1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:09,120 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:09,480 --> 00:00:11,479 Speaker 1: a show that takes you on a journey to the 4 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:15,800 Speaker 1: past and back again. I'm Gab Louizier, and in this 5 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:18,919 Speaker 1: episode we're talking about the day when readers took their 6 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:22,759 Speaker 1: first steps into the rich, exciting world of Middle Earth. 7 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:35,080 Speaker 1: The day was September one, the first edition of J. R. R. 8 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:39,680 Speaker 1: Tolkien's The Hobbit went on sale in British bookstores. It 9 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:43,120 Speaker 1: featured many black and white illustrations and maps drawn by 10 00:00:43,159 --> 00:00:46,440 Speaker 1: Tolkien himself, and it followed the story of a home 11 00:00:46,520 --> 00:00:50,159 Speaker 1: body hobbit named Bilbo Baggins, who joins a quest to 12 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:54,640 Speaker 1: win the treasure of a fearsome dragon named Smug. The 13 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:58,800 Speaker 1: book garnered enthusiastic reviews from the start, and by December, 14 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:03,240 Speaker 1: the modest for printing of fifteen hundred copies had completely 15 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:08,120 Speaker 1: sold out. Tolkien had begun writing the novel several years earlier, 16 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:12,160 Speaker 1: though unintentionally at first. At the time, he was working 17 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:15,880 Speaker 1: as a professor of Anglo Saxon at Oxford University, and 18 00:01:15,959 --> 00:01:20,280 Speaker 1: one summer, while grading test papers, inspiration struck and he 19 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:24,319 Speaker 1: famously jotted down the novel's first line, in a hole 20 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:29,480 Speaker 1: in the ground, there lived a hobbit in nt Tolkien 21 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 1: recounted this fateful day himself, saying, quote, I can still 22 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:36,720 Speaker 1: see the corner of my house in twenty Northmore Road 23 00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:40,200 Speaker 1: where it happened. I had an enormous pile of exam 24 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:44,520 Speaker 1: papers there. Marketing school examinations in the summertime is very 25 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:49,480 Speaker 1: laborious and unfortunately also boring. And I remember picking up 26 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: a paper and actually finding I nearly gave an extra 27 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:56,280 Speaker 1: mark for it, an extra five marks. Actually, there was 28 00:01:56,360 --> 00:02:01,680 Speaker 1: one page of this particular paper that was left blank, glorious, 29 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:06,240 Speaker 1: nothing to read, so I scribbled on it. Although the 30 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:09,840 Speaker 1: author never mentioned which day or even which year this 31 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:14,120 Speaker 1: scribbling took place, many Tolkien scholars believe it was during 32 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:18,480 Speaker 1: the summer of nineteen thirty. At first, Tolkien stopped it 33 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:22,240 Speaker 1: just that one line and didn't write anything further. But 34 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:25,240 Speaker 1: in the years ahead he kept returning to the question 35 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:29,280 Speaker 1: of what exactly a hobbit was and how it might live. 36 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:33,760 Speaker 1: To settle the matter, he began writing The Hobbit subtitled 37 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 1: There and Back Again, which ultimately became an introduction to 38 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:43,160 Speaker 1: an entire fantasy world all his own Middle Earth. Tolkien 39 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:45,800 Speaker 1: worked on the book in stops and starts throughout the 40 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:49,800 Speaker 1: early nineteen thirties. He shared his early manuscript with a 41 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:54,200 Speaker 1: close group of fellow academics and friends, including authors C. S. Lewis. 42 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:58,040 Speaker 1: When the manuscript was being passed around, it eventually made 43 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 1: its way into the hands of the tenure old son 44 00:03:00,919 --> 00:03:04,760 Speaker 1: of publishers Stanley Unwin. The boy wrote a review of 45 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:07,640 Speaker 1: the novel for his father in exchange for a shilling, 46 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:11,000 Speaker 1: and it was so positive that it convinced Unwin to 47 00:03:11,040 --> 00:03:15,240 Speaker 1: publish it. Although published as a children's fairy tale, the 48 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:18,840 Speaker 1: Hobbit was more complex and sophisticated than other works in 49 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:24,079 Speaker 1: the genre, complete with its own in world species, locations, languages, 50 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:27,960 Speaker 1: and legends. This was due in large parts to Tolkien's 51 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:31,520 Speaker 1: personal fascination with the writings and languages of Norse and 52 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:35,600 Speaker 1: Anglo Saxon tradition. Many names and words found in The 53 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:39,720 Speaker 1: Hobbit are adapted from Norse mythology, and some plot details 54 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:43,240 Speaker 1: are seemingly inspired by the Old English epic poem Beowulf, 55 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:46,880 Speaker 1: which Tolkien himself had translated and lectured on in the 56 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 1: nineteen twenties, featuring detailed information on calendars, moon phases, and 57 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 1: geographical descriptions that aligned with the included maps. The novel 58 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:03,000 Speaker 1: certainly didn't talk down onto its target audience. Tolkien believed 59 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:06,440 Speaker 1: that humans had a primal appetite for myth, and his 60 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:10,160 Speaker 1: book sought to revive and satisfy that appetite in a 61 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:15,560 Speaker 1: younger generation. Because of The Hobbit success, Tolkien's publishers asked 62 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:17,719 Speaker 1: him to write more books that in the world of 63 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:21,360 Speaker 1: Middle Earth. Tolkien delivered a draft of what would later 64 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:25,000 Speaker 1: become The sill Marillion, a collection of stories set in 65 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:28,920 Speaker 1: the same universe as The Hobbit, but focus more on 66 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:34,800 Speaker 1: different lands, species, and characters. The publishers rejected the proposal, 67 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:38,240 Speaker 1: saying it was too obscure and too different from the 68 00:04:38,279 --> 00:04:44,360 Speaker 1: preceding work they like. The public wanted more stories about Hobbits, 69 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:47,800 Speaker 1: so Tolkien obliged and began writing what he called The 70 00:04:47,839 --> 00:04:50,800 Speaker 1: New Hobbit, though of course we know it better today 71 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:53,880 Speaker 1: as The Lord of the Rings. If you were lucky 72 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:56,599 Speaker 1: enough to track down a first edition copy of The 73 00:04:56,640 --> 00:04:59,880 Speaker 1: Hobbit today, you might be surprised to learn that it 74 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:03,560 Speaker 1: doesn't quite match the story as you know it. That's 75 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:07,520 Speaker 1: because Tolkien later made considerable changes to the Hobbits text 76 00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:10,200 Speaker 1: so that the story would better align with that of 77 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:14,200 Speaker 1: the Lord of the Rings trilogy. These revisions first appeared 78 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:16,800 Speaker 1: in the second edition of the book, which was published 79 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:21,200 Speaker 1: in nine One of the most notable changes relates to 80 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:26,000 Speaker 1: the interaction between Bilbo Baggins and the cave dwelling Gollum. 81 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:29,440 Speaker 1: In the first edition, the characters part ways on good 82 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:34,920 Speaker 1: terms and Gollum doesn't try to retake the ring from Bilbo. Initially, 83 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:39,279 Speaker 1: Tolkien planned an even broader revision to The Hobbit. He 84 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:42,680 Speaker 1: wanted to change the book's playful tone to match the 85 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:46,840 Speaker 1: more serious tone of his Rings trilogy, but thankfully for 86 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:50,760 Speaker 1: Hobbit fans, he abandoned this effort after the third chapter, 87 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:54,440 Speaker 1: after he realized it just didn't feel like the Hobbit anymore. 88 00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:58,719 Speaker 1: In the end, it's good that Tolkien left well enough alone. 89 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:02,160 Speaker 1: Readers love the book just as it was, and they 90 00:06:02,200 --> 00:06:05,840 Speaker 1: still do today. Over the years, the Hobbit has been 91 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:09,880 Speaker 1: translated into more than fifty different languages, and it's sold 92 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:15,120 Speaker 1: more than a hundred million copies worldwide. I'm Gabe Louizier, 93 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:18,280 Speaker 1: and hopefully you now know a little more about history 94 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:21,920 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. If you've got a minute, 95 00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:25,840 Speaker 1: consider following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t 96 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:30,040 Speaker 1: d I HC Show, And if you have any feedback 97 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:32,480 Speaker 1: for the show, you can drop us a line at 98 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:36,520 Speaker 1: this day at I heeart media dot com. Thanks to 99 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:39,919 Speaker 1: Chandler May's for producing the show, and thank you for listening. 100 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:43,120 Speaker 1: I'll see you back here again tomorrow for another day 101 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:55,719 Speaker 1: in History class. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, 102 00:06:55,839 --> 00:06:58,400 Speaker 1: visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 103 00:06:58,520 --> 00:06:59,640 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.