The History of the Hobbit: one-volume edition [Hardcover]

In this very lovely boxed set the fortunate reader gets the 70th anniversary edition of The Hobbit, the first American edition that I know of to contain Christopher Tolkien's own introduction (written originally for the British 50th anniversary edition in 1987). This edition also contains all the latest text corrections and all of JRR Tolkien's own line and color illustrations, which are far superior to the work of any other artist who has depicted the worlds of Middle earth.

Besides The Hobbit itself, this set also contains the two volume History of the Hobbit by John D. Rateliff. This is a masterwork containing complete texts of the different versions of The Hobbit written by Tolkien over the years, from a first draft created originally from stories he told his children to a very late revision planned to bring the book more in line with The Lord of the Rings. Rateliff also provides some fascinating notes and many intriguing essays throughout the two volumes (Mr. Baggins and Return to Bag End).

All three volumes are beautifully printed and bound, with lovely jackets inspired by Tolkien's own drawings. This will be a gift bound to please Tolkien lovers and anyone who treasures finely crafted books.

Bilbo Baggins just wants to live his quiet, peaceful life in the Shire. And he's doing a mighty fine job of it until the great wizard, Bladorthin, shows up at his door with a gaggle of dwarves. Their leader, Gandalf, tells of the vicious dragon, Pryftan, who overtook their home. Bilbo joins up with them for a grand adventure. Ultimately he saves the day and along the way happens to discover a magical ring.

That is how the story originally took shape.

With THE HISTORY OF THE HOBBIT, author John D. Rateliff pieces together fragments of history in order to present THE HOBBIT as it was originally drafted by J.R.R. Tolkien. With access to the documents at Marquette University, the project was originally undertaken by Taum Santoski, who passed away following a battle with cancer at an all-too-young age. The torch was then passed to Rateliff with the full blessing of Christopher Tolkien.

Some of Tolkien's original papers have been lost to time. Seventy years is quite a period to have anything stashed away. The opening page, featuring the handwritten line "In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit," is one of those long-lost pages, but for the most part, a rather complete version of the initial draft of this book can be pieced together. In essence, THE HOBBIT is a phenomenal read for a number of reasons.

On one level, it gives readers the first look at the origins of legend. This is how Tolkien originally viewed his mythical Middle-earth before it grew into THE LORD OF THE RINGS. These characters bore different names, endured different hardships and took on other roles. Gollum, in the original vision, held to his end of the riddle game and, after losing, shows Bilbo the way out of the mountain. The guardsman Bard, who slays Smaug in the final version, is barely introduced before he is killed.

And this opens up to aspect number two.

As Tolkien begins to make his second pass through the draft, notating and correcting as he goes (in pen over the top of original pencil writings), names begin to change, the story arc and scenes start morphing and readers get to see and understand why those alterations were made. This is a wonderful view for writers to see the mindset of a second draft but also a way for any ordinary reader to understand why things evolved and changed. And in some instances, it gives a greater weight to the final version.

Thirdly, THE HISTORY OF THE HOBBIT is, as the title says, a history. Not just a mere presenting of the manuscript in its rough form, Rateliff has documented the timeframe of the work, giving us the most precise record as to when it was first conceived and when it was completed. His insights into the reasoning behind changes are culled from Tolkien's own notes and letters, and much of what was once believed is corrected. This historical perspective illuminates the book rather than bury it.

The story of THE HOBBIT evolved because the world around Tolkien evolved, not to mention that the author himself underwent changes over the years this work was in creation. Rateliff does an outstanding job of presenting the original draft and its subsequent transformation, including his own discoveries and commentaries along the way. At no point does this ever become a chore to read.

Equal parts fantasy fiction and biographical fact, THE HISTORY OF THE HOBBIT is a true gem of a set. For the first time, the timeline of the creation of this premiere novel is ironed out and separated from myth.

Finally, Tolkien's original vision is presented for the world to see, and the extent of the expansive growth of Middle-earth and its characters is opened up to inspection. Rateliff pulls together loose and seemingly disparate threads and weaves them into a profound tapestry and companion that THE HOBBIT, now in its 70th year, richly deserved.

--- Reviewed by Stephen Hubbard

This boxed set will be appreciated by any hard-core Tolkien fan. It contains a two-volume set about the History of The Hobbit, and the 2007 edition of the novel. All three books are beautifully designed and bound.

The Hobbit novel is the first American edition to feature Tolkien's color illustrations made for the book, the latest round of typographic corrections, and an introduction by Christopher Tolkien. The endpapers are color reproductions of Thorin's map of the Lonely Mountain, another first for an American edition. And the dust jacket is produced with Tolkien's original design in mind with a red sun and dragon, and pink tint on the mountains, which were removed from the original design due to money concerns.

Fans of The Hobbit have heard for decades now how Tolkien rewrote the book after completion of the Lord of the Rings, in order to bring the two stories in line with each other. Until now, only people lucky enough to find a copy of the British first edition have been able to know how extensive the changes were. The History of the Hobbit not only recreates the original draft of the story, but points out how the story evolved and changed. For example, the ring was, originally, just a magic ring and not the One Ring. In fact, the ruling rings didn't even exist in Tolkien's history of the Middle Earth at the time The Hobbit was first written. The Hobbit wasn't even conceived as a part of the Tolkien universe, but was intended to stand apart and alone. J. R. R. Tolkien changed his mind about that when The Hobbit proved a best seller.

The author gives The Hobbit the same extensive treatment that Christopher Tolkien gave The Lord of the Rings in his History of Middle Earth series. Multiple versions of the novel are given, with extensive annotations, and footnotes to the footnotes. The only drawback to the History is that the author is frequently referring to obscure and out of print books and documents that the majority of readers will not have access to, without reprinting the illustrations or articles referred to. And the double layer of annotations and footnotes are hard to follow. But the History can be enjoyed without digging all the way through the notes.

The book presents a shocker, too. In the 1960's J. R. R. Tolkien set about rewriting The Hobbit in the style of The Lord of the Rings. What survives of this attempt is reprinted for the reader's enlightenment. I won't spoil the surprise by saying anything further.

This set is an excellent gift for any Lord of the Rings or Hobbit fan.