The Hobbit and History

by Janice Liedl (Editor), Nancy R. Reagin (Editor)

J.R.R. Tolkien's Bilbo Baggins is one of the most beloved characters in modern literature. In many ways, the author was the model for his humble hobbit hero: he was fond of books, smoked his pipe, and enjoyed his homely comforts as much as Bilbo ever did. For the first time, this unique guide explores the magic and creativity behind Tolkien s bestselling story from a historical perspective.The Hobbit and History first details Tolkien s life from his time in the trenches of World War One to his lectures as a professor of medieval languages and literature at Oxford University. Fans will be fascinated to learn how the iconic author chose to confine his adventures and begin a life of storytelling. The Hobbit and History then unlocks the parallels between the Middle Ages and the intricate culture of Middle-earth that Tolkien created in The Hobbit, touching on everything from historical figures influencing Tolkien s characters to food, riddles, and battle tactics. The book s descriptions of the magical elements of myth and legend give a clear view into Tolkien s inspiration for the wizards, dragons, and monsters he created. Seeing Middle-earth and its peoples against these historical backdrops shines new light on the richness of Tolkien s world, which is rooted in a knowledge of European cultures as deep as the archive which Gandalf explores in Minas Tirith.

Filled with fascinating facts and some of Tolkien s original sketches that illustrate the parallels between Tolkien s fictional world and reality, The Hobbit and History is the missing piece for every book and movie fan and anyone who thought their J.R.R. Tolkien collection was complete."

Genres: History, Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published November 4, 2014

About the author

I'm a professor of history at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario.

I write a lot about pop culture and history. I co-edited The Hobbit and History and Star Wars and History along with contributing chapters on Carlisle Cullen to Twilight and History (2010) and chapters on women/witches and the government of the wizarding world to Harry Potter and History (2011). I've also published on the relationship of history to Battlestar Galactica and science fiction as a genre. I've also published on parenting and fan reactions to female characters' storylines in Game of Thrones drawing on medieval and early modern historical elements.

I also write conventional histories of people in early modern England. This includes a study of the downfall of Margaret Pole, in Women During the English Reformations and an article on how 17th & 18th century London parishes treated impoverished mothers as burdens to shift onto other rate-payers' shoulders.

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book through Goodreads first reads in exchange for an honest review.

This book tells you the history for the Hobbit. It parallels the Middle Ages with Middle-earth.

I found a lot of things that I never knew before. It is a quick read. It is broken down into parts, so you can read as much or little at a time as you want.

[Lupita]

Omg no way! I love The Hobbit, I would kill to have this book! I can not wait until the movie comes out.

[Kanwarpal Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

J.R.R. Tolkien's Bilbo Baggins is one of the most beloved characters in modern literature. In many ways, the author was the model for his humble hobbit hero: he was fond of books, smoked his pipe, and enjoyed his homely comforts as much as Bilbo ever did. For the first time, this unique guide explores the magic and creativity behind Tolkien s bestselling story from a historical perspective.The Hobbit and History first details Tolkien s life from his time in the trenches of World War One to his lectures as a professor of medieval languages and literature at Oxford University. Fans will be fascinated to learn how the iconic author chose to confine his adventures and begin a life of storytelling. The Hobbit and History then unlocks the parallels between the Middle Ages and the intricate culture of Middle-earth that Tolkien created in The Hobbit, touching on everything from historical figures influencing Tolkien s characters to food, riddles, and battle tactics. The book s descriptions of the magical elements of myth and legend give a clear view into Tolkien s inspiration for the wizards, dragons, and monsters he created. Seeing Middle-earth and its peoples against these historical backdrops shines new light on the richness of Tolkien s world, which is rooted in a knowledge of European cultures as deep as the archive which Gandalf explores in Minas Tirith.

Filled with fascinating facts and some of Tolkien s original sketches that illustrate the parallels between Tolkien s fictional world and reality, The Hobbit and History is the missing piece for every book and movie fan and anyone who thought their J.R.R. Tolkien collection was complete. The hobbit and dwarf elves, Ravendale, wizards, humans joined forces against oarks and destroyed them.

[amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

A neat book overall, with interesting comparisons throughout the book that are thought-provoking, even if I did not always agree. Chapters three and four were my favorites to read, as they were well-written and provided good context regarding the state of scholarship at the time that Tolkien was writing.

[Garrett Escandel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has 300 pages and was written by J.R.R. Tolkien. It starts off as a dragon attacking the city. A man was in jail begging to get out but nobody heard because they were fleeing. He finally shredded his shirt and braided it into a long rope with a loop in the end of it. It caught hold of the king's neck and broke the wall of the jailcell. He then grabbed a bow and a set of arrows. While this was going on, his kids were worrying about their dad dying in the jail cell. As they come down the water a ways, they see there dad at the top of the bell tower. The boy Allen jumps off the boat and goes up to his dad to give him the "Black Arrow." When he gets up there the dragon hits the bell tower with his wing and Allen almost falls out but his dad grabs his left arm. as he gets up, the dragon starts talking to them. He says "Is that your kid. He shall die first. You can't save him from the fire." The dad then tries to draw back the "Black Arrow" The string of the bow is broke. He quickly Fixes the string of the bow and rests the tip of the arrow on his son's shoulder. he lets go of the arrow and hits the dragon right in the heart.

The city then travels into the city across from the "Lonely Mountain." As they try to go in to get some of the gold, there sits a giant man-made wall in front of the entrance. They sleep through the night and try and get through it the next day. The morning comes, and as he gets up, there stands and army of elves. The Elf King jumps off of his caribou, He starts talking about the wall in front of the mountain. Both the regular people's leader and the elf leader go up to the wall to see if anybody is there. There is! It was the dwarves, Bilbo Baggins and their leader. They say they will not lets the elves or the human's come in until the dwarves find the "King's Stone." The elve's king and the human's king go back to the city. There is news that the Orgs are coming to destroy everybody. Well at the same time, the Scottish were coming. Those were the five armies. The Scottish come and are very mad about the dwarves beating them to the "Lonely Island." The orgs finally show up and they start the battle. The king of the human's kills the org king then the movie ends.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I should have liked this book more than I did. I love Tolkien, though I prefer LOTR to The Hobbit, and I love history. And theoretically any book that is a compendium of pieces by different authors should have parts you like and parts you don't care so much for, but regardless of the amount of information provided (and there was quite a bit - the only reason for the 3-star rating, because otherwise it would be two), I found this book stultifyingly dry and dull throughout and had to force myself to finish it. I've also read one of the others (Harry Potter and History) and had the same problem with it.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Hobbit and History explores the use of early medieval and myths from that period and earlier to set up events and other factors in the Hobbit. Some medieval recipes are presented as examples of the historical factors. A well referenced read that ties history with fantasy. This was a free review copy from Turner Publishing.