Once Tolkien finished writing The Lord of the Rings, it became clear to him that The Hobbit needed to change–particularly Bilbo and Gollum’s interaction in chapter 5, “Riddles in the Dark”. But what exactly did he change? How necessary was it? Did it make The Hobbit Better?

If you haven’t read the original chapter, you can download a PDF here!

Be sure to check out our side-by-side comparison, to easily spot the differences between the original and rewritten chapter.

This week we look at:

Why Tolkien though the tone and style of The Hobbit was a mistake.
How Tolkien ret-conned The Lord of the Rings into The Hobbit – right in the prologue!
Tolkien’s original depiction of Gandalf explaining Bilbo’s lies to Frodo (found in Peoples of Middle-earth).
How Tolkien changed the Ring into a character.
How Tolkien changed Gollum into a villain.
How Tolkien even made the orcs more sinister.

In our extended episode (available for our members) we talk about:

How Tolkien should really ever be the only person to write more Middle-earth stories.
Screenwriter Phillipa Boyen’s comments on The War of the Rohirrim movie and how the untold story is the most “compelling” story.
How her story can’t “ruin Tolkien”.
A few thoughts on the upcoming Chronicles of Narnia Netflix series.

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🔗 Episode Links
The History of The Hobbit
The Annotated Hobbit
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🔍 If You Like Tolkien
The History of The Hobbit
The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (audiobook)
The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (book)
The Silmarillion
The Children of Hurin
The Atlas of Middle-earth
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat

129. Tolkien Loved Eagles (too much?) : The Hobbit #17