Today is the birthday of those two most famous of all hobbits: Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. Hence, ‘Hobbit Day’. Also, yesterday (21 September 2026) was the 89th anniversary of the first publication of The Hobbit (1937).
The Hobbit was the first ‘proper’ novel that I independently read all the way through as a child (that is, something that was not assigned in school and not a ‘children’s book’), so it has a special place in my heart. I’ve been a fan of Middle-earth for longer than I’ve played role-playing games. Together, they constitute two of my most enduring passions. But I must confess that I sometimes am nostalgic for the era (pre-movie trilogy) when Middle-earth was still not ‘mainstream’ and exploited for popular consumption.
[Hobbit poster by J Cauty]
