"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." This promising line, scribbled on a blank leaf of exam paper by a daydreaming don, gave rise to a vast fictional universe, one that would, over the next half-century, capture the imaginations of successive generations. Professor Tolkien's shy, peace-loving "little people" - and their counterparts, dreadful goblins and dragons - await discovery by new waves of readers.

(Key Words: Fiction, Fantasy, J. R. R. Tolkien, Goblins).