the hobbit
Welcome to our study of J.R.R. Tolkien's legendary masterpiece. Before we dive into the Shire and set off on our adventure, I would love to learn a little bit about your background with the book so I can make this session as enjoyable and tailored for you as possible.
Have you read The Hobbit before, or are you preparing to read it for the very first time?
This will be my first time reading it.
It is so exciting to experience Middle-earth for the very first time! Before we set off on our journey to the Lonely Mountain, let's take a moment to meet the brilliant mind who built this world from scratch: .
The Professor and His Masterpiece
Tolkien was a distinguished professor at Oxford University, specializing in old Germanic languages and ancient myths. The Hobbit actually started almost by accident. One quiet afternoon, while grading exam papers, Tolkien found a blank page left by a student. On a sudden whim, he picked up his pen and wrote what would become one of the most famous opening lines in literary history:
"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit."
Published in 1937, this whimsical story was originally meant for his own children. However, it quickly exploded in popularity, ultimately reshaping the entire forever. Before Tolkien, fantasy was often seen as disjointed fairy tales; he proved that a fantasy world could have its own coherent history, geography, and rules.