That book didn't turn out as planned, and instead of writing a second short children's novel he produced, 17 years later, an enormous epic fantasy for adults: 'The Lord of the Rings.' The 'sequel' to 'The Hobbit' not only changed the tone dramatically it also built around 'The Hobbit' an intricately developed world and a detailed history into which Tolkien then needed to place that first book, retroactively. When it succeeded, Tolkien sat down to write a sequel, another similar hobbit adventure. 'The Hobbit' as published in 1937 was a free-standing piece of juvenile fantasy.

The answer to this question is another question: which Hobbit? 'The Hobbit' lived two different lives over the course of Tolkien's career. Just how faithful are these films to Tolkien's 'The Hobbit'? Tolkien they are really getting in 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,' which opens today. A mix of old and new faces traversed Middle Earth over Peter Jackson’s prequel trilogy.Ian McKellen in 'The HObbit: The Desolation of Smaug' ILLUSTRATION: Warner Bros/EverettĪt first glance, Peter Jackson's trilogy of epic films based on 'The Hobbit,' a slender children's book, might appear to leave its source behind in order to make more capital out of the 'Lord of the Rings' franchise. The results were mixed, as was the reception, but the cast of The Hobbit films was as fantastic as the one for Rings. No longer was it a mostly self-contained children’s story for film, it had to be a prequel to a great trilogy, ready to offer comparable thrills and set pieces to what came before. Hollywood’s timing being what it is, Rings made it onto the silver screen first, and was such a runaway success that it meant more changes to The Hobbit when it took its turn in the movies.

The Lord of the Rings made The Hobbit into an integral part of Tolkien’s cycle of tales, and its writing necessitated changes to The Hobbit’s text to bring it more fully into the fold. Still, it was a children’s book that stood on its own until Tolkien fulfilled his publisher’s hopes for a sequel. It was related, certainly Elrond Half-elven was borrowed from the then-unpublished Silmarillion, and a few bits and bobs from the long history of Middle Earth were alluded to. The Hobbit was never meant to be part of J.R.R.

The hobbit book trilogy