J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit was first published in the United Kingdom in 1937.
The novel was published by George Allen & Unwin on 21 September 1937. It tells the story of Bilbo Baggins, a Hobbit drawn into a journey with Thorin Oakenshield and a company of Dwarves. Their goal is to reclaim Erebor and its treasure from the dragon Smaug.
The Hobbit began as a children’s fantasy story, but it introduced characters, objects, and historical material that later became central to The Lord of the Rings. Its first edition differed in some details from later editions, especially concerning the portrayal of Gollum and the discovery of the Ring. Tolkien revised those passages for a later edition to make the book fit the developing mythology.