What was the first published book written by J.R.R. Tolkien?

The Hobbit was the first published book written by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, was published in 1937 by George Allen & Unwin. It introduces Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, Thorin Oakenshield, Gollum, and the dragon Smaug, and follows Bilbo’s unexpected adventure beyond the Shire.

The book began as a children’s fantasy but contains the foundations of Tolkien’s wider mythology. Its success led the publisher to request a sequel, which eventually became The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien expanded the tone and scale of the later work considerably.

The Silmarillion was assembled and published after Tolkien’s death, in 1977, under the editorial direction of his son Christopher Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings was published in three volumes from 1954 to 1955, so neither book was Tolkien’s first published novel.