It gives a valuable overview of Tolkien's life and the publishing history of The Hobbit, and explains how every feature of The Hobbit fits within the rest of Tolkien's invented world. The Annotated Hobbit shows how Tolkien worked as a writer, what his influences and interests were, and how these relate to the invented world of Middle-earth. Tolkien's original line drawings, maps and color paintings are also included, making this the most lavishly informative edition of The Hobbit available.

Integrated with Anderson's notes and placed alongside the fully restored and corrected text of the original story are more than 150 illustrations showing visual interpretations of The Hobbit specific to many of the cultures that have come to know and love Tolkien's Middle-earth. Anderson's The Annotated Hobbit is the definitive explication of the sources, characters, places, and things of J.R.R. Newly expanded and completely redesigned, Douglas A. His books have been translated into more than fifty languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.For readers throughout the world, 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 (1892-1973) is the creator of Middle-earth and author of such classic and extraordinary works of fiction as The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. Anderson has compared every page from every major edition of The hobbit with Tolkien's own last checking copy in the restoration work for this definitive edition. Tolkien approved it before his death, in 1973. This edition also reproduces the fully corrected text of The hobbit as J.R.R. The many new annotations in this edition reflect more than a decade's additional scholarship on the history and evolution of The hobbit, and the annotations and illustrations are newly integrated with the core text in a handsome reader-friendly format. Douglas Anderson has also collected here wonderful illustrations from all over the world.

This revised and expanded edition of The annotated hobbit unobtrusively and authoritatively illuminates the novel's antecedents and curiosities. As a reader's introduction to Tolkien's Middle-earth, it contains references to the ancient history of this imaginary world which, though rarely explained, contribute greatly to the effect of Tolkien's art. Tolkien's beloved novel The hobbit has deep roots in European folklore, mythology, and language.

The Annotated Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien