The Hobbit Classic Hardback by J. R. R. Tolkien

The definitive edition of J.R.R. Tolkien's most beloved book, sporting a facsimile of his original cover design and complete with colour plates of his own paintings, brand new reproductions of all his drawings, and colour versions of both maps.

Bilbo Baggins enjoys a quiet and contented life, with no desire to travel far from the comforts of home; then one day the wizard Gandalf and a band of dwarves arrive unexpectedly and enlist his services - as a burglar - on a dangerous expedition to raid the treasure-hoard of Smaug the dragon. Bilbo's life is never to be the same again.

Seldom has any book been so widely read and loved as JRR Tolkien's classic tale, The Hobbit. Since its first publication in 1937 it has remained in print to delight each new generation of readers all over the world, and its hero, Bilbo Baggins, has taken his place among the ranks of the immortals: Alice, Pooh, Toad...

J.R.R.Tolkien (1892-1973) was a distinguished academic, though he is best known for writing The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, plus other stories and essays. His books have been translated into 50 languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide. The Children of Hurin was published for the first time in 2007.

'The Hobbit belongs to a very small class of books which have nothing in common save that each admits us to a world of its own. Its place is with Alice and The Wind in the Willows.' Times Literary Supplement

'One of the best loved characters in English fiction... a marvellous fantasy adventure' Daily Mail

'Finely written saga of dwarves and elves, fearsome goblins and trolls... an exciting epic of travel, magical adventure, working up to a devastating climax' The Observer