Product Description

Tolkien's famous fantastical world was born from a single word "Hobbit" written on a blank sheet of paper on a summer afternoon in 1930. This book is an exploration of the inspirational power of language. It proposes that the entire body of Tolkien's writing dealing with Hobbits was essentially the product of a list of associations with the word Hobbit. Thus, the invention of the word Hobbit resulted in the creation of the character, race and world of the Hobbit, whose popularity has endured, indeed continues to increase, throughout the world since its humble beginnings. Exploring the brilliant web of verbal hocus-pocus that J.R.R. Tolkien delightedly spun in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, master Hobbit investigator David Day reveals the myriad crafty puns and riddles, hidden meanings and mythical associations beneath the saga's thrilling surface. Intruiging to the uninitiated, enchanting to the Tolkien enthusiast, The Hobbit Companion can only enhance our enjoyment of this dark, mysterious world. Featuring Lidia Postma's beautiful illustrations, The Hobbit Companion delves into the Hobbit world, looking in depth at the tales' main individual characters, such as Bilbo and Frodo Baggins and Gandalf the Wizard, other folk who share their lands from Goblins and Dwarves to Trolls and Giants, and the lands themselves, including Tookland, Buckland, the town of Hobbiton and the Shire.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #841624 in Books
• Published on: 2002-10-18
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 96 pages

About the Author
David Day has published more than twenty books in the field of ecology, poetry, natural history, fantasy, mythology and a number of award-winning children's books. He was also author of the hugely successful The Tolkein Bestiary, Tolkein: The Illustrated Encyclopedia, Castles and Tolkein's Ring. Lidia Postma is a highly regarded illustrator of both children's and adults' fantasy books. Among her many works are J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography, The Tolkein Bestiary, The Twelve Dancing Princesses and other tales from Grimm, Tom Thumb: a Tale and The Golden Bird.

Customer Reviews

What's in a name?
In this amazing book, David Day explores Tolkien's creations from an unusual point of view. It takes the reader right at the heart of Tolkien's mind and delves into the core of all his creations. Tolkien was a world-renowned philologist (one who studies words) and Professor of language at the University of Oxford, and this book tries to show (presenting some very interesting proof) that the core of Tolkien's The Hobbit was a word; or rather, thirteen words. Amongst other things, there are very exciting studies on dragons, dwarves, the landscapes, and Gandalf the wizard. This book is presented in short-note style, reminding oneself of scribbling during a class. Added to this is a beautiful hardback, slightly larger than A4 paper, presentation. All artwork and illustrations are by Lidia Postma, a bright Tolkien artist which only endorses our views of hobbits and other creatures as we explore the secrets hidden by the names.