2014/04/15 by John D. Rateliff · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Aesthetics #Art #Art history #Cartography #Child Development and Digital Technology #Composition (language) #Fantasy #Fell #Folklore, Mythology, and Literature Studies #Geography #Harry potter #History #Literature #Period (music) #Publishing #Themes in Literature Analysis #Turning point
paper · doi:10.1002/9781118517468.ch8
openalex publication_date 2014/04/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
First writing, and then publishing, The Hobbit was the turning point in Tolkien's career. This essay looks at when and how Tolkien wrote The Hobbit, including the dates of composition and the phases into which work on the book fell, as well as how it came to be published. It investigates his medieval sources (Beowulf, the Eddas, certain sagas, etc.) and the interaction between his fiction and his scholarly, academic work. It delves into the complicated relationship between The Hobbit and The Silmarillion, showing that there was a close connection between the two even at the earliest stages of Mr. Baggins's tale. Finally, it affirms the place of The Hobbit in the tradition of classic children's fantasy and concludes that Mr. Baggins's story is not a “charming prelude” but a worthy companion to The Lord of the Rings: The Hobbit is Tolkien's other masterpiece.