The Hobbit cover art

The Hobbit

 Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

The Hobbit

By: J. R. R. Tolkien
Narrated by: Martin Shaw
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends December 16, 2025 11:59pm GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Only £0.99 a month for the first 3 months. Pay £0.99 for the first 3 months, and £8.99/month thereafter. Renews automatically. Terms apply. Start my membership

About this listen

Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable and quiet life. His contentment is disturbed one day when the wizard, Gandalf, and the dwarves arrive to take him away on an adventure.

Smaug certainly looked fast asleep, when Bilbo peeped once more from the entrance. He was just about to step out on to the floor when he casught a sudden thin 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 from his comfortable hobbit-hole 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…

©1937, 1951, 1966, 1978 George Allen and Unwin (Publishers) Ltd.; (P)1993 HarperCollins UK Action & Adventure Epic Fantasy Historical Fiction

Listeners also enjoyed...

 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring cover art
The Silmarillion cover art
The Fall of Gondolin cover art
The Hobbit (Dramatised) cover art
Unfinished Tales cover art
Tales from the Perilous Realm cover art
The Fall of Númenor cover art
The Children of Húrin cover art
Beren and Lúthien cover art
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil cover art
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them cover art
Dune cover art
Farmer Giles of Ham cover art
The Colour of Magic cover art
The Woodcutter cover art
Duncton Wood cover art

Critic reviews

‘A finely written saga of dwarves and elves, fearsome goblins and trolls… an exciting epic of travel and magical adventure, all working up to a devastating climax.’
Observer
All stars
Most relevant
I usually buy unabridged books but having skimmed most of the songs sections while reading The Hobbit (over the years) felt that I did not really want to listen to all the songs/rhymes etc. included in this book. I love The Hobbit and this recording was exciting and wonderful to listen to at bedtime or while travelling. None of the essence of the adventure is lost and I would really reccomend this book. My 14 year old son enjoyed it too.

THE HOBBIT (no singing version!)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

What made the experience of listening to The Hobbit the most enjoyable?

Martin Shaw masterclass. I'd have Shaw and Roy Dotrice reading all my books if I could!
Much better than the films. So much more depth to the story..I was right there at times...

Who was your favorite character and why?

Has to be Bilbo

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Great ending to the story..

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There were a few laughs along the way...

Any additional comments?

Well worth a credit!

Superb...!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Martin Shaw makes a great storyteller, I enjoyed his interpretation and the original version bears comparison against the film trilogy.

Established classic

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It was great and I loved it. It was really exciting. From Billy aged 9.

Awesome story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Love this audio book. Martin Shaw's voice, familiar from his many TV roles, is subtly different when reading. His 'voices' for the different characters aren't always consistent, or detectable, however this didn't detract from an excellent reading of one of my favourite books.

Excellent listening

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews