Tolkien wrote the Hobbit twenty years before  his famous trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. Conceived as a children's novel, chiefly to entertain his young children, it is quite different in style and tone from the trilogy, even though it introduces several key characters who will play major roles in it. the novel is charming and witty, much less serious than the grave Lord of the Rings books, and even repeatedly breaks the fourth wall by addressing the reader (or listener) directly. It was great fun to record its first chapter.