The hobbit Bilbo Bessac leads a quiet life, without much ambition, rarely venturing beyond his home in Cul-de-Sac. His existence is suddenly disrupted by the arrival of the magician Gandalf who, accompanied by thirteen dwarves, takes him on a long and improbable journey towards the Lonely Mountain. Their plan is to steal the treasure of Smaug the Mighty, an enormous and very dangerous dragon... Published in 1937, this story - imagined by J.R.R. Tolkien for his own children - very quickly became a classic of children's literature. This edition, served by a new translation, will delight readers of all ages, inviting them to discover the universe of Middle-earth, the backdrop to most of J.R.R. Tolkien's works, notably The Lord of the Rings.