How Many Hobbit Books Are There?

Q: How Many Hobbit Books Are There?

ANSWER: J.R.R. Tolkien wrote two hobbit books, but several variations and additional works were published in his lifetime. He also revised The Hobbit three times. Hence, most people overlook several “hobbit” books when enumerating how many of these books there really are. There is, of course, The Hobbit — which was published in three editions (1937, 1950, and 1965). And there is also The Lord of the Rings — which was published in two editions (1954-5 and 1965) during Tolkien’s lifetime, but also in at least 2 substantial revisions after his death.

But other “Hobbit” books include The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, The Road Goes Ever On (published in 2 editions in 1967 and 1978), and Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth.

Of course, these are not hobbit adventure books. But they contain material that is relevant to the “hobbit” stories in the two primary books. Another such book is The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, which includes extensive hobbit material not published elsewhere (under his name).

Some of the variations on The Hobbit that you can find today include:

• The Annotated Hobbit, edited by Douglas A. Anderson
• The Art of The Hobbit, edited by Wayne Hammond and Christina Scull
• The History of The Hobbit, by John D. Rateliff
• The Hobbit Graphic Novel, illustrated by Charles Dixon
• The Hobbit, Illustrated Edition, illustrated by Jemima Caitlin
• The

Some information about hobbits and The Hobbit appeared in previously unpublished material that was published in The History of Middle-earth (specifically Volumes VI – IX, also republished as The History of The Lord of the Rings, but also Volume XII, published as The Peoples of Middle-earth). The History of The Hobbit, published in 2 editions (2006 and 2011), also includes previously unpublished material.

Artwork that Tolkien himself created for or inspired by The Hobbit appears in books like J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist & Illustrator and The Art of The Hobbit (perhaps also the earlier Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien). It’s important to take all these books into consideration because each contributes a little information, textual or visual, to our collective wisdom about J.R.R. Tolkien’s evolving conception of hobbits.

And the reader should understand that his conception DID evolve throughout his lifetime. The hobbit of 1937 was not quite the same creature as the hobbit of 1972. The distinctions may be mostly too subtle for the average reader, but one may find a certain delight in exploring the various different aspects of Tolkien’s hobbitry-in-print.

And if you are REALLY determined to find everything you possibly can that presents something uniquely hobbity, you should check out Douglas A. Anderson’s The Annotated Hobbit, which has also been published in 2 editions (1986 and 2002).

So that is a quick rundown of how many “hobbit books” there are — although some people may not want to include all the peripheral books in an authoritative list of hobbit books. At least you have a list to begin paring down (or adding to — maybe I missed one or two related hobbit books).

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Have you read our other Tolkien and Middle-earth Questions and Answers articles?