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The Unexpected Prequel: how ‘The Hobbit’ became part of Tolkien’s legedarium
‘The Hobbit’ wasn’t initially supposed to be part of Middle-earth but became inexorably absorbed. Here’s how it enriched the legendarium.
The way The Hobbit became caught in Tolkien’s legendarium almost by chance (though the Professor wasn’t a fan of chances) is truly fascinating.
The Hobbit is a ‘strange’ story. It doesn’t have the majesty and epic of all the other stories of Middle-earth, which — in my opinion — is precisely where its value lays. Here is where The Hobbit gives its particular contribution to the legendarium.
‘The Hobbit’ may feel like a little story of little people, but it’s also the (little?) link that allowed a masterpiece to be born.
It may feel like a little story of little people, but it’s also the (little?) link that allowed a masterpiece to be born.
Without Bilbo Baggins and his adventure, we wouldn’t have The Lord of the Rings, and some of the themes that today we consider typically Tolkienian might have never emerged.
