Hobbit, The

Fantasy for children by J R R Tolkien, published in the UK in 1937. It describes the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, a ‘hobbit’ (small humanoid) in an ancient world, Middle-Earth, populated by dragons, dwarves, elves, and other mythical creatures, including the wizard Gandalf. The Hobbit, together with Tolkien's later trilogy The Lord of the Rings (1954–55), achieved cult status in the 1960s.

By 1991, 35 million copies had been sold worldwide, more than any other work of fiction.