num_pages: 399
description: 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.
language: English
title: The Annotated Hobbit: The Hobbit, or, There and back again
titlecomplete: The Annotated Hobbit: The Hobbit, or, There and back again
characters: Balin, Elrond Half-elven, Dwalin, Oin, Bofur, Gloin, Gollum, Kili, Dori, Bifur, Smaug, Thorin Oakenshield, Beorn, Bombur, Bilbo Baggins, Nori, Gandalf, Fili, Ori, Bard the Bowman
genres: Fiction, Adventure, Young Adult, High Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Classics, Novels, Childrens, Epic Fantasy, Fantasy
ratings_count: 3776253
places: Middle-earth
series: The Lord of the Rings
awards: name: Keith Barker Millennium Book Award, awardedAt: 852105600000
name: Books I Loved Best Yearly (BILBY) Awards
category: Older Readers, awardedAt: 631180800000
name: Mythopoeic Scholarship Award
category: Inklings Studies
publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company