J.R.R. Tolkien Couldn’t Help But Tinker With The Hobbit

Why did Tolkien rewrite The Hobbit?
Story by Bryan Vore: rallyrd.com/hobbit-tolkien-ch...
Video by Ben Chinapen: / benchinapen
Produced by Lisa Mason at Rally Rd.
Rally’s 1937 FIRST EDITION Copy of THE HOBBIT:
app.rallyrd.com/app/assets/co...
Sources:
Tolkien, J.R.R.. The Hobbit. 1st ed. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1937.
-. The Hobbit. 75th Anniversary Edition. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012.
-. The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. Ed. Humphrey Carpenter. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1981.
-. The Lord of the Rings. 50th Anniversary Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2004.
-. “The Quest of Erebor.” The Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-Earth. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1980: 321-36.
Rateliff, John D. The History of The Hobbit. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2007.
Sibley, Brian. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Official Movie Guide. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012.
Riga, Frank P., Maureen Thum, and Judith Kollmann. “From Children’s Book to Epic Prequel: Peter Jackson’s Transformation of Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit.’” Mythlore 32, no. 2 (124) (2014): 97-116.
And a very special thanks to Hennepin County Libraries, New York Public Libraries, and Brooklyn Public Libraries whose very excellent programming made the research on this possible. Love you!
Rally assets referenced in this piece:
1st Edition The Hobbit: app.rallyrd.com/app/assets/co...
1st Edition Lord of the Rings trilogy: app.rallyrd.com/app/assets/co...
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[@monkfishy6348]

This truly is maybe one of the greatest retcons in history. It so effortlessly fits in with the established lore and characterization of the events.

[@MarcAlcatraz]

this is one of the few times when altering was for the best, smeagle was too cheery and nice and to give away the ring so willingly destroys it's significance and corrupting power.

[@curtthegamer934]

Not only that, but Bilbo was kind of a jerk in the original version. He deliberately withheld the fact that he had found the Ring already just so he could get two prizes for winning rather than just one.

[@stonekite4482]

This is honestly so underrated.

[@GeckotoAmArsch]

What a wonderful video!

[@piratehunterzoro4445]

Amazing work

[@yousefabdullah5982]

Amazing. Subscribed!

[@grahamfloyd3451]

I am so very grateful his later rewrite was dropped. The impact of WW1 on Tolkien's writing was profound and can be seen directly in the existing texts, going from light (pre-trenches) to dark (post-trenches). The darkness of the Lord of the Rings would be greatly impoverished if we did not have the lightness of the Hobbit, and early written portions of Lord of the Rings (e.g. Tom Bombadil) to contrast it with.

[@JosephAlanMeador]

Nice work =)

[@wk4049]

“Azog is the key to all of this”

[@lrellra-el5167]

They could’ve included this in an extended version of the Hobbit

[@erichloehr5992]

I had a third printing of the first edition and now wish I had read that version to have seen it myself before I had parted ways with it

[@RallyTheTally]

Honestly the Amazon rings of power have nothing to do with any Tolkien lore. In fact, and I don't mean this as a insult, I don't think any head writers actually read the old lore. Maybe some people on the sides did.

[@grahamfloyd3451]

I'm not sure how your comment is germaine to this video, but to give you insight Amazon doesn't have tv rights to The Silmarillion, only LoTR and its appendices.

[@lcmiracle]

And it's so subtle it's not Powder Rings

[@turtleanton6539]

Wow !

[@Kuudere-Kun]

I've wondered whether or not things like the references to Gobdolin were in the first edition?

[@casualcallie7195]

Well this gave me newfound appreciation for the hobbit movies. To think, this is what tolkein was basically gonna do with the book. Dang.

[@barnoldwhv]

I don't know about all that.

[@grahamfloyd3451]

​@@barnoldwhv the hobbit movies seem to veer in the darker direction that older, post-war, mature Tolkien was thinking for his proposed rewrite. I won't show my children the Hobbit movies. The LoTR movies are excellent for when they are old enough to read the books. The greatness of LoTR owes a lot to the lightness of the Hobbit.

[@bintube5269]

Hello

[@MellowMutts270]

No doubt if he were alive he would correct all of the problematic things in the Lord of The Rings. Alas he is not so it is left up to Amazon and they are doing the lords work.

[@kailuamazon_3523]

😂

[@StraightEdgeZap]

they are shitting on one of the best fictional works in history all in the name of a billionaires money laundering

[@joefish6091]

Amazon is doing Morgoths work.