The Hobbit, or Journey beyond the Misty Mountains. Anniversary illustrated edition

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien

Afterword by Volodymyr Arenev

The author of this story is a classic of English children’s literature and at the same time a famous philologist. It was he who invented the hobbits — good-natured little people with thick hair on their feet, who live in comfortable holes. And not just the hobbits, but the whole fairy-tale world, which he called Middle-earth. The story of the extraordinary adventures of the hobbit Bilbo, whom the dwarves and the wizard Gandalf encourage to go on a risky expedition for the treasures captured by a cruel and greedy dragon, was written by Prof. Tolkien for his own children. But when it was published in 1937, it was a resounding success and eventually became a favourite book of millions of young readers. The Hobbit first came to Ukrainian children in 1985, translated by Olexandr Mokrovolsky, — and also gained many loyal fans, to whom this book is dear even now, in adulthood. So reprinting this translation with illustrations by J. R. R. Tolkien himself, who was also a talented artist, is a real gift for them, as well as for all those who are just beginning to get acquainted with the magical world of Middle-earth and its inhabitants.