fire and water  302

15. the gathering of the clouds  314

16. a thief in the night  326

17. the clouds burst  333

18. the return journey  346

19. the last stage  355

Appendix A. The Quest of Erebor  367

Appendix B. The Runes  378

Bibliography  380

Map of Wilderland  399