J.R.R. Tolkien’s first published novel about a hobbit’s adventure was The Hobbit.
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, was published by George Allen & Unwin in 1937. It follows Bilbo Baggins as he joins Thorin Oakenshield and a company of dwarves on a quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug.
Tolkien originally wrote the story for his children, but the manuscript reached publisher Stanley Unwin. The book became a major success and led the publisher to request a sequel, which eventually developed into The Lord of the Rings.
Although The Hobbit is connected to Tolkien’s larger mythology, its tone is generally lighter and more directly shaped as a children’s adventure. The Lord of the Rings later expanded its history, themes, and narrative scale.