J.R.R. Tolkien’s first published novel about hobbits and a dragon is The Hobbit.
Published in 1937, the book follows Bilbo Baggins as he leaves the Shire with the wizard Gandalf and thirteen dwarves. Their goal is to reclaim the Lonely Mountain and its treasure from Smaug, a dragon. The story began partly as a tale Tolkien told to his children, but it grew into a carefully constructed adventure connected to his wider mythology.
The Hobbit introduced readers to Bilbo, Thorin Oakenshield, Gollum, and the magical ring that later became central to The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien revised some details, especially the depiction of the ring and Bilbo’s encounter with Gollum, to align the book more closely with the later saga.
The novel is sometimes confused with The Lord of the Rings, but The Hobbit was published first and is shorter, lighter, and more directly structured as a quest narrative.