The Hobbit

The Hobbit or There and Back Again is an award-winning fantasy novel by J. R. R. Tolkien, written for children in the tradition of the fairy tale. Tolkien wrote the story in the late 1920s to amuse his three sons. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald Tribune for best juvenile fiction. More recently, The Hobbit has been recognized as the "Most Important 20th-Century Novel " by the children's book magazine Books for Keeps. The book has sold an estimated 100 million copies worldwide since first publication.

The Hobbit is set in a time "between the dawn of Færie and the Dominion of Men", and follows the quest of home-loving Bilbo Baggins to win his share of the treasure guarded by the dragon, Smaug. His journey takes him from light-hearted, rural surroundings into darker, deeper territory, meeting diverse denizens of the Wilderland along the way. By accepting the disreputable, romantic, fey and adventurous side of his nature and applying his wits and common sense, Bilbo develops a new level of maturity, competence and wisdom.