There are many different genres in literature, and one of the most popular is fantasy. Children, like adults, enjoy immersing themselves in the world of elves, hobbits and orcs. Just Tolkien's famous story "The Hobbit or There and Back Again" will enable the reader to go on a journey with the heroes. The purpose of the campaign is to get to the Lonely Mountain and find the treasures of the dwarves that the dragon captured. To get acquainted with the plot, we offer a short version.

The Hobbit or Back and forth summary

Tolkien's The Hobbit There and Back Again introduces us to the hero Begins. This is a wealthy hobbit that lives in a comfortable hole on a large hill. The Begins family was a respectable couple with whom nothing ever happened. But as it turns out, in the family there is always one who will find adventure on his head. This is exactly what the book The Hobbit will tell in a summary of the chapters.

Before moving on to stories about one hobbit, the author introduces the reader to who hobbits are in general. They are less and less talked about and can be seen less often, as they are afraid of people and try not to get caught by them. These are small creatures, lower than the gnomes, good-natured little men with a big belly. They have warm fur and like to wear bright clothes.
Our hero's mother, Belladonna, was from the Took family. They say that one of the Tooks married an elf and now you can see non-hobbit features in them. From time to time one of them found adventures. For these reasons, this family was not respected. But one of the Bagginses married Belladonna, who would go on adventures anyway.

Bango, the husband of Belladonna and the father of our hero, built the best hole for his wife, which had no equal. There they lived until old age. Bilbo Begins was their only son, who took everything from his father. But the habits of Tooks were also in it, which were simply waiting for the moment to manifest themselves. But such a moment did not appear. Baggins had already grown up, reached the age of fifty, lived in a hole and did not know sadness.

Chapter: Unexpected guests

Continuing the retelling of the work of the Hobbit in a summary, we learn how one day Gandalf comes to the hero - a character who cannot be imagined without adventures. Gandalf was already forgotten, since he was not in these parts, so Bilbo, unsuspecting, saw in Gandalf an ordinary old man.

Bilbo spoke to the old man, who in conversation said that he was looking for someone who would go on an adventure with him. However, in areas where friendly hobbits live, this is difficult to do. Begins wanted to say goodbye to the old man, but he was in no hurry to leave and gave his name. And then the hero recognized Gandalf, who raised the ears of the whole district, arranging various shows. Recognized the one that caused many hobbits to disappear, going in search of adventure. It was a wizard who was friends with old Took, Bilbo's grandfather.

Chapter: Roast lamb

The wizard invited him to become a participant in the adventure, but Mr. Baggins did not agree. To say goodbye to the old man, the hero bowed, but at the same time invited him to tomorrow's tea. Bilbo was glad that he had evaded the adventure so cleverly. On the second day, he no longer remembered the invitation, as his memory was bad. But the doorbell made the hero remember everything, Opening the door, he did not see Gandalf. Instead of him stood a dwarf with a blue beard. Bilbo had no choice but to invite the guest to the table. But after one dwarf, new ones began to come. A whole company of thirteen dwarfs, led by Gandalf, gathered. Each of them demanded food and drink. Going to the pantry, the hobbit thought about whether he had already got into some kind of adventure.

Chapter: Respite

Having finished the meal, the gnomes said that they were not going to leave, as there was a long conversation ahead. They cleaned up after themselves, began to sing and play their instruments. With them, the hobbit was mentally transported far beyond the Hill on the other side of the river. From their songs, Baggins began to wake up something Tukovskoe. It was already dark and then the dwarfs started talking. As it turned out, they set off on a journey to the dragon, from whom the jewels must be taken away. Because of the sign that Gandalf left yesterday, the dwarves considered Bilbo a professional burglar. But since the hero refused the case, he was called a weakling. To prove the opposite main character agrees to go along.

Chapter: Over the mountain and under the mountain

On the map, they began to consider a secret passage, and Baggins in the discussion accepts Active participation which he did not expect from himself. Before setting off, Bilbo wanted to know all the details about the dragon and the gold, and how it got to the dragon, and much more. Bilbo learned from the chief dwarf Thorin the story of how they settled under the mountain, expanded, got rich, found a lot of jewelry. They lived happily until the dragon Smog attacked in their place. He burned everything, killed the gnomes, captured the gold and has been sleeping on it for years. Only thirteen dwarves survived. They had already accumulated new treasures, but they never forgot about revenge. They now want to take what is rightfully theirs, and the card that was in Gandalf's hands will only help in the matter. Many did not understand exactly how the card fell into the hands of the wizard, but so far they were satisfied with Gandalf's explanations. After talking, Bilbo placed everyone for the night, and in the morning the dwarves and the hobbit were going to go.

Continuing to study Tolkien's work The Hobbit or back and forth, reading the work in summary, the reader is transported to the next day. Waking up, the hobbit saw a lot of dishes, noticed that the gnomes had already had breakfast and left. On the one hand, the hero was delighted, and on the other, a little disappointed. But he immediately calmed down and already forgot about everything, as Gandalf appeared and handed over a note from the dwarves, who went ahead for preparations and would be waiting for him in the tavern.

Gathering together, sitting on a pony, the dwarves and Begins set off, Gandalf joined them. They walked for a long time, spent the night anywhere, walked even in bad weather, and here they are on the opposite bank of the river. We stopped to have a bite to eat and warm ourselves by the fire, but could not light it, and here also part of the provisions was lost, and Gandalf himself disappeared somewhere. In the distance, the participants of the journey saw a light and decided to go to it.

As he got closer, Bilbo Baggins saw that the giants were sitting around the fire and cooking a leg of mutton. They wailed and complained that they were tired of lamb, but they would not refuse a dish of a man. Bilbo thinks about returning to the dwarves or plundering the trolls and returning with booty. The hobbit decides to steal the wallet from the pocket of one of the trolls, but was immediately captured. An argument ensued between the trolls, which escalated into a fight. The rest of the gnomes and giants were also captured, and now they decide what to cook from them. Then Gandalf appeared. Hiding behind a tree, he inserted various questions, thereby forcing the trolls to bicker among themselves. They argued among themselves and did not notice how dawn came. With the sun's rays, the trolls turn to stone.

The participants of the journey were released and began to look for a passage where the trolls were hiding from the sun. Finding the door and opening them with a key that fell out of the troll's pocket, the heroes found a lot of gold and weapons. Having captured everything and hidden it in one place, so that they could pick it up on the way back, they went to their goal. At the same time, Thorin asked Gandalf where he had disappeared. The wizard explained that he went ahead to scout the road, but the habit of looking back made him return. As it turned out, for good reason. So he ended up near the trolls and gnomes with a hobbit who needed help.

The participants of the journey set out on their journey. Now no one sang, but only silently rode a pony and then mountains appeared in the distance. That's exactly where they were heading. But the mountains that seemed very close were still very far away. Need to stock up on food. On the way, the gnomes with the hobbit meet the elves, who showed the right way to the last home Hearth, where they all had to rest and eat well. There they were met by the master Elrond. The travelers stayed for fourteen days. Here, on Midsummer Day, strange letters were seen on the map. Elrond read the clue that showed the way. Taking the map, the dwarves, Gandalf and Bilbo set off.

Rivendale valley behind, dangerous path ahead. A thunderstorm caught everyone and they hid under an overhanging rock. From a distance they saw giants. It was necessary to look for another place and a couple of gnomes went to investigate. They found a cave, where they all moved. They fell asleep there. But the dream was not long. Goblins came and seized everyone, dragging them into their gorge. Only Gandalf was not captured. In their lair, the goblins staged an interrogation. Just during the conversation, Gandalf came to the aid of the travelers, who helped the captives to escape. But at the end of the journey, the goblins managed to grab the leg of one of the gnomes, who was carrying a hobbit on his back, the second fell and hit his head. Bilbo lost consciousness.

Chapters: Riddles in the Dark and From Fire to Fire

The hobbit woke up alone. There was no one and he decided to crawl in some direction. During his journey, he found the ring, which was a turning point in his life. He put the ring in his pocket, and he sat down and began to dream about food. Bilbo decides to move on. So the hobbit met Gollum, who liked to call himself my treasure. He decided to find out more about Baggins and offered to play riddles. At the same time, if the hobbit loses, then Gollum will eat him, and if he wins, he will show the way out. They made and solved riddles, no one gave up until Bilbo asked what was in his pocket. Here Gollum could not answer, but discovered the loss. His treasure, his ring, is gone. This ring was just found by the hobbit. Fleeing from Gollum, he put his hand in his pocket and put it on his finger. So Bilbo became invisible, because the ring was magical. The hobbit himself understood this, and besides, he heard about the magical action from Gollum himself, who lamented and wanted to find the ring and Bilbo. Following Gollum, the hobbit managed to get to the exit and even get away from this strange creature. However, goblins were waiting ahead of him. The hero runs away from them.

Chapter: Unprecedented Refuge

The hobbit advances and accidentally finds his friends. They met him and listened to the story of his salvation. They were proud of such a brave Bilbo. Then everything is on the road again. There are wolves - allies of the goblins, from which everyone manages to escape thanks to the eagles and their leader - the Lord of the Eagles. They simply hate both wargs and goblins. Thus ends their adventure in the Misty Mountains. The eagles help the travelers cross over to Carrock Rock, from where they change direction to Beorn. Gandalf and the hobbit went first, the dwarves were to come later. Having come to Beorn, the heroes told about their journey and adventure in detail. At first, the story seemed incredible and invented, but the captured goblins confirmed the story. Beorn becomes an ally of our heroes. By supplying everything necessary and showing the way, Beorn thereby helped the travelers. On the way, Gandalf leaves the heroes.

Further, the characters of the work follow without a wizard, without turning off the road. However, the forest was endless. Here the heroes go to the enchanted stream. Crossing it, Bilbo gets into the water and falls asleep. The heroes now have to drag their comrade as well. The black forest is behind, the beech forest and the edge are ahead, but the heroes do not know this. Seeing the lights, travelers turn off the path and lose it. Bilbo and Thorin are lost along the way.

Chapters: Spiders and flies and In barrels - at will

Thorin is captured by the elves, and Bilbo meets a huge spider that he had to fight. Later, he helps out his comrades, who also fell into the web and were surrounded by huge spiders. Putting on the ring, the hobbit frees the heroes. But the adventure doesn't end there. The dwarves are captured by the elves, who are interrogated. Bilbo, invisible, sneaks after the captives, wanders around the castle and tries to help out his comrades who have become prisoners. With the help of empty barrels and a secret passage, the gnomes are freed.

Chapter: Welcome

The heroes reach Esgaroth, the lake town, and there they are supplied on their way to the Lonely Mountain.

Chapter: Night Thief

And now the gnomes are at the mountain, the door is found, Bilbo goes to explore the cave to the dragon. While he sleeps wearing a ring, the hobbit steals the golden cup. Having descended into the cave a second time, the hobbit angers the dragon, but this time he also found out about the weak armor on his chest, which he told the dwarves about. People will also know about it. So, when in anger the dragon burned the settlement of people who helped the hobbit, the man Bard kills him. He learned from the thrush about the gap in the shell on the chest of the dragon. This is what he took advantage of.

Chapter: The storm broke

Dwarves get their home and get their treasures, but the elves and humans claim the treasures. A conflict also arose between Thorin and Bilbo, who could not share the big diamond. Thorin refuses to share his wealth with anyone, and help comes to the dwarves in the form of an army of dwarves of the Iron Hills. But then goblins appear - the common enemies of people, dwarves and elves. They unite in the battle of the five armies. Later, eagles came to the rescue. The goblins were defeated, only Thorin and his nephews died in the battle.

Chapter: Way Back

The battle was won, the treasure was divided, Bilbo also received his share and set off on his return journey.
On the way back, the hobbit with Gandalf stayed with the king of the elves, after which he set off, but not through the forest, but around it. We went to Beorn, passed the cave of the trolls, where they took the buried treasures, and then went to the house of Elron. After staying with him, Bilbo decides to go home, as he was drawn to his native land. There he found that all his property was being sold by auction, and he himself was declared dead.

Final chapter

Bilbo wrote notes about his adventures, which were later published in the West Crome book. After the journey, Bilbo brought only a couple of chests of gold, but the Ring of Power remained with him, which he subsequently passed on to Frodo's nephew. Thus ends the work of an English writer called The Hobbit and Our summary story.

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The author of the book is the English writer John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, also known for a number of other works that together make up one big universe: The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, The Children of Hurin, and many others. Despite the fact that they were written at the beginning of the 20th century, they still have not lost their relevance. They are read by many to this day. "The Hobbit" ("Travel back and forth") is only a small part of the huge legendarium, which is striking in its scale. Sometimes it's hard to imagine that all this could be invented by one person.

"The Hobbit, or There and Back Again": a summary

The book tells about how a small creature - a hobbit by name - lives peacefully and calmly in his mink in Hobbitania, in a village called Shire. One day, a powerful magician named Gandalf the Gray (who is one of the key figures in Tolkien's universe) comes to visit him. He saw in the young hobbit a craving for adventure and travel. A friendship developed between them. And one day a detachment of dwarves comes to Bilbo's doorstep, led by the fugitive king Gandalf persuaded the dwarves to take him on their campaign without Bilbo's knowledge. The goal was to return the lost kingdom of the Dwarves of Erebor, which was captured by the evil dragon Smaug.

At first Bilbo was indignant and flatly refused to take part in this matter. However, he unexpectedly agreed and took on the role of a scout and scout. The heroes set off on a long and dangerous journey. First they went through the mountains, where they were almost eaten by goblins who had a kingdom there. They were attacked by evil creatures - orcs. After that, they are saved from giant wolves - wargs. They pass the forest, in which they are waiting. However, thanks to the abilities of the magician and the ingenuity of Bilbo, the detachment always gets out of any trouble. The heroes even escape from the wood elf prison, where they are imprisoned for crossing the elven border without asking.

Wandering through the caves in the mountains, the hobbit finds a small ring, which he puts in his pocket without hesitation. Bilbo meets a strange creature - Gollum, who leads a wild life and eats fish and carrion. It wants to kill and eat Bilbo, but instead the heroes play riddles, and if the hobbit wins, Gollum will show him the way out of the cave. Bilbo wins, and it turns out that the ring can make anyone invisible. Gollum previously owned it, so he thinks Bilbo stole the ring and tries to find it. But Bilbo is already invisible and has found a way out.

Here is the squad and the target. Bilbo enters Erebor, which is located in the Lonely Mountain, but the dragon wakes up without finding a scout (after all, Bilbo had a ring), leaves the mountain and attacks the nearest city - Ozerny. However, one of its inhabitants - Bard the Archer - kills Smaug by hitting him with a large arrow in an unprotected place on his stomach. At this time, the dwarves penetrate into Erebor and return it to themselves, appropriating all the treasures stored there.

But the inhabitants of the city want to receive compensation for their losses, so they go to the gates of Erebor, hoping to take part of the treasure for themselves. The squad of elves also fits there. Thorin, seeing this, calls to himself all the dwarves who once lived in Erebor and were saved during the dragon's attack on the kingdom. They build defenses and prepare for battle. But it begins differently - a large army of orcs approaches the mountain, who, having learned about the death of the dragon, also wanted to take the wealth for themselves. Humans, elves and dwarves unite against the new threat and repulse the orcs, but Thorin dies in the battle.

Bilbo after these events receives part of the treasure, returns home with Gandalf and continues to live the same life. He writes a book about his adventures, which will later be called Ala.

This is how you can convey the summary. "The Hobbit, or There and Back Again" is a dynamic book, full of many events that change each other, like in a kaleidoscope, but there is no discomfort when reading, since the author managed to harmoniously put them together.

The meaning of the work

At its core, the first part of Tolkien's series of works on the fictional world of Middle-earth is precisely The Hobbit, or There and Back Again. The book was successfully filmed by director Peter Jackson, who had previously filmed a trilogy based on another Tolkien work - The Lord of the Rings. The film, which was also made into a trilogy, was successful and grossed millions of dollars at the box office. What is the secret of such popularity of seemingly ordinary fantasy, which is now a dime a dozen?

What is a good book?

A brief summary ("The Hobbit, or There and Back Again"), of course, does not describe all the delights of the book. Tolkien attracts the reader's attention in many ways. First, it is inexhaustible optimism. The book is easy and pleasant to read, it is saturated with positive, and therefore, even despite the troubles of the characters, there is confidence that everything will be fine. Secondly, the characters' personalities turned out to be quite interesting, and each of them can be perceived almost as a native. Thirdly, Tolkien managed to create a unique and inimitable universe, in which there are so many mysterious and unknown things that sometimes goosebumps run down your skin.

In fact, Tolkien gave rise to a whole generation of young writers, artists and other artists who were largely inspired by his works. Therefore, the contribution of the writer to the development modern literature and art in general is difficult to overestimate.

Universe of Tolkien

Of course, a summary cannot give a complete picture of the author's works. The Hobbit, or There and Back Again is only part of the diverse and multifaceted world created by Tolkien, and one book will not be enough to fully understand the events. Therefore, it is worth reading other works, especially since they are all written at a very high level. There are so many places, regions, creatures and wonders in Tolkien's world that it will appeal to both beginners and people familiar with the fantasy genre more thoroughly.

Heroes of the book

The main characters are the hobbit Bilbo, the magician Gandalf and the dwarf king Thorin Oakenshield. The characters are quite different, in many ways they make this interesting book"The Hobbit, or There and Back Again". Briefly describe each character:

• Bilbo is simple-hearted, but at the same time smart, resourceful and loyal. He never let the detachment down during the entire campaign, for which Thorin appreciated him, although at first there was a misunderstanding between them.
• Gandalf is a classic image of a wise wizard. He is kind, but at the same time fair and stern, always comes to the rescue. In addition, he knows a lot about the world, which has saved the squad more than once.
• Thorin, as befits a king, albeit a fugitive, is powerful, strict, fair. He is brave, for which he won the respect of his people, moreover, he is the only heir to the royal dynasty of Erebor.

“Bilbo Baggins was a hobbit who lived in his hobbit hole and did not participate in any adventures, but finally the wizard Gandalf and his dwarves convinced Bilbo to participate. He had a very good time fighting goblins and wargs. Finally they reached a lonely mountain. Smaug the dragon who guarded her was killed and after a terrible battle with the goblins, Bilbo returned home - rich! This card book needs no illustrations, it is good and will appeal to all children from 5 to 9.

This is how an internal review of one of the landmark books of the last century sounded. Ten-year-old Rayner, son of the publisher Stanley Unwin, read the manuscript of a certain Oxford professor, got a lot of pleasure, and in addition a shilling for his review. Many years later, Reiner said that it was the most profitable investment in the history of British publishing.

Now, almost eight decades later, The Hobbit is a favorite book for many generations of readers around the world. It has been translated into more than forty languages, filmed several times, computer and board games, opera, children's performances were made on its basis, stamps were issued in his honor ...

But how much do we know about how this fairy tale was born?

If one article is not enough ...

The most representative biography of Tolkien in Russian is Humphrey Carpenter's classic John R.R. Tolkien. Not bad in its own way is White's John R.R. Tolkien. Biography” (twice published in Russian). Very fascinating reading - "Letters". And for true gourmets who are ready to immerse themselves in subtleties and nuances, I recommend Mark Hooker's Tolkien Through Russian Eyes - a unique study of numerous translations of the cycle into Russian with an analysis of how these translations reflected the features of a particular historical period and cultural landscape.

In English, I recommend first of all two most interesting works: The History of the Hobbit by John Ratliff and The Annotated Hobbit by Douglas A. Anderson. The first contains all known versions of the fairy tale manuscripts, from the initial six pages to the final version, and detailed comments. The second is the final, verified text of the book with numerous comments, the appendix-chapter "Campaign to Erebor", as well as more than 150 illustrations from "The Hobbits" on different languages peace.

The two-volume The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion & Guide, which includes both a detailed chronology of Tolkien's life and a 1250-page Tolkien encyclopedia, weighs no less (including literally) by Christina Skall and Wayne Hammond! In addition, Skall and Hammmond published two seminal works on Tolkien's artwork: Tolkien: An Artist and Illustrator and The Hobbit in Tolkien's Drawings and Drawings.

If only we knew from which hole ...

The history of The Hobbit began about ninety years ago - at the end of the twenties of the last century. Once upon a time there was a professor in Oxford. Not some kind of student or teacher - no, a real professor of the Anglo-Saxon language! He was friendly with other professors, was in an informal club of lovers of ancient literature, was married, he had sons John, Michael and Christopher and a daughter, Priscilla.

Professor Tolkien with family

Our professor loved children very much. He often worked at home, but at the same time, children could always come into his office unhindered; he walked with them a lot and, of course, told them stories. There were many traditions associated with this in the house. For example, at Christmas, children invariably received amazing letters from Grandfather Christmas - fancifully decorated, with outlandish stamps and fascinating stories about the life of Grandfather and his friends: elves, goblins, the Polar Bear ... And every year the Tolkien family held "Winter Readings": the head of the family walked in front of the fireplace and told about the next adventures of this or that hero. He even wrote down some of the stories - concisely, so that next year he would not get confused in the details.

Professor Tolkien also had another passion - also associated with writing, but for the time being unknown to children. He recorded the history of a certain world, Arda, a minted chronicle of ancient times, dedicated to the deeds of the high elves, the powerful Valar and other incredible creatures.

It would seem that what can be in common between children's fairy tales and the legendarium of a fictional world?

But then one day another fairy tale for children "sprouted" in that very world - in its Third Age ...

The home of the Tolkien family (Oxford, Northmoor Road, 22) Photo: Jpbowen / Wikimedia Commons

When people talk about how The Hobbit began, they invariably quote the Professor himself. Say, one day, tired of checking boring examination papers, he wrote down the phrase on the back of one of them: “A hobbit lived in a hole under the ground,” and wrap everything up ... However, in reality, it is not so easy to reveal the roots of the story about Bilbo Baggins.

In 1925 the Tolkiens moved from Leeds to Oxford, at 22 Northmoor Road. In 1930, they changed this house to the neighboring one, at number 20. It was there that the Professor, according to his words, wrote down the first phrase of the future fairy tale. But his children, John and Michael, recalled that they heard the tale itself much earlier, back at 22. Most likely, the first story about Bilbo Baggins sounded in 1928 or 1929; like other stories of this kind, it stretched out over many evenings, slowly acquiring new details, then interrupting for a long time ... How many of them have already been - such stories, never brought to an end, even verbally! ..

But The Hobbit was luckier than the rest. This was due in no small part to the fact that Tolkien had been practicing writing for a long time by the late 1920s; in addition, when telling long tales, one cannot rely only on one's own memory. Michael Tolkien recalled that one evening Christopher, the younger brother, suddenly interrupted his father: “Last time you said that Bilbo’s front door was blue, and you said that the tassel on Thorin’s hood was gold, and now you say that the front door was green and the tassel was silver!” - to which the Professor, muttering: "Damn boy!", crossed the room and began to make some notes in his papers.

On the basis of the Anglo-Saxon runes, Tolkien came up with an alphabet and wrote beautifully on it. For example, marking Thorin's map

It is possible that at first Bilbo, in fact, was not hobbit. Perhaps at first it was just a story about a short man who loved comfort, who once, together with a wizard and gnomes, went to distant lands. And then, a few years after the story was told to the children, Tolkien checked those very notorious works, wrote down the first phrase - and thus began to compose already literary rather than an oral story.

However, even here everything went by no means as easily and simply as it might seem when reading The Hobbit. In fact, the Professor worked on the book for several years, taking significant breaks and - imagine! - sometimes not planning to return to her again.

There are several surviving versions of the manuscript, which differ significantly from each other. If young Christopher was so outraged by the confusion with the color of the door or the tassel on Thorin's hood, one can only imagine how he and his brothers felt when it came to more serious changes!

Tolkien always wrote as if he was groping, gradually finding the right path, often straying, turning the wrong way. The Hobbit was also born difficult, with numerous serious revisions. The matter concerned both the plot and the names - the latter were always extremely important for Tolkien. So, the dragon Smaug was first called Priftan, and the wizard was Bladortin. The name of Gandalf in this earliest version, however, appeared - but the leader of the dwarves wore it!

For his books, the meticulous Professor made detailed maps

Only six pages from the first chapter remain of this version, and without the famous opening with "the hole in which the hobbit lived." This was followed by a mixed (handwritten and typewritten) version, which ended at the 14th chapter (there was no 13th, Tolkien wrote it and added it later). This version of 167 pages at first contained all the same variants of names (Bladortin, Priftan), but then Tolkien manually corrected them to the ones we are used to. It must be assumed that the children were very surprised when Gandalf turned from a dwarf into a wizard, and the wizard, in turn, from little man became a tall bearded man. Special relief should be felt by the translators of the book into Russian: in the original version, the werewolf giant Beorn bore the name Medwed, dear to our hearts!

For Tolkien, a professional linguist, names could not be just a set of sounds - each had its own meaning. And if at first he played with the roots of the languages ​​\u200b\u200bknown to him, then over time he began to use independently invented ones. And from here it was a stone's throw to the secret door, behind which lurked the world he invented - Arda, and, in particular, Middle-earth.

Where did it come from

Tolkien acquired a postcard with the painting Der Berggeist ("Mountain Spirit") by the artist Josef Madeleineer in the late twenties. Later he claimed that the image of Gandalf was inspired by this image.

As Tolkien himself admitted in a letter to the poet Wystan Auden, perhaps his "unconscious source of inspiration" was Edward Augustine Wyke-Smith's The Wonderland of the Snergs (1927). "But only in relation to the hobbits - and for nothing more!" - said the Professor. Indeed, in this tale, the people of the Snergs are very reminiscent of hobbits. Unfortunately, this book was not published in Russian, but in English it was republished after a long break not so long ago, in 1996. Another source of inspiration - this time quite conscious - were two literary monuments of antiquity: "Beowulf" and "Elder Edda". I also remember the eyes of Grendel and Gollum burning with an ominous fire, and how Gandalf, having deceived the trolls, makes them turn into stone (Thor did the same with the dwarf Alvis). In addition, in the "Elder Edda" with careful reading, we will find many familiar ... names! Yes, yes, the names of the dwarves and Gandalf are first mentioned there! (Incidentally, at first the name "Gandalf" also bore a dwarf.) As for the mysteries of Gollum, many of them have their counterparts in the Old English primary sources, with which Tolkien was very familiar.

A completely different tale

First version of Thror's map and manuscript fragment

And yet it was still very far from the fairy tale that we love so much. The story was overgrown with details that sometimes baffled Tolkien himself. Only over time, what appeared as details incomprehensible to him, began to fit into a clear and consistent picture ... well, almost consistent.

Let's say at first Tolkien seriously thought that Smaug should kill Bilbo. And who else? After all, the Hobbit main character fairy tales! The gnomes were supposed to be kidnapped not by forest elves, but by sea elves - and already after arriving at the Long Lake ...

Or take the famous riddle game. In it, as we remember, the life of Mr. Baggins was at stake: if he lost, Gollum would simply eat him. Otherwise, Gollum promised to show the hobbit the way to the exit. However, in the first book version, Gollum promises to give Bilbo a present. The game of riddles is sacred to both of them, so Gollum does not try to cheat; he really goes to his island, looks for something for a long time, and then laments that he has lost “his charm” and therefore can't keep his word to the hobbit! Along the way, he tells the story of the ring: how he got it for his birthday, what he used it for ... Bilbo decides not to admit that he has already found the ring, and consoles Gollum: they say, Eru is with him, with a promise, and as for the loss - so even if the ring was found, Gollum would have given it to Bilbo anyway, right? Let him lead you to the exit. Gollum, sighing, agrees, they go (Gollum counts turns and corridors), Bilbo checks for a minute for the first time, whether the ring was in his pocket (that!), After which our heroes peacefully say goodbye and part. No shouting: "Thief!" and "Revenge on Baggins!" - in its current form, the story of Gollum arose many years later, when it was necessary to link it with the events of The Lord of the Rings.

It seems that the first, conditionally completed version of the tale was completed by the Professor by the beginning of 1933 - it was then that his friend and colleague, Clive Lewis, in one of his letters mentions "a really good children's book that Tolkien had just finished." However, that story ended at the death of the dragon Smaug ...

Apparently, at some point Tolkien lost interest in the tale and it remained a typewritten text for family reading. It is absolutely certain that between 1933 and 1936 The Hobbit was also read by several of Tolkien's friends and acquaintances.

And in 1936, the London publishing house George Allen and Unwin turned to the Professor for help: they wanted to republish a revised edition of Beowulf and the Battle of Finnesburg. Tolkien was busy with work and refused to edit, but advised his former student, Elaine Griffiths, and promised to review what she would do and then write a preface. A representative of the publishing house, Susan Dagnall, came to Oxford to discuss the details of the work, and learned from Griffiths about the existence of a wonderful children's fairy tale ...

One of the early sketches for The Hobbit, where Gandalf is still depicted as a small man. Interestingly, he drew two runes on Bilbo's door: B (burglar - burglar), D (danger - danger), and also a stylized diamond - a symbol of the reward for the work of a burglar who is ready to risk his life

Dagnall asked Tolkien's permission to read the manuscript and show it to the publisher, and the Professor agreed. However, The Hobbit still remained unfinished: the dragon was killed, but many storylines hung in the air. Dagnall pointed this out and asked if Tolkien was ready to finish the book; then, she said, there would be a chance to publish it next year.

Inspired, Tolkien set to work: he added one more chapter between the current 12th and 14th, completed the finale, edited something. Michael helped him type; he, however, cut himself and was forced to tap the keys only with his left hand.

Anyway, in the first week of October, the manuscript went to the publisher. Its director, the famous Stanley Unwin, first read the book himself, then gave it to the children's writer Rose Filmman for a review. They both liked it, but still, as was his custom, Stanley turned to a third reviewer. He always gave children's books "for testing" to his children: who better than they can determine whether future readers will like a fairy tale?

You already know how Reiner Unwin reacted to The Hobbit. Actually, it was his internal review that decided the outcome of the case. In early December, an agreement was officially signed with Tolkien. However, the publication of the book was still far away.

When the proofs arrived at the end of February, Tolkien discovered that his native text was in many ways deficient. It needed to be well rewritten in places, made stylistically more consistent… but, damn it, any correction meant additional costs. Now it's a matter of hours to type the text, but then it was typed by hand - every letter! It was impossible to simply "shrink here and add there." But the Professor could not leave it in its current form.

And then Tolkien began to make replacements with pinpoint precision. Instead of each discarded phrase, he wrote another, which, in terms of the number of characters, was one to one with the rejected one. In a cover letter to the publisher, he offered his deepest apologies and specifically mentioned that he was ready to pay for additional costs, if any.

However, the cost of the book generally threatened to exceed the originally planned - and this jeopardized its profitability.

As we remember, young Rayner believed that The Hobbit did not need illustrations, but it should be provided with maps. Tolkien, however, already had both in stock. In those years, drawing was a common activity for both children and well-established gentlemen. Tolkien was self-taught, but received a lot of advice from his late mother and other relatives. He liked to paint landscapes, and also often did illustrations for own fairy tales; let's not forget about the annual letters of the Christmas grandfather.

As for maps, they were his passion, as were all sorts of alphabets. In short, by 1936 there were already several maps and drawings in Tolkien's archives, not to mention a lot of sketches. The professor decided that it would not be superfluous to send all this to the publisher, and for this he practically redrawn a number of works. He set to work after signing the contract, and by January 4 he had a map of Thror and a map of the Wildlands, as well as four black and white illustrations. He sent them to the publisher, and two weeks later he sent six more drawings after him.

Anwin liked the illustrations very much. He did not want to increase the cost of the book, but he decided to use them anyway. Unfortunately, to save money, they abandoned the idea of ​​invisible runes on the Thror map. According to Tolkien's idea, they should have been printed on the back of the sheet - so that they show through on the map only when you look at the light.

Working with Tolkien was so fascinated by Stanley Unwin that he ordered the author to design the cover and dust jacket. The result is a pool of illustrations that have long been considered classics, from dust jackets to stunning landscapes and interiors. Tolkien actually became one of the first British authors to illustrate their own books. And in general, the attitude towards him from the very beginning was special. Rayner Unwin wrote in his memoirs that in 1937 alone, Tolkien sent 26 letters to the publishing house, often handwritten, five or more pages in size, and received 31 letters in response - a completely unprecedented case!

First British edition of The Hobbit. Real rarity

The efforts of the publishers paid off: the book was a terrific success. It was released on September 21, 1937 in a small edition of 1500 copies, but by the beginning of December the publishing house was forced to make an additional circulation of 2300 copies. The Hobbit received very favorable reviews in the press, the rights to it were bought by the American publishing house Houghton Miffl in Company even before publication, for which the Professor made five more full-color illustrations.

Overseas, the book also gained wild success and collected excellent reviews in the press. Interestingly, none of the researchers noted one funny detail. In a letter to Stanley Unwin back in the spring of 1937, Tolkien, when talking about the possible illustration of The Hobbit by US artists, emphasizes: “Probably the matter does not tolerate delay? Then, perhaps, it is preferable that the Americans do not lose interest, let them do as they see fit - but reserving the right (I make a special reservation) to veto everything produced or inspired by the Disney studio (all Disney products cause me the deepest disgust) ".

It would seem, why all of a sudden emphasize your attitude to Disney films (especially since Tolkien writes further: he saw illustrations by American artists, which he considers “excellent”)? However, the writer's fears seem justified if we recall that his The Hobbit was supposed to be published in the States by the beginning of 1938, and on December 21, 1937, Walt Disney's first full-length cartoon, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, was released.

Apparently, Tolkien understood that a comparison of two potential hits was inevitable - and from the very beginning he did not want to play on the same field with those whose products he considered the quintessence of vulgarity. His fears, by the way, were justified: "The Hobbit" and "Snow White" were indeed compared. “In America, gnomes are all the rage these days,” wrote one reviewer, while another argued that Snow White’s boyfriends were no match for Tolkien’s gnomes.

The first American edition of The Hobbit has already been released with color illustrations.

Mystery of the name

Film adaptation artbook page

So where did the hobbits come from? Why was this word used by Tolkien to refer to short humanoids with hair on their feet? It is often said that hobbit arose from the merger of two words: hob (a kind of fairy folk) and rabbit (rabbit). However, Tolkien himself denied any connection of his hobbits with rabbits. But in one of the interviews, he admitted that, perhaps, he was inspired by the novel Babbit (1922) by Sinclair Lewis. The hero of the book, George F. Babbitt, is a typical middle-class businessman from a small town, his last name is English language became a household name. Later, in The Lord of the Rings, the Professor referred to a hypothetical Old English word, hol-bytla, meaning "burrow-dweller."

Meanwhile, after the death of Tolkien, folklorist Katherine Briggs (one of the greatest scholars of British legends and traditions) discovered that the word "hobbit" first appeared in 1895 in the works of her colleague Michael Denham - in the list of supernatural and magical creatures that appear in folk tales. Unfortunately, Denham mentions him in this list without any explanation, so we do not know for sure where exactly he wrote it down and what features "real" hobbits had (most likely it was a synonym for creatures known as hobgoblins or brownie). Did Tolkien know about the existence of this volume, did he read it? Even if he read, then, most likely, by 1930, when he wrote about the hobbit living in a hole, he hardly remembered this word.

Fairy tale or epic?

The success of The Hobbit in Britain and the States was incredible: the book sold well, received the New York Herald Tribune Award, and negotiations were underway to publish in other languages. However, the triumphal procession of Bilbo and his companions was prevented by the Second World War. In Britain, they introduced severe restrictions on the use of paper; in addition, as luck would have it, the Allen and Unwin paper warehouse was bombed. For almost ten years, The Hobbit disappeared from the market - interest in it revived only with the release of new fairy tale Tolkien called Farmer Giles of Ham (1949).

One of Tolkien's color illustrations. The eagle here is carefully copied from a lithograph by Alexander Thorburn for the book "Birds of the British Isles and Their Eggs" by T.A. Coward. Bilbo sleeps in boots - the mistake of Tolkien himself, since according to the book he was already left without them.

And, of course, sales skyrocketed after the long-awaited sequel to Bilbo's adventures finally arrived... in which Bilbo himself was given a cameo. The Lord of the Rings certainly increased the popularity of The Hobbit - but before the publication of The Fellowship of the Ring, Tolkien found himself in a serious dilemma.

What at first began as a continuation of the hobbit adventure soon became a dark and epic narrative, directly connected to the history of Arda. However, it was necessary to somehow link The Lord with The Hobbit, especially since many episodes from the fairy tale played a key role in the novel! Take the same scene with Gollum - it clearly needed to be reworked. In September 1947, Tolkien sent some corrections to the text of The Hobbit - assuming that Stanley Unwin would simply read them and express his opinion. He, however, took them as the final edits and soon released a remade fairy tale.

As a result, for some time - before the publication of The Fellowship of the Ring - The Hobbit was already published in a new version, but with the author's preface, in which Tolkien explained the reasons for the discrepancies.

But even in this form, the tale confused the author with its fabulousness. He felt a clear stylistic gap between The Hobbit and its sequel - and therefore, in 1960, with his usual meticulousness, he again took up the revision. This time, a book was to be born that more harmoniously resonates with The Lord. In addition, the journey of Bilbo, the dwarves and Gandalf should have been linked to the geography of Middle-earth from The Lord, entered into the historical and mythological context...

Tolkien revised the first chapter, then the second, took up the third ... and was forced to abandon his idea! What came out from under his pen, perhaps, looked more "ruler-ring", but, alas, destroyed the atmosphere of a fairy tale and miracle that was inherent in The Hobbit. To rewrite the book anew meant, in fact, to destroy it, to cross it out. Tolkien was wise enough to understand this and stop in time.

Bilbo is talking to Smaug. Pay attention to the inscription on the vat of gold in the lower left corner - it says: "Gold of Thror and Thrain, cursed be the thief." At the very top of the golden mountain, in the background, obviously, the Great Stone shines. To the left of the dragon's tail lies a necklace of emeralds that belonged to Girion, Lord of Dale. Bilbo has a ring on his finger, so he is invisible to the dragon.

But he wrote "The March to Erebor" - a kind of addition to the "Lord of the Rings". In this episode, Gandalf, after defeating Sauron, in Minas Tirith, tells the surviving members of the Brotherhood about the events of The Hobbit - but from his own point of view. In this form, a different presentation of events already known to us looks surprisingly natural; perhaps the most successful attempt to bring together the lines of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, without reshaping the tale itself. Unfortunately, due to lack of space, The March to Erebor was not included in the appendices to the novel and remained in several versions, which, after Tolkien's death, his son Christopher published in the collection Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth.

Of course, throughout his life, Tolkien perceived The Hobbit in different ways: first as a fairy tale for the entertainment of his own children, then as a kind of literary opus, not even completed, finally - as a book that brought him success and led to the appearance of The Lord of the Rings ". In fact, if it weren’t for The Hobbit, then the main work of Tolkien’s life, his stories about the world of Arda, no one would ever have read, because the Silmarillion appeared after his death only thanks to readers’ interest in Middle-earth.

Of course, with the advent of each film adaptation and, in general, any interpretation of this fairy tale, a dispute arises: but, in fact, how should we perceive The Hobbit - as a fairy tale for children or as part of an extensive epic? And, of course, purists once again perked up after the release of the first part of "The Hobbit" from Peter Jackson.

It seems to me that if we respect the opinion of the author himself, the answer is obvious: The Hobbit is both. Or, if you prefer, this is a fairy tale, through which at some point a completely non-childish story emerges. Well, how can one not recall the translations into Russian, which are in many ways more misleading than the original, up to throwing out phrases and entire scenes? Check it out: in your edition, Beorn talks about torturing captured goblins and wargs before killing them? ..

"The Hobbit" is fraught with many secrets, and we have revealed to you only a small part of them. But it's more interesting to discover the secrets yourself, and the keys - well, now you own them. Forward, reader, to Erebor!..

The Master is in the Details

Tolkien's illustrations for The Hobbit are a separate and vast topic. We will draw your attention to two figures.

The dust jacket promised the reader quite specific adventures: here we see eagles, a dragon, a city on the Long Lake, and, of course, Mount Erebor. Moreover, the presence of the sun and the young month in the sky at the same time is not accidental - it was with their position that the spell that unlocked the magic door was associated. But with runes running around the perimeter, Tolkien encrypted a very simple inscription: ““The Hobbit, or There and Back Again” - the work of Bilbo Baggins from Hobbiton about his journey that lasted a year - was processed based on his memoirs by J. R. R. Tolkien and published by George Allen and Unwin Ltd.”.

No less interesting is the color illustration of The Hill: Hobbiton-After-The-River, on which, if you look closely, you can find many details that are not known to us from The Hobbit. For example, at the top of the hill you can see the same tree under which Bilbo celebrated his anniversary magnificently (and disappeared so unexpectedly). Three hobbit holes south of Bilbo's fence is the homestead where Sam Gamgee lives with his father. The mill is owned by Ted Sandyman. The trees near the mill are flowering chestnuts, the very ones that Saruman will then destroy ... And all this was drawn when Tolkien did not even think about continuing The Hobbit!

Having reached the goal of their journey, the dwarves and Bilbo try to steal the treasure and wake up the dragon. The dragon flies out of the dungeon and unsuccessfully searches for the gnomes on the slopes of the mountain, and then attacks the nearby human settlement - Lake City (Esgaroth). The city is completely burned, but one of its inhabitants, named Bard, manages to hit the dragon with a well-aimed bow shot in the only unprotected place, and kill him. The undermountain kingdom and all its treasures thus become free and go to Thorin and his squad.

The inhabitants of the devastated Lake City, with the support of their allies - the elves of Mirkwood, head to the Lonely Mountain in the hope of obtaining treasure. Thorin, having fortified the entrance to the caves and summoned his relatives from the Iron Hills to help, refuses to allocate a share of wealth to people. The brewing conflict is interrupted by the appearance of an army of goblins and wargs, who also learned about the death of the dragon and hope to capture the Undermountain Kingdom. The Battle of the Five Armies takes place, in which the goblins participate on the one hand, and the armies of dwarves, people, elves and animals and birds, led by Beorn, on the other. The goblins are defeated, but Thorin is mortally wounded in the battle.

Bilbo, accompanied by Gandalf, returns home. As payment, he receives only a small part of the treasure, but by the standards of his homeland, he becomes very wealthy. Later, Bilbo writes down the history of his journey, and these notes are included in the Scarlet Book of Western Reach as a chapter entitled "My Notes. My unexpected journey. There and then Back and what happened after.

Heroes of the book

Main characters

Year of writing: 1937

Genre of work: story

Main characters: Bilbo Baggins- hobbit, Gandalf- friend and magician, Gollum- a creature similar to a hobbit, The Dragon- a powerful enemy.

Plot

Hobbits are creatures similar to humans. The difference in height is that the hobbits are half as long, and their legs are overgrown with hair. A friend sent thirty dwarfs to the middle-aged hobbit Bilbo Baggins. They want to reclaim the treasure that the dragon has appropriated. He lay down in the dungeon, and the way to him is guarded by trolls and goblins. The hobbit could not stand the first attack of goblins, he lost consciousness. Then he went to an underground island, and met Gollum. He took the ring of invisibility. With him, any battle was given with ease. The dragon was defeated because Bilbo found out what he had on his shell vulnerable spot. From the treasure, the dwarves gave the hobbit two chests.

Conclusion (my opinion)

Bilbo is smart and cunning. He did not participate in such campaigns, but he showed himself excellently. Having good qualities, new tasks will not seem like something too difficult. Trying something new can change your life.