Hey Blog! This is my second book review of the year, the first being in January. This one is about a new book that I was given in February. Its protagonist lives in “a hole in the ground” also known as Bag End…
Of course, it is The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien. This epic fantasy tale was one of Tolkien’s biggest and best creations, and came before The Lord of the Rings, which is kind of a continuation, featuring objects and places that were first imagined for The Hobbit. The story follows Bilbo Baggins, “a hobbit of good family and unimpeachable reputation” on a journey with thirteen dwarves to the Lonely Mountain and the treasure hoard of Smaug the dragon. The book was written around 1930 (no one can remember quite when it was started!). Very shortly after publication the first edition sold out – which shows you how good it was!
The story starts in Bag End, Bilbo’s hobbit-hole, when Thorin & co. and the wizard Gandalf arrive on Bilbo’s doorstep to ask him to join their expedition. After listening to a very inspiring song, Bilbo sets out with them the next morning. In a stop-off break just before the Misty Mountains, which they have to cross, it is discovered that the map has secret moon-rune-letters, which reveal the way to enter a secret side door to the mountain’s halls. In the mountains Bilbo finds the One Ring (Hmmm, lord of the Rings?!), which grants invisibility to the wearer. This proves his greatest tool on the rest of the journey.
Over the “Edge of the Wild” (just after the mountains) they continue to Beorn’s house, where Gandalf departs and the dwarves and Bilbo head through the forest of Mirkwood, defeating several dangers on the way. They are captured by the Elvenking on the farther side, and Bilbo’s magic ring helps them to escape unnoticed; they then proceed down the river to Laketown. With a little help from the people of Laketown, they eventually arrive on the mountain’s slopes, and Bilbo spies on Smaug. Smaug becomes enraged, and destroys Laketown, but is killed by a descendent of the Lord of Dale, a town that Smaug had plundered. Believing the dwarves dead, he and the Elvenking (who has also heard of the death of the dragon) march to the mountain and find Bilbo and Thorin’s company alive. They besiege the mountain until a relative of Thorin arrives with a dwarven army. The rest? Well, you’ll have to read the book!
I said that “a very inspiring song” encourages Bilbo to go on the journey, and this song is in fact “Far over the Misty Mountains cold”. In the first of the weekly posts on Home Ed In A Shed (My week) I said we try to do a poem every week, and two weeks ago, after I said I wanted to do ‘poems out of books’ we chose this one first. It tells of the desire of the dwarves, in their yearning for gaining back the gold the dragon had stolen. If you are a hobbit you will probably feel the magic of the words and tune, and if you are a human you’ll probably feel it as well! The poem has a strong beat, very reminiscent of the hammers that the dwarves used in their forges, shaping gold, silver and gems that were sent for them to make into beautiful things, in return for a share of the treasure. It also tells of the coming of the dragon, i.e. “the fire red, it flaming spread, the trees like torches blazed with light” and in the last verse, the wish to gain back what they had lost: “To win our harps and gold from him!”
I hope you’ve enjoyed our trip There And Back Again through The Hobbit. Would you like to go on a journey to steal gold from a dragon…?!