h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Just a useless fact to bore people with:

Tolkien, when writing the Lord of the Rings, altered the chapter in The Hobbit where Bilbo obtians the Ring and had this included in all subsequent editions. In the original, Bilbo wins the riddle competition and Gollum happily hands over the ring. Tolkien realised that anyone under the influence would never give it away (Gollum was a junkie just like Frodo: "I can handle it!") and so he had to change the story. He came up with reason for this as well: Bilbo initially writes his biography to show that he won the ring fairly, but then altered this at a later date after leaving the Shire and the ring behind.

deemikay

That's hardly a useless fact! It shows the revisions that Tolkien made as the trinket that was the ring evolved into the ring of power in his mind. In fact it makes me wonder if there was any futher retrospective editing of The Hobbit in light of LOTR.

Ooh, I didn't know that, thanks

You see.

*points at self*

Tolkien

I'll bet original copies of The Hobbit with the earlier version sell for a Bomb!
Apparently first edition copies of the Lord of the Rings sell for around £50,000

And to think that his publishers were in two minds as to whether or not to accept the book.

I was being a wee bit ironic in saying it was "useless". But yes, it does show that he was very aware of the Hobbit being an integral part of the Lord of the Rings. As far as I'm aware, that was the only major plot change from one edition to another. I think there's mention of this in Humphrey Carpenter's biography. Well worth a read.

I have read the original chapter as well and Gollum is much nicer in it and just hands the Ring over. Fool!

deemikay

Well, I've read that biography but it was about 20 years ago so I guess I've forgotten that little snippet of info.

He's pretty nasty in LOTR:TT at the cinema...the Smeagol/Gollum split-personality scenes are fantastic, he even got some laughs when I saw it the other day.

Yeah, but he'll be typecast for the rest of his career...

The Hobbit and from that LotRs are partly based on a story from the Norse Volsung tales, specifically the story of Sigmund and Sigurd. It has the stealing of a cursed ring from a creature which lives in a cave and swims in a pool, the killing of a evil dragon and taking of its treasure and the reforging of an inherited broken sword. The overall story though is very different, more one of the rise and fall of a hero and the capers of Loki and various gods.