What is the name of the first chapter of The Hobbit?

The first chapter of The Hobbit is titled “An Unexpected Party.”

The chapter introduces Bilbo Baggins at Bag End, his comfortable home in Hobbiton. Bilbo is a respectable hobbit who values routine, good food, and a quiet life. That normality is disrupted when the wizard Gandalf arrives and marks him as a possible participant in an adventure.

One by one, Thorin Oakenshield and twelve other Dwarves appear at Bilbo’s home. Their unexpected gathering becomes the “party” of the title, although it is really a planning meeting for an expedition to reclaim the Dwarves’ ancestral kingdom and treasure in the Lonely Mountain from Smaug.

The title is often confused with nearby chapter titles. “Roast Mutton” is Chapter 2, while “A Long-expected Party” belongs to The Lord of the Rings, not The Hobbit. “Queer Lodgings” is not the title of the book’s opening chapter. The first chapter ends with Bilbo drawn into the adventure despite his initial reluctance.