This is kind of abbreviated … sort of already reviewed the book.
OK. This is History of the Hobbit. 2 volumes, just finished. And am re-reading The Hobbit, which came bundled with them and now has all the illustrations (and text corrections) that the executors believe JRRT intended in the original.
History was very interesting, very much like the Company They Keep that I read not too long ago. It wasn’t particularly about the story itself, but about the craft of writing. It showed the draft versions of the Hobbit, and showed how it evolved over the drafting. Along the way it shows how draft versions can work – it illustrates the writing process itself, using the Hobbit as an extended case study.
I think it would be an excellent resource for folks in English Composition or any of those writing classes.
And it does give me a new appreciation for The Hobbit. It’s fun to reread with another layer in place.
I’ve thought about picking up that book just to see how draft versions really work and to see how many changes really happened in the book.
Sometimes when I start to write my own story is just seems that I’m picking bits and pieces from other books and puting them together into a not-all-that-original composition. Perhaps I just need a few drafts to really get something interesting out of it.
Chris, I think it might be helpful for you to see how even a good experienced author develops his story. We always see the finished product and assume that the story was written just like that when actually the first draft may have been no better than what you would write.
I’d be happy to loan you the books; now or at any time in the future when you think you might read them.