This week, we reach the turning point in Bilbo's career in Riddles in the Dark, Chapter Five of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. How is Gollum presented in the first and second editions? What can we learn from the riddles? How quickly does the Ring begin to influence Bilbo, and what are the limits of its power?

Unfortunately, the video from this week's live session was lost to a technical issue, but the slides are available for download by clicking here. You can see the images of Gollum, as rendered by artists from around the world, by clicking here.

Show Notes:

• Shire Reckoning Production Schedule
• The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
• Exploring J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit (Corey Olsen)

Shire Reckoning is a Next Word production. For bonus episodes and to support the show, visit Patreon.com/NextWord.

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Music by Corvus from Pixabay.