J.R.R. Tolkien shared C.S. Lewis’s Oxford literary circle, the Inklings, and wrote The Hobbit.
The Inklings were an informal group of writers and scholars who met mainly at Oxford’s Eagle and Child pub and in college rooms. Lewis and Tolkien were among its best-known members. They read drafts aloud, discussed literature, and offered criticism of works in progress.
Tolkien’s The Hobbit was published in 1937, before The Lord of the Rings appeared in the 1950s. Lewis’s friendship with Tolkien was important to both men, although they did not agree on every literary or religious matter. Other Inklings included Charles Williams and Owen Barfield. Dorothy L. Sayers was a prominent contemporary writer associated with Oxford literary circles, but she was not a regular member of the Inklings.