Newly expanded and completely redesigned, Douglas A. Anderson's The Annotated Hobbit is the definitive explication of the sources, characters, places, and things of J.R.R. Tolkien's timeless classic. Integrated with Anderson's notes and placed alongside the fully restored and corrected text of the original story are more than 150 illustrations showing visual interpretations of The Hobbit specific to many of the cultures that have come to know and love Tolkien's Middle-earth. Tolkien's original line drawings, maps and color paintings are also included, making this the most lavishly informative edition of The Hobbit available.

The Annotated Hobbit shows how Tolkien worked as a writer, what his influences and interests were, and how these relate to the invented world of Middle-earth. It gives a valuable overview of Tolkien's life and the publishing history of The Hobbit, and explains how every feature of The Hobbit fits within the rest of Tolkien's invented world. Here we learn how Gollum's character was revised to accommodate the true nature of the One Ring, and we can read the full text of The Quest of Erebor, Gandalf's explanation of how he came to send Bilbo Baggins on his journey with the dwarves. Anderson also makes meaningful and often surprising connections to our own world and literary history -- from Beowulf to The Marvellous Land of Snergs, from the Brothers Grimm to C. S. Lewis.

• "An exciting epic of travel and magical adventure" Observer
• "A flawless masterpiece" The Times
• "One of the best-loved characters in English fiction..a marvellous fantasy adventure" Daily Mail
• "The English-speaking world is divided into those who have read The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and those who are going to read them." Sunday Times

• "An exciting epic of travel and magical adventure" Observer
• "A flawless masterpiece" The Times
• "One of the best-loved characters in English fiction..a marvellous fantasy adventure" Daily Mail
• "The English-speaking world is divided into those who have read The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and those who are going to read them." Sunday Times

• "An exciting epic of travel and magical adventure" Observer
• "A flawless masterpiece" The Times
• "One of the best-loved characters in English fiction..a marvellous fantasy adventure" Daily Mail
• "The English-speaking world is divided into those who have read The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and those who are going to read them." Sunday Times