J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit first appeared in print in 1937.
The novel was published by George Allen & Unwin in London on 21 September 1937. Its full title is The Hobbit, or There and Back Again. The story follows Bilbo Baggins, who leaves the Shire with Thorin Oakenshield and a company of Dwarves to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug.
The book began as a children’s fantasy but quickly attracted adult readers. Its success encouraged Tolkien’s publisher to request a sequel, eventually leading to The Lord of the Rings. A common mix-up is to treat The Hobbit as the first volume of The Lord of the Rings; it is a separate novel, although the two works share characters, history, and the One Ring.