What was J.R.R. Tolkien’s first published Middle-earth book?

J.R.R. Tolkien’s first published Middle-earth book was The Hobbit, released in 1937.

The story began as a children’s fantasy about Bilbo Baggins, a comfort-loving hobbit drawn into an adventure with the wizard Gandalf and thirteen dwarves. Its success led Tolkien’s publisher to request a sequel, which eventually became The Lord of the Rings.

The Hobbit introduces places, creatures and objects that later became central to Tolkien’s mythology, including the Shire, Rivendell, Smaug and the One Ring. The book’s tone is generally lighter and more playful than its much longer successor.

A common mix-up is to call The Lord of the Rings Tolkien’s first Middle-earth publication. It was published later, in three volumes between 1954 and 1955, while The Silmarillion appeared posthumously in 1977.