English language Hobbit illustrated by Tove Jansson
11 May
(edited)
2026-5-11 7:16:14 PM UTC
2026-5-11 7:16:14 PM UTC
What is The Hobbit: Illustrated by Tove Jansson by J. R. R. Tolkien about?
Landmark new edition featuring a wealth of charming illustrations from Tove Jansson, creator of The Moomins, published in English for the first time.
Smaug certainly looked fast asleep, almost dead and dark, with scarcely a snore more than a whiff of unseen steam, when Bilbo peeped once more from the entrance. He was just about to step out on to the floor when he caught a sudden thin and piercing ray of red from under the drooping lid of Smaug’s left eye. He was only pretending to sleep! He was watching the tunnel entrance!
Whisked away from his comfortable, unambitious life in his hobbit-hole in Bag End by Gandalf the wizard and a band of dwarves, Bilbo Baggins finds himself caught up in a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Although quite reluctant to take part in this quest, Bilbo surprises even himself
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Just saw this on the Harpercollins website
Finally - An English Edition of The Hobbit illustrated by Tove Jansson
Due for publication September 2026
Have not been told about the cover yet, but the book may include the same introduction by Brian Sibley that appears in the 2016 HarperCollins Calendar, but not confirmed.
Interesting article: https://tovejansson.com/hobbit-tolkien/
I love her rendition of Gollum; I think she receives a lot of unfair flak for how massive he is, but it is simply due to the ambiguity originally found in the text. Tolkien corrected this later, but you can't blame an illustrator IMO if a narrative is nonspecific when it comes to size.
I gave a talk years ago at a local library in Southern California (where I live) around the time The Hobbit films were coming out about the draconic, Smaug-like qualities of Gollum. I used this illustration in my talk.
I love her rendition of Gollum; I think she receives a lot of unfair flak for how massive he is, but it is simply due to the ambiguity originally found in the text. Tolkien corrected this later, but you can't blame an illustrator IMO if a narrative is nonspecific when it comes to size.
I gave a talk years ago at a local library in Southern California (where I live) around the time The Hobbit films were coming out about the draconic, Smaug-like qualities of Gollum. I used this illustration in my talk.
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