The Annotated Hobbit - Hardcover

Tolkien, J. R. R.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0007137273 ISBN 13: 9780007137275

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2003

Synopsis

The definitive edition of this beloved children’s classic, featuring a wealth of accompanying illustrations and notes which take the reader further into both the story, and the tale of how it was written.

Seldom has any book been so widely read and loved as J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic tale, The Hobbit. Since its first publication in 1937 it has remained in print to delight each new generation of readers all over the world, and its hero, Bilbo Baggins, has taken his place among the ranks of the immortals: Alice, Pooh, Toad…
As with all classics, repeated readings continue to bring new detail and perspectives to the reader’s mind, and Tolkien’s Middle-earth is a vast mine of treasures and knowledge, its roots delving deep into folklore, mythology and language. The Hobbit is, therefore, an ideal book for annotation: as well as offering a marvellous and entrancing story, it introduces the reader to the richly imagined world of Middle-earth, a world more fully and complexly realised in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.
Douglas Anderson’s annotations make fascinating reading. Additionally, many of Tolkien’s own illustrations embellish the text, and numerous illustrations from foreign editions exhibit an extraordinary range of visual interpretation. In an appendix there are details of the revisions made by Tolkien at various times to the publsihed text, which provide an uncommon and privileged glimpse into the special concerns of an exceptional and painstaking writer.

About this title

About the Author

Douglas Anderson is one of the foremost scholars of Tolkien’s work, and was involved in the resetting of The Lord of the Rings for the centenary edition illustrated by Alan Lee.

From the Back Cover

For readers around the globe, 'The Hobbit' serves as an introduction to the enchanting world of Middle-earth, home of elves, wizards, dwarves, goblins, dragons, orcs, and a host of other creatures depicted in 'The Lord of The Rings' and 'The Silmarillion' – tales that sprang from the mind of the most beloved author of all time, J.R.R. Tolkien.

Newly expanded and completely redesigned, Douglas A. Anderson's 'The Annotated Hobbit' is the definitive explication of the sources, characters, places and things of J.R.R. Tolkien's famous classic. Integrated with Anderson's notes and placed alongside the fully restored and corrected text are more than 150 illustrations showing visual interpretations of 'The Hobbit' specific to many of the cultures that have come to know and love Middle-earth. Tolkien's original line drawings, maps and colour paintings are also included, making this the most lavishly informative edition of 'The Hobbit' available.

'The Annotated Hobbit' shows how J.R.R. Tolkien worked as a writer, what his influences and interests were, and how these relate to the details of Middle-earth. It gives a valuable overview of Tolkien's life and the publishing history of 'The Hobbit', and explains how every feature of the story fits within the rest of Tolkien's invented world. Here we learn how Gollum's character was revised to accommodate the true nature of the One Ring, and we can read the full text of 'The Quest of Erebor', Gandalf's explanation of how he came to send Bilbo Baggins on his journey with the dwarves. Anderson also makes meaningful and often surprising connections to our own world and literary history – from 'Beowulf' to 'The Marvellous Land of Snergs', from the Brothers Grimm to C.S. Lewis.

'Not only fascinating, but useful. It makes of 'The Hobbit' a kind of Tolkien handbook.'
'Washington Post Book World'

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0007137273
• ISBN 13: 9780007137275
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 416
• Editor: Anderson Douglas A.