GibburtThe Birth of Tolkien’s Legacy
Today in 1937 the wonderful The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien was published in London. The author had intended the book for his children, but after a friend read it, she recommended it to the publisher.
It was so successful, that it was sold out in three months. Because of paper sanctioning during wartime, the book was limited available until 1949.
The book has been translated into more than 50 languages and more than 100 million copies worldwide have been sold.
Further reading for everything Tolkien on the comprehensive Tolkien-Online.com. Worth reading is the review of The History of The Hobbit by John D. Rateliff, describing the writing process of The Hobbit. Interesting stuff: it reveals the draft had a different ending!
The blog of John D. Rateliff is also worth a visit. For instance this post, citing from a letter C.S. Lewis wrote to someone who just read The Hobbit:
“you are still only paddling in the glorious sea of Tolkien. Go on from THE HOBBIT at once to THE LORD OF THE RINGS . . . nearly as long as the Bible and not a word too long (except for the first chapter which is a botch — don’t be put off by it). THE HOBBIT is merely a fragment of his myth, detached, and adapted for children, and losing much by the adaptation. THE LORD OF THE R is the real stuff.”
I concur with Lewis, The Hobbit only lifts the curtain of this fantastic world called Middle Earth, but it’s where the journey, and Tolkien’s legacy, starts.
Leave a Comment