 First editions (UK) | |
| Editor | John D. Rateliff |
|---|---|
| Author | J. R. R. Tolkien & John D. Rateliff |
| Illustrator | J. R. R. Tolkien |
| Cover artist | J. R. R. Tolkien |
| Language | English |
| Series | The History of The Hobbit |
| Genre | Literary studies |
| Publisher |
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Publication date | 2007 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 905 |
The History of The Hobbit is a two-volume study of J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 children's fantasy novel The Hobbit. It was first published by HarperCollins in 2007. It contains Tolkien's unpublished drafts of the novel, with commentary by John D. Rateliff.[1] It details Tolkien's various revisions to The Hobbit, including abandoned revisions for the unpublished third edition of the work, intended for 1960, as well as previously unpublished original maps and illustrations drawn by Tolkien.[2]
The work provides the same sort of literary analysis of The Hobbit that Christopher Tolkien's 12-volume The History of Middle-earth provides for The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings. In Rateliff's view, the work is complementary to Douglas A. Anderson's 1988 work The Annotated Hobbit, which presents and comments upon a single text of the novel.
- ^ Bertenstam, Åke (1 September 2002) [1996]. "A chronological bibliography of the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien".
- ^ "History of the Hobbit: An essential resource book for the forthcoming movie adaptation of The Hobbit" (Press release). Tolkien Library. 13 October 2006.