1. #1
    Herald of the Titans Ron Burgundy's Avatar
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    [Books] The Hobbit

    anyone know why tolkein re-wrote the hobbit after he finished the lord of the rings trilogy?
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    The original version of the hobbit was slightly, but very different from the version we know of now.

    Tolkien changed it constantly after it was published, while he was making LoTR, and even afterwards, to better conform it with his ever changing vision of Middle-Earth and and to better connect the 2 distinctly different stories.

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    Immortal SirRobin's Avatar
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    Tolkien's "vision" for Middle-Earth was in a state of "flux" from the moment he first came up with it. He reinterpreted various bits throughout his life. Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if, had he lived, one of his revisions ended up just like PJ's interpretation.
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    The original version was slightly(

  6. #6
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    I wasnt aware that there are slightly different versions of this book out there. I planned to finally buy it after i have seen the movie (been dragging this on for atleast 4 years, always found another book which interested me more at that time ^^), so my question is, does it matter which book i get, if not which one should i get and how do i recognize the right one?

    Normally i would just get the latest one, which shoulf fit best with The Lord Of The Rings, but sometimes the original has some value for the fans aswell and should not have been changed, Han shot first from Star Wars for example. So which one do you think is the best one?

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Comburo View Post
    I wasnt aware that there are slightly different versions of this book out there. I planned to finally buy it after i have seen the movie (been dragging this on for atleast 4 years, always found another book which interested me more at that time ^^), so my question is, does it matter which book i get, if not which one should i get and how do i recognize the right one?

    Normally i would just get the latest one, which shoulf fit best with The Lord Of The Rings, but sometimes the original has some value for the fans aswell and should not have been changed, Han shot first from Star Wars for example. So which one do you think is the best one?
    Well if you just go to any bookstore they probably have The Hobbit that everyone has read, which is the revised version, I don't think they print the original version at all since Tolkien changed it pre-Lotr, but don't quote me on that. Its not like theres gonna be multiple versions of the book on the shelf, there's gonna be just one.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shadence View Post
    Well if you just go to any bookstore they probably have The Hobbit that everyone has read, which is the revised version, I don't think they print the original version at all since Tolkien changed it pre-Lotr, but don't quote me on that. Its not like theres gonna be multiple versions of the book on the shelf, there's gonna be just one.
    Sure, but you could just get an old copy from ebay or so, but i agree, it is not that big of a deal, more curious than anything ^^

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Comburo View Post
    Sure, but you could just get an old copy from ebay or so, but i agree, it is not that big of a deal, more curious than anything ^^
    They are hard to come by and worth a fair amount of money. You can probably find one with enough time and energy put into looking... but I wouldn't delay reading the book waiting to find one though

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Arlee View Post
    They are hard to come by and worth a fair amount of money. You can probably find one with enough time and energy put into looking... but I wouldn't delay reading the book waiting to find one though
    having read both, since my father owns both, i personally prefer the revised version anyway it's much more immersive. (I think i spelled that correct)

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Zemin View Post
    having read both, since my father owns both, i personally prefer the revised version anyway it's much more immersive. (I think i spelled that correct)
    I definitly agree, but the original version is interesting to read comparatively.

  12. #12
    Pit Lord Ghâzh's Avatar
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    Well the revised version would be like Tolkien meant it to be told. I think anyway. The original copy is incomplete in a sense and in contradiction with the later material.

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    Merely a Setback Adam Jensen's Avatar
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    Wasn't the Hobbit meant to be more of a children's story while the Lord of the Rings was more mature?
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  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by orissa View Post
    Wasn't the Hobbit meant to be more of a children's story while the Lord of the Rings was more mature?
    That is correct. It was literally written for his own children. After he fleshed out the mythos with LotR and started writing appendices, he went back and retconned The Hobbit so it fit with the larger tapestry at hand.

    The point of the original is that it's not the whole story - the revised version is essentially what *actually* happened.

  15. #15
    Banned Jayburner's Avatar
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    I read the Hobbit when I was 6 years old. That would be 37 years ago...so did I read the unrevised edition?

  16. #16
    Scarab Lord Frontenac's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jayburner View Post
    I read the Hobbit when I was 6 years old. That would be 37 years ago...so did I read the unrevised edition?
    Since The Lord of the Rings was published almost 60 years ago and that The Hobbit was revised afterwards, I highly doubt it. Simple test: if Bilbo finds the One Ring on the ground in the cavern, it's the revised version. In the original version, the ring was Bilbo's prize for winning the riddle game.

    That's why, in Fellowship of the Ring, Bilbo says in the Council of Elrond that he will tell the true tale of how he got the ring. The original version of The Hobbit, which is supposed to be like LotR an excerpt from the Red Book of Westmarch written by Bilbo and Frodo, is in fact the lie Bilbo told to the dwarves.
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    Banned Jayburner's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frontenac View Post
    Since The Lord of the Rings was published almost 60 years ago and that The Hobbit was revised afterwards, I highly doubt it. Simple test: if Bilbo finds the One Ring on the ground in the cavern, it's the revised version. In the original version, the ring was Bilbo's prize for winning the riddle game.

    That's why, in Fellowship of the Ring, Bilbo says in the Council of Elrond that he will tell the true tale of how he got the ring. The original version of The Hobbit, which is supposed to be like LotR an excerpt from the Red Book of Westmarch written by Bilbo and Frodo, is in fact the lie Bilbo told to the dwarves.
    okay that answers my question. It was the revised one I read.

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