The Annotated Hobbit is an annotated edition of J. R. R. Tolkien's novel The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, edited and annotated by Tolkien scholar Douglas A. Anderson. It was first published in 1988 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (Boston) and Unwin Hyman (London), in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first American publication of The Hobbit.
Structure and Content
The book presents the full text of The Hobbit across its 19 chapters, accompanied throughout by marginal notes and commentary by Douglas A. Anderson. The annotations include definitions of archaic or obscure words, quotations from Tolkien's letters, references to his sources and influences, and explanations of how the text evolved across different editions. The edition includes more than 150 black-and-white illustrations drawn from foreign editions of The Hobbit from around the world, as well as illustrations and maps by Tolkien himself. It also contains rare poems written by Tolkien, some of which were previously unpublished.
Revised and Expanded Edition (2002)
A "Revised and Expanded Edition" was published in 2002. This version added color maps and paintings, incorporated newer scholarly sources, and included an appendix containing "The Quest of Erebor," a text by Tolkien explaining Gandalf's motivations for sending Bilbo Baggins on the adventure with the dwarves. A British edition followed in 2003 from HarperCollins.
Reception and Awards
Upon its initial publication, The Annotated Hobbit was warmly received. Glen GoodKnight, founder of the Mythopoeic Society, described it in Mythlore as "What a treasure trove; what a superb delight!" Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey noted that the earliest version of Tolkien's poem "The Hoard" (1923) was best accessible in this book. The work won the 1990 Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inkling Studies from the Mythopoeic Society.
Bibliographic Information
- Author: J. R. R. Tolkien
- Editor/Annotator: Douglas A. Anderson
- Genre: Novel with literary analysis
- Publishers: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Unwin Hyman, HarperCollins
- First Publication Date: 1988
- ISBN (2002 edition): 978-0-618-13470-0
- LC Class: PR6039.O32 H6
