What was J.R.R. Tolkien’s first published fictional book?

J.R.R. Tolkien’s first published fictional book was The Hobbit.

The Hobbit appeared in 1937 and introduced readers to Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, Thorin Oakenshield, Gollum, and the dragon Smaug. Tolkien had written the story for children, but its imaginative world and carefully constructed names appealed to readers of many ages. Its commercial and critical success encouraged his publisher to request another book set in the same world.

That follow-up became The Lord of the Rings, which was published in three volumes between 1954 and 1955. Although The Silmarillion contains older stories in the fictional chronology, it was not published during Tolkien’s lifetime; Christopher Tolkien edited it for publication in 1977.

Some readers identify The Lord of the Rings as Tolkien’s first book because it is his most famous work. Bibliographically, however, The Hobbit came first among his major Middle-earth novels and established the setting for the later epic.