Which book by J.R.R. Tolkien was first published on 21 September 1937?

J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit was first published on 21 September 1937.

The book follows Bilbo Baggins, a comfort-loving hobbit drawn into a journey with the wizard Gandalf and thirteen Dwarves. Their goal is to reclaim the Lonely Mountain and its treasure from the dragon Smaug. Tolkien originally wrote the story for his children, but the manuscript attracted the attention of publisher George Allen & Unwin.

The Hobbit predates The Lord of the Rings and has a lighter, more fairy-tale-like narrative voice. It also introduces important figures and objects later developed in the larger legendarium, including Bilbo, Gollum, and the One Ring.

A common mix-up is dating the book to the later success of The Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit appeared seventeen years before the first volume of that trilogy, and its popularity encouraged Tolkien’s publisher to request a sequel.