What Differences Exist Between Editions Of The Hobbit Novel?

Question

Planning to read Tolkien's "The Hobbit" for the first time and heard about different versions. What changed between the 1937 first edition and later ones? Are any plot details different?

Gina Ordonio · Answer

The changes to the text in The Hobbit edition(s) are mostly of interest to scholars. The 1951 second edition of The Hobbit changed the riddle game with Gollum in Chapter 11 so that it was less friendly than in the 1937 edition and prepared the reader for The Lord of the Rings. The 1966 third edition of The Hobbit is the definitive edition of the book and is what most people read today. It is interesting to see how classic tales are adapted for new audiences. I was also struck by the idea of Classic Faery Tales Rewritten For Adults Only. These rewritten tales of familiar stories retain only the basic plot and are then reworked into dark and complex stories, often quite surprisingly mature in their new form.

Angie Johnson Ferguson · Answer

Another form of the classic novel is the book club edition, sometimes even printed by specialty presses to add value to the text such as end-of-book discussion questions, an author’s biography or a comprehensive reading group guide. This framing of a novel as a social object for analysis and discussion of themes such as greed, hospitality or courage in relation to a good story brings another dimension to the reader’s experience of the core text that in its standard form would have been read in solitude and simply for pleasure. For some, this additional material is welcome in that it provides greater depth to their experience of the book; for others, however, it amounts to unpleasant homework that is tacked on to the end of an otherwise pleasurable read. Such is the manner in which a classic novel is reimagined for other communities of readers.

Alex · Answer

Most differences between editions are matters of textual and paratextual variation. By textual variation, I mean the words of the story, and especially how they change between the 1937 edition and the later editions, which have been modified in order to be compatible with The Lord of the Rings. Notably the way Bilbo gets and uses the Ring in the riddle-chapter is different in the two versions, for example. In addition to these differences, there are typos corrected and words slightly changed in some editions.

The paratextual differences are huge. Many of the books contain J.R.R. Tolkien’s own drawings and maps, including some of his art. There are introductions and scholarly notes to the text, and even appendices that contain information about the book’s construction and the author’s intentions. There are annotated editions that provide side-by-side variants of the different editions, along with footnotes and endnotes to explain references to myth and legend. Even many of the trade editions are lavishly illustrated in order to make them pretty to read. For the collector, the first edition, complete with first-state dust jacket, is the item of greatest interest. For the reader, a clean modern typesetting or well-annotated edition is probably best.

Misty Simmons · Answer

Editions part of a ‘complete works’ set might have been re-typeset in a slightly smaller font and thinner paper just to make sure that the book will reach the standardized page count of the other volumes in the set. This can make a huge difference in readability. Very densely printed text with minimal leading between lines can be very tiring to read compared to a beautifully printed edition with lots of wide margins and plenty of space between the lines of text. While such an edition may not be as cost efficient as an omnibus edition, it certainly has its advantages. On the other hand, a very cramped mass-produced omnibus edition might even make you read faster than you would like just to keep up with your reading schedule. The physical design of a book has a huge impact on how we read and how much attention we can devote to the words printed on the page.

Benjamin · Answer

For collecting, I look at the main splits: the original 1937 text against later revised versions of that text (edited for The Lord of the Rings); typographic corrections and changes in spelling between printings; illustrated versions against unillustrated versions; and annotated scholarly editions against normal editions showing the variant readings. Collectors look for first editions and for differences in state (dust jackets, etc.), while casual readers look for clean modern typesetting and good illustrations. Ultimately, one chooses an edition for reading comfort, for scholarly interest, or for collecting.

Ulysses · Answer

I still chuckle to myself when I am reading a copy of ‘The Hobbit’ that I have picked up from a flea market. Because, let’s face it, the text that you read online is not always going to be the same as the text that you read in print. In fact, there can be quite a number of differences between the various editions. The first edition, published in 1937, is certainly the ‘lightest’ and most childlike of all the editions but subsequent printings have seen the work transformed into the darker and more mythic world of ‘The Lord of the Rings’. The riddle scene has some very famous ‘changes’ in order to make Bilbo’s acquisition of the Ring more in line with the writer’s later work.

Illustrated editions (Tolkien’s own versus the illustrations by Alan Lee and John Howe) are a major choice in picking a copy. Annotated or scholarly editions can also be very useful in comparing the many variants that exist and provide good background information on the work. Film tie-in editions are usually very flashy and can be quite cheap looking while watering down the text with lots of pictures. Also, audiobook versions can vary greatly from narrator to narrator. I would recommend listening to a sample of the narrator reading before buying. I prefer a copy with the original maps, reproded in as clear and readable a fashion as possible, and a clean, readable type face for long rereads.

Isaac · Answer

The books! I have a sort of fondness for old books, and this one is a lot of fun to look at. So, there are lots of editions of The Hobbit out there, but most of them are slightly different flavors of the same thing. The biggest change of note, that I’ve found anyway, is between the 1937 text and the revised text of The Hobbit that Tolkien wrote after he started writing The Lord of the Rings. Specifically, he made some changes to the “Riddles in the Dark” chapter, and to a few scattered lines throughout the book, in order to better describe Bilbo’s discovery of the Ring and subsequent actions with respect to it in light of his later mythology.

In addition to these textual changes the work has also been subject to many visual changes, such as Tolkien’s own illustrated edition of The Hobbit and the various, mostly illustrated, editions by other artists such as Alan Lee and John Howe. There are also critical and annotated editions, such as those byway of the various variant readings, and film tie-in editions filled with images from the movie versions, especially the Peter Jackson adaptations. The book has also been abridged for children and even released as a facsimile of the first edition, a treat for collectors of literature. There are also audiobook versions, which, depending on the reader, can be a unique experience in itself. A critical edition with both the original and revised versions, side by side, is perhaps the best way to read this story, and experience for yourself how a masterpiece has evolved over the decades.

Sivasakthi Sivagnanam · Answer

I should add, there are also these ‘academic’ editions of books, which one would not read, but which give a lot of insight to authors’ creative processes. For example, The History of The Hobbit, written by John D. Rateliff, is the ‘difference engine’ for the novel’s evolution to its published form – early drafts of every chapter, all the stuff that was cut, lots of notes on changes made (long before the famous 1951 version of the Gollum scene, for example), and more. 99% of people would find this way, way too much to read, but it is pretty cool in understanding Tolkien’s processes over the years to come up with The Hobbit as it existed before he changed Gandalf into a good guy (for example). It shows that The Hobbit was not a perfect, untouched work which came into being all at once, but rather a rough draft that Tolkien continued to hone over the years.

Gayla Tolbert · Answer

Rather, one might consider different illustrated editions by different artists to be different books entirely. The two illustrated editions by Alan Lee have an otherworldly quality that greatly influences the mood of the book. The Jemima Catlin illustrated edition is more bright and cheerful, and in many ways feels like a classic children’s book, which is what The Hobbit was originally intended to be. The rare Tove Jansson illustrated edition of The Hobbit is a beautiful, Scandinavian take on Middle-earth. Each of these artists brings their own unique perspective to Bag End, Smaug, and the rest of the Hobbit’s landscapes. Even though the text remains constant, the different illustrations create a different relationship with the reader than the other editions. When choosing an illustrated edition of The Hobbit, the reader is choosing the artist’s particular dream of Middle-earth that they would like to enter while reading the book.

jodyhortin@comcast.net · Answer

I prefer editions of The Hobbit that include Tolkien’s own artwork. He wasn’t an artist, and his drawings are not nearly as good as those of a professional illustrator. But there is something raw and map-like about his drawings of Bag End or Smaug that perfectly conveys the sense of another world which he created. These should not be small, black-and-white illustrations inserted into the text. Rather, they should be full-page drawings – sometimes in color – a wonderful part of the book as it was written. The best editions of The Hobbit include all of Tolkien’s sketches and paintings as they were. These are not illustrations added to a published story. Rather, they are part of a recovered artifact from the Middle-earth story itself. There is a huge difference in atmosphere between a published book and a notebook.

What Differences Exist Between Editions Of The Hobbit Novel?

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