Middle-earth book 1 · 1937
The Hobbit
Bilbo Baggins, a comfortable hobbit, is swept off by the wizard Gandalf and thirteen dwarves on a quest to win back their treasure from the dragon Smaug, and finds a magic ring along the way.
Spoiler-free summary written for The Recurring Cast.
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Book facts
- Author
- J. R. R. Tolkien
- Series
- Middle-earth, book 1 of 7
- Published
- 1937
- Setting
- Set in Middle-earth
- Story order
- Book 4 by the story’s timeline
- Characters charted
- 5
- Chart confidence
- High
The Hobbit on screen
- The Hobbit (1977, tv film, NBC). Rankin/Bass’s animated version of Bilbo’s journey with thirteen dwarves.
- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012, film, Cinema). Bilbo is swept out of his comfortable hobbit-hole and into an adventure with a company of dwarves.
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013, film, Cinema). The company continues east towards the Lonely Mountain and the dragon who guards it.
- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014, film, Cinema). The final Hobbit film, as armies converge on the treasure of the mountain.
In story order: after Unfinished Tales and before The Fellowship of the Ring.
Who is in The Hobbit
5 recurring or key characters from J. R. R. Tolkien’s chart. Introduces Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, Gollum, Elrond and 1 more.
Lead 1
- Bilbo BagginsFirst appearanceHobbit who finds the One Ring
Major 3
- GandalfFirst appearanceWizard
- GollumFirst appearanceCorrupted former Ring-bearer
- Thorin OakenshieldFirst appearanceDwarf king leading the quest for Erebor
Minor and cameo 1
- ElrondFirst appearanceHalf-elven lord of Rivendell
Also featuring these characters
Other J. R. R. Tolkien books that share the most characters with The Hobbit.
- The Return of the King1955 · Middle-earth · 4 shared charactersBuy on Amazon
- The Two Towers1954 · Middle-earth · 2 shared charactersBuy on Amazon
- The Silmarillion1977 · Middle-earth · 2 shared charactersBuy on Amazon