What is the subtitle of The Hobbit?

The subtitle of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit is “There and Back Again.”

The phrase describes Bilbo Baggins’s circular journey: he leaves his comfortable home at Bag End, travels east with Thorin Oakenshield’s company, helps reclaim the dwarves’ treasure, and eventually returns to the Shire. It also reflects the novel’s classic home-away-home structure.

The book was first published in 1937 as The Hobbit, or There and Back Again. Tolkien’s story follows Bilbo from an initially reluctant participant to a resourceful adventurer who faces trolls, goblins, giant spiders, Gollum, and Smaug. Despite the dangers, Bilbo’s goal is ultimately a return home rather than permanent exile or conquest.

A common mix-up comes from The Lord of the Rings, whose individual volumes have different subtitles, including The Return of the King. “An Unexpected Party” is the title of The Hobbit’s opening chapter, not the book’s subtitle.