The Hobbit
| Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name: | The Hobbit |
| Abbreviation(s): | |
| Creator: | J.R.R. Tolkien |
| Date(s): | 1937 |
| Medium: | book (adaptations: graphic novels, Jackson film trilogy) |
| Country of Origin: | UK |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Hobbit is a novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, published originally as a children's book in 1937. It officially debuted his fictional otherworld, Middle-earth, and featured as protagonist a member of an original non-human species, the hobbits. Both were more widely popularized in Tolkien's adult fantasy trilogy, The Lord of the Rings (1954).
Based on stories told by Tolkien to his children, The Hobbit follows the story of Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit, who is living comfortably as a bachelor in Hobbiton until Gandalf the Wizard invites himself and thirteen dwarves to tea. The wizard convinces the dwarves to take Bilbo, as a burglar, along with them to recover their treasure, lost many years ago when a dragon, Smaug, drove them from the Lonely Mountain. Bilbo and the dwarves encounter trolls, giant spiders, orcs, hermits, eagles, and other adventures on their journey. During this time, Bilbo finds a ring that turns the wearer invisible, and steals it from the creature Gollum: this becomes very important in the sequel, The Lord of the Rings. Bilbo uses the invisibility granted by the ring to discovery the dragon's vulnerability, which allows an archer to kill the dragon, but the dwarves still have to defeat Orc armies in an epic battle. The story ends with Bilbo returning to his home, carrying the ring.
Adaptations
Rankin-Bass produced an animated Hobbit film in 1977.[1]
Graphic novel (1989-1990)
The Hobbit was adapted into Graphic Novel format by Charles Dixon and Sean Deming. The illustrations were by David Wenzel, with lettering by Bill Pearson. It was originally published in three parts by Eclipse Books; a single-volume version was then distributed by Ballantine.
The Hobbit films (2012-2014)
The Hobbit has been filmed as a live-action film trilogy with the screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson, with some input by Guillermo Del Toro. The first film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, premiered in New Zealand on November 28, 2012. The second film, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, premiered in December 2013. The final film, "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies," premiered in December 2014.
Book Fandom
- See also Timeline of Tolkien Fandom.
The popularity of The Hobbit resulted in Stanley Unwin requesting that Tolkien write a sequel. In 1937, Tolkien began writing the first drafts of what would become The Lord of the Rings. Therefore, most fannish activities span both The Hobbit and LOTR.
In 1968, Leonard Nimoy performed The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins in the style of the day, a sort of professional fanwork. It is available as streaming video and in the film Ringers: Lord of the Fans.
The Hobbit articles and fanfiction appeared in If Frodo loved Bilbo... (an article about fanfiction), and the zines Wargs!, Deephollow Delver, Nigglings and Miruvor.
The popularity of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings film trilogy resulted in a small amount of fanfiction set in The Hobbit or starring its characters being posted to general Tolkien archives/communities during the early-to-mid 2000s, but – prior to the announcement of Jackson's The Hobbit film trilogy in December 2007 – there was never very much volume. In September 2003, Espresso Addict lamented "the woefully small canon of The Hobbit fanfiction".[2] Tavia recollects that The Hobbit category of the Mithril Awards received barely enough nominations in 2003 to scrape together a set of finalists. In the early-to-mid 2000s, The Hobbit fanfiction was very predominantly gen, with a focus on stories suitable for young children. Bilbo was the most popular character, with some fanfiction for Thranduil, Gandalf and Gollum; very little was written about the dwarf company. Bilbo or dwarf porn were virtually unheard of; the only explicit The Hobbit story Tavia can recall from this period features Gandalf/Beorn.[3]
Archives
- The Hobbit stories on fanfiction.net -- although most pre-film The Hobbit stories were posted to the LotR section
- Tolkien Fan Fiction site, character Bilbo Baggins
- Henneth Annun (requires search)
- Stories of Arda (requires search)
- Hobbit book fandom tag on Archive of Our Own. Note that the The Hobbit - All Media Types will return many movie-verse works.
Recs
Example Fanfiction
- The Emblem You Chose by Wild Iris. Thranduil at Thorin's tomb
- In the Hall of the Wood Elf King by Treehugger. Bilbo meets Legolas in Thranduil's halls; a common scenario
- King under the Mountain by Zara Hemla. Unusual darkfic written for The One Ring Challenge of 2002, featuring hobbits from LotR
- The Party Next Door by Acacea. An OC hobbit's view of the 13 dwarves in Hobbiton
- Revision by Teasel. Accounts for the differences between editions of The Hobbit in how Bilbo acquires the Ring
- Sheathing Sting by Celandine Brandybuck. Bilbo & Sting
- A Short Rest by Jay of Lasgalen. Bilbo meets a young Aragorn at Rivendell; another common scenario
- A Taste for Honey by Nefertiti. The aforementioned Gandalf/Beorn, one of the very few explicit The Hobbit stories written before the trilogy announcement
- The Thrush Who Saved Laketown by Jen Littlebottom. The death of Smaug from the thrush's PoV
- The Unexpected Homecoming by JMac. Gandalf & Bilbo; expansion of the final chapter of the novel
- OTP: The Show is a webseries that includes reading excerpts from an author's Bagginshield fanfic
Example Fanart
- Elvish Feast in Mirkwood by Ullakko
Zines
Further Reading/Meta
- Pimp My Fandom: The Hobbit, Archived version, by Imifost and Kriken at Slashcast, February 10, 2013
- The Obscenity of Smaug: On Mahal and Dwarven Sacred Space by kivrinengle, August 10, 2014
External Sources
References
- ^ The Hobbit 1977 movie on lotr wikia
- ^ Espresso Recommendations: The Hobbit (accessed 24 January 2014)
- ^ Searching indexes reveals an explicit Bilbo/Balin ficlet (Reunion by Mordelhin; 2005) and a longer Bilbo/Smaug (Crouching Hobbit, Wanking Dragon by Capra/Fishgoat; 2005)