The Hobbit Preface

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The Hobbit chapters
[Preface]
  1. An Unexpected Party
  2. Roast Mutton
  3. A Short Rest
  4. Over Hill and Under Hill
  5. Riddles in the Dark
  6. Out of the Frying-Pan into the Fire
  7. Queer Lodgings
  8. Flies and Spiders
  9. Barrels Out of Bond
  10. A Warm Welcome
  11. On the Doorstep
  12. Inside Information
  13. Not at Home
  14. Fire and Water
  15. The Gathering of the Clouds
  16. A Thief in the Night
  17. The Clouds Burst
  18. The Return Journey
  19. The Last Stage

The Hobbit Preface, or Author's Note, refers to the untitled prefatory note placed before the first chapter of The Hobbit.

The note starts with THE HOBBIT OR THERE AND BACK AGAIN written in Cirth. It proceeds to discuss some issues related to the words dwarf and orc. Then it gives a short description of the Cirth writing system used in The Hobbit. The letters of the moon-runes, read by Elrond in Rivendell, are provided in the end.

History[edit | edit source]

The note was first added to the second edition of The Hobbit (1951).[1] In 1966, a completely revised prefatory note first appeared in the Longmans/Unwin edition.[2] The latter text has been used since.

See also[edit | edit source]

References

  1. ↑ Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, p. lxviii
  2. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien; Douglas A. Anderson, (ed.), (2002) The Annotated Hobbit: Revised and Expanded Edition, p. 28
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