"In a hole in the ground, there lived a Hobbit."
Sixty years ago fantasy literature began with this famous sentence.
Forty years ago, German readers entered for the first time that other world, Middle-earth, which Tolkien had worked all his life to create.
It was a beautiful morning when an old man knocked at Bilbo's door. "We don't want any adventures here, thank you very much," he dismissed the uninvited visitor. "By the way, what's your name?" - "I am Gandalf," this one replied. And with that it dawned on Bilbo: the adventure had already begun.
Sixty years ago, Tolkien wrote down the story of Bilbo and the Dragon Treasure for his children. And since that time, Bilbo's Dangerous Journey has been a classic of children's literature. Much to Tolkien's annoyance, by the way: in order to correct the impression of a children's book, he later made many revisions.
This new translation by Tolkien expert Wolfgang Krege is - in contrast to the translation published in 1957 - based on the authorized version of the last hand. So now a German version is available, as Tolkien himself would approve of it, and it was a beautiful morning when an old man knocked at Bilbo's door. "We don't want any adventures here, thank you very much," he dismissed the uninvited visitor. "By the way, what's your name?" - "I am Gandalf," this one replied. And with that it dawned on Bilbo: the adventure had already begun.
Sixty years ago, Tolkien wrote down the story of Bilbo and the Dragon Treasure for his children. And since that time, Bilbo's Dangerous Journey has been a classic of children's literature. Much to Tolkien's annoyance, by the way: in order to correct the impression of a children's book, he later made many revisions.
This new translation by Tolkien expert Wolfgang Krege is - in contrast to the translation published in 1957 - based on the authorized version of the last hand. Thus a German version is now available, as Tolkien himself would approve of it.