Product Description

Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable and quiet life. His contentment is disturbed one day when the wizard, Gandalf, and the dwarves arrive to take him away on an adventure.

The Hobbit is a tale of high adventure, undertaken by a company of dwarves in search of dragon-guarded gold. A reluctant partner in this perilous quest is Bilbo Baggins, a comfort-loving unambitious hobbit, who surprises even himself by his resourcefulness and skill as a burglar.

Encounters with trolls, goblins, wizards, elves and giant spiders, conversations with the dragon, Smaug, and a rather unwilling presence at the Battle of Five Armies are just some of the adventures that befall Bilbo.

Bilbo Baggins has taken his place among the ranks of the immortals of children’s fiction. Written by Professor Tolkien for his own children, The Hobbit met with instant critical acclaim when published.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #726946 in Books
• Published on: 1993-03-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
This beautifully presented collector's box of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit is a must for fans of this timeless classic and anyone looking to learn more about the story that started it all.

Included in this box is a nicely bound hardback edition of The Hobbit and a collection of eight colour postcards featuring some of Tolkien's own artwork. Tolkien himself makes yet another guest appearance on an exclusive CD which features a recording of Tolkien reading an extract from Bilbo's first encounter with the terrifying Gollum. Lastly, there is a beautifully painted foldout map of Wilderland by John Howe with text by Brian Sibley.

Those who are fans of The Hobbit will feel justified in splashing out again for this lovely collector's item, which offers plenty of value and makes for an affordable treat or gift for a fellow Tolkien lover. --Jon Weir

Amazon.co.uk Review
Poor Bilbo Baggins! An unassuming and rather plump hobbit (as most of these small, furry-footed people tend to be ), Baggins finds himself unwittingly drawn into adventure by a wizard named Gandalf and 13 dwarves bound for the Lonely Mountain, where a dragon named Smaug hordes a stolen treasure. Before he knows what is happening, Baggins finds himself on the road to danger. Wizards, dwarves and dragons may seem the stuff of children's fairy tales, but The Hobbit is in a class of its own--light-hearted enough for younger readers, yet with a dark edge guaranteed to intrigue an older audience. In the best tradition of the archetypal hero's quest, Bilbo Baggins sets out on his fateful journey a callow, untested soul and returns--tempered by hardship, danger and loss--a better man--er, hobbit.

This book is the predecessor to Tolkien's masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings, and though that trilogy can be thoroughly enjoyed without first reading The Hobbit, much that happens in the later novels is foreshadowed here. A word of caution, however: as Bilbo discovers early on, travel and adventure are addictive things; embark on this journey to the Lonely Mountain with Tolkien's reluctant hero, and you might not be able to stop there. And the road taken to the distant mountains of Mordor in the ensuing trilogy is an even more perilous one.

Review

‘A finely written saga of dwarves and elves, fearsome goblins and trolls… an exciting epic of travel and magical adventure, all working up to a devastating climax.’
Obsever

‘A flawless masterpiece… One of the most influential books of our generation.’
The Times