J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit"

Robert T. Tally Jr. is a Professor of English at Texas State University, USA. His books include For a Ruthless Critique of All That Exists: Literature in an Age of Capitalist Realism (2022), Topophrenia: Place, Narrative, and the Spatial Imagination (2019), and Fredric Jameson: The Project of Dialectical Criticism (2014).

“Tolkien’s The Hobbit: Realizing History Through Fantasy … takes readers on a fantastic journey through Middle-earth, providing both casual readers with a primer that summarizes much of Tolkien’s personal history and the novel itself and novice and seasoned Tolkien scholars with an introduction and roadmap into new areas of Tolkien studies.” (Bianca Beronio, Mythlore, Vol. 42 (2), April, 2024)

• 1. Introduction: In a hole in the ground.- 2. The Way to Talk to Dragons: Interpellation, Style, and Narrative Form.- 3. Nasty Disturbing Uncomfortable Things: The Intrusions of History.- 4. Show Me Now Your Map: Towards a Literary Cartography of Middle-earth.- 5. More Dangerous and Less Wise: Race, Class, and the Geopolitical Order.- 6. Conclusion: Quite a little fellow in a wide world.