Friday 22 September 2017

Happy Birthday Bilbo!

Not quite the usual sort of post from me but this has to be acknowledged.

On the 21st of September 1937 "The Hobbit" was published.

This book is an undying favourite of mine and is probably the most important non fiction book I have ever read. Had I not, I don't think my love of fantasy and history would have combined or developed to what it is now and my wargaming hobby would be considerably poorer for it.

I first stumbled upon a copy in one of the bedrooms of the house of the grandparents of some friends. The house was itself a magical place in its own right - a large Victorian home at the end of our street, stuffed full of books, basement rooms and a garden to roam in. A place which itself have been the setting for all sort of kids fantasy novels by CS Lewis or such like. I asked if I could borrow it and never looked back. I fell in love with it and a few years later The Lord of the Rings and then the Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales, getting the Silmarillion as a prize when I left primary school.

So thanks to JRRT for such a wonderful book and a whole lot more besides.



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