When did J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Hobbit first appear in print?

J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Hobbit first appeared in print on 21 September 1937.

The book was published in London by George Allen & Unwin. Tolkien originally wrote it as a children’s fantasy story, but its setting connected with the mythology and languages he had been developing for years. The first edition introduced readers to Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, Thorin Oakenshield, Gollum, and the dragon Smaug.

The Hobbit became an immediate success and received strong reviews. Its popularity encouraged Tolkien’s publisher to ask for a sequel, which eventually became The Lord of the Rings. The later trilogy was much more ambitious and darker in tone than the original children’s adventure.

The publication date is often confused with the dates of later editions or film adaptations. The first film in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy was released in 2012, exactly 75 years after the novel’s first publication, but the book itself dates from 1937.