Editions of the Hobbit
 

Sorry if this is the wrong place but I am thinking of corrupting to Tolkienism... I mean encouraging a love of fine literature by buying a copy of " The Hobbit for the fast approaching birthday of a young lady of my aquaintance. I have looked at the 70th anniversary and Alan Lee editions on Amazon. I like the Tolkien pictures (don't dislike Alan Lee's in general or I wouldn' t consider it) but since I am buying online I wondered if anyone who has seen them in the paper might advise which might best capture the imagination of a lovely, sensitive and imaginative nine year old?

I'd go with the 70th - Tolkien's illustrations fit the story better (imo), & have more of a 'fairy story' feel. Lee's illustrations are too 'realistic'.

Actually, I'd go for a nice Allen & Unwin edition (eg http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/Bo...%26tn%3Dhobbit ) for a number of reasons - 1) a nice older edition also emphasises the fairy tale feel - there's something 'magical' about old books 2) the A&U editions were much better quality than the current Harper Collins editions & 3), if you buy a second hand book you aren't giving any money to Rupert Murdoch.