What date did J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit first appear in book form?

J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit first appeared in book form on 21 September 1937.

The book was published in London by George Allen & Unwin under the title The Hobbit, or There and Back Again. Its early success quickly led to a second impression, and its reception helped establish Tolkien as a major writer of fantasy.

Tolkien had written much of the story earlier, initially treating it as a children’s tale. The book’s setting and objects, especially the discovery of the One Ring, eventually became connected to the much larger narrative of The Lord of the Rings.

The publication date is often confused with dates for Tolkien’s other works. The Lord of the Rings began appearing in 1954, while The Silmarillion was published after Tolkien’s death in 1977. The Hobbit therefore marks the publishing debut of Tolkien’s Middle-earth, even though many of its deeper mythological roots predate it.