| View Larger Image | The History of the Hobbit | Hardcoverby John D. Rateliff (Author)
| List Price: | $95.00 | | Price: | $59.85 | | You Save: | $35.15 (37%) | | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
| | Binding: | Hardcover | | Publisher: | Houghton Mifflin | | Edition: | 1st Edition | | Publication Date: | October 26, 2007 | | Sales Rank: | 60,627th |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
A beautiful boxed set: the definitive examination of how Tolkien came to write his original masterpiece, including the complete unpublished draft and little-known illustrations and unpublished maps, along with a new edition of the classic work itself.First published in 1938, The Hobbit is a story that "grew in the telling," and many characters and events in the published book are completely different from what Tolkien first wrote to read aloud to his young sons as part of their "fireside reads." For the first time, The History of the Hobbit reproduces the original version of one of literature's most famous stories, and includes many little-known illustrations and previously unpublished maps for The Hobbit created by Tolkien himself. Also featured are extensive annotations and commentaries on the date of composition, how Tolkien's professional and early mythological writings influenced the story, the imaginary geography he created, and how he came to revise the book in the years after publication to accommodate events in The Lord of the Rings.These two volumes are boxed together with a new edition of The Hobbit with a short introduction by Christopher Tolkien, a reset text incorporating the most up-to-date corrections, and all of Tolkien's own drawings and color illustrations, including the rare "Mirkwood" piece. |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 9 reviews)
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Worth it for any true fan by A. Reader (SF, Ca United States)  5 Stars
September 22, 2009
This is an amazing collection. If you have a Tolkien fan you are looking to buy a present for, look no further.
If you are looking to buy The Hobbit and read it for the first time, you should probably go for a cheaper edition.
If you are looking for THE BEST. This is it.
It's worth it for the illustrations alone, but the drafts and 'making of' is very very cool.
I've seen many deluxe editions of this book, they should be ashamed of that moniker. This edition deserves that honor alone.
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The History of the Hobbit by Alexander Johnson 5 Stars
December 20, 2008
This book follows the development of the The Hobbit from the earliest remaining materials to the time of original publication. It could be considered a prequel/complement to The Annotated Hobbit by Tolkien/Anderson.
If you liked the History of Middle-Earth, you will probably like this.
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great set ! by Jason S. Schultz (oregon u.s.a.) 5 Stars
October 04, 2008
What a great set of books ! Well worth the money !
A must for any L.O.T.R. fan !
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An Insightful Look Into The Making of The Hobbit by Brian Tanti (Redwood City, CA USA) 5 Stars
March 29, 2008
This three volume set gives new insight into the world of The Hobbit. The first book is The Hobbit as you know it and the second two are a annotated copy of J.R.R. Tolkiens' original manuscript. It is extremely interesting to see the work as it evolved. This is a must buy for any Tolkien fan!
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How Mr. Baggins Got His Groove Back by P. G. Wickberg (Washington, DC, USA) 5 Stars
February 25, 2008
I have to admit that on my first glance at this, I was expecting disappointment - because, while it followed the format of Christopher Tolkien's ten-volume "History of Middle Earth," it was not BY that esteemed Professor of Anglo-Saxon, and therefore could not be as good. Believe me, I got over it quickly! Rateliff, who repeatedly mentions his debt to the younger Tolkiens, as well as to Tolkien scholars like Tom Shippey, has done a superb job of tracking down how Mr. Baggins started out at his doorstep in the 1930s with a wizard named Bladorthin and a dwarf-king named Gandalf (a dwarf by that name does appear in Sturlasson's "Voluspa," the source of most of Tolkien's dwarf names) and ended up back at Bag End somewhat wiser and richer in the 1960s with a wizard named Gandalf and the memory of a heroic dwarf-king named Thorin.
The history of "The Hobbit" itself is fascinating, the history of how it interwove with the developing mythology of "Lord of the Rings" and the "Silmarillion" even more so. But there are also detached analytical essays scattered throughout, on subjects like the goblins/orcs, Beorn, the Great Eagles and Tolkien's attitude towards spiders, which are unexpected bonuses, as well as the revelation that Gollum originally was not only more well-spoken but somewhat nicer than he later became.
One very minor niggle (unaccompanied by leaf): in his essay on Beorn, Rateliff mentions that the Middle Earth equivalent of Grizzly Adams was of indefinite but probably immense age, and in fact was a "leftover from an older world" -- but then died shortly after Bilbo's adventure, according to LOTR. Rateliff doesn't quite explain this, but the explanation may lie in his suggestion that Beorn's were-bear nature was inflicted on him by a curse, which not only made him turn into a bear under stress but made him effectively immortal, and that this curse was lifted by his heroic actions at the Battle of Five Armies. If the were-bear curse was lifted (presumably by the Valar or by Eru Himself), it seems likely he lost the immortality as a sidebar and then lived out a normal human lifetime, although that doesn't seem to jibe with Tolkien's throwaway line in "The Hobbit" that the men of Beorn's line for generations afterwards kept the ability to shapeshift into bears.
A reviewer noted that some of the early drafts have been unfortunately lost to history. Rateliff mentions that the thrifty Tolkien saved on paper by writing on unused portions of blue exam booklets. The paper used in such booklets is acidic and of fairly minimal quality -- Rateliff pointed out instances in which it has turned brown, making Tolkien's handwritten text even harder to deceipher. It seems likely that some of the earlier papers (including the famous blank page on which he wrote: "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit") may no longer be with us because they literally crumbled away.
Anyway, I strongly recommend Rateliff's set, not only for would-be Tolkien scholars like myself, but for those who simply enjoyed their first expose to Tolkien, be it via reading "The Hobbit" or by seeing Peter Jackson's movie versions, and would like to know more.
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SIMILAR PRODUCTS |
| J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide (Two Volume Box Set)
by Christina Scull (Author), Wayne G. Hammond (Author)
Designed to be the essential reference works for all readers and students, these volumes present the most thorough analysis possible of Tolkien's work within the important context of his life.
The Reader's Guide includes brief but comprehensive alphabetical entries on a wide range of topics, including a who's who of important persons, a guide to places and institutions, details concerning Tolkien's source material, information about the political and social upheavals through which the...
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| The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion
by Christina Scull (Author), Wayne G. Hammond (Author)
In The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion internationally acclaimed scholars Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull examine Tolkien's masterpiece chapter by chapter, offering expert insights into its evolution, structure, and meaning. They discuss in close detail important literary and historical influences on the development of The Lord of the Rings, connections between that work and other writings by Tolkien, errors and inconsistencies, significant changes to the text during its fifty...
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| J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator
by Christina Scull (Editor), Wayne G. Hammond (Editor), J.R.R. Tolkien (Editor)
J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) renowned author of THE HOBBIT, THE LORD OF THE RINGS and THE SILMARILLION, was an artist in pictures as well as in words. Though he often remarked that he had no talent for drawing, his art has charmed his readers and has been exhibited to large and appreciative audiences the world over. In fact, his talent was far more than he admitted, and his sense of design was natural and keen.
J.R.R. TOLKIEN: ARTIST & ILLUSTRATOR explores Tolkien's art at length, from...
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| Tales from the Perilous Realm
by J.R.R. Tolkien (Author), Alan Lee (Illustrator)
The definitive collection of Tolkien’s classic “fairie” tales, in the vein of The Hobbit, illustrated by Oscar winner Alan Lee
Never before published in a single volume, Tolkien’s four novellas (Farmer Giles of Ham, Leaf by Niggle, Smith of Wootton Major, and Roverandom) and one book of poems (The Adventures of Tom Bombadil) are gathered together for the first time, in a fully illustrated volume. This new, definitive collection of works -- which had appeared separately, in...
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| Roots and Branches: Selected Papers on Tolkien
by Tom Shippey (Author)
Professor Tom Shippey is best known for his books 'The Road to Middle-earth' and 'J.R.R. Tolkien. Author of the Century'. Yet they are not the only contributions of his to Tolkien studies. Over the years, he has written and lectured widely on Tolkien-related topics. Unfortunately, many of his essays, though still topical, are no longer available. The current volume unites for the first time a selection of his older essays together with some new, as yet unpublished articles.
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