J.R.R. Tolkien’s first published fantasy story about a hobbit was The Hobbit.
The novel follows Bilbo Baggins, a comfort-loving resident of the Shire who joins Thorin Oakenshield and a company of Dwarves. Their goal is to reclaim the Lonely Mountain and its treasure from Smaug.
Tolkien wrote the book during the 1930s, developing material from his private mythology into a more accessible adventure. The story’s tone is lighter than that of The Lord of the Rings, although it introduces important elements later connected to the larger legendarium.
The Hobbit is sometimes described as Tolkien’s first Middle-earth work, but he had already been developing legends, languages, and poems for years. It was, however, his first published book to present this world to a broad reading audience.