In fact, some of the roots of Middle-earth lay with his childhood love of dragons, so it makes some sense that a book Tolkien wrote for children would center on a dragon. Tolkien drew deeply on real mythology to create the dragon. But where did the idea for Smaug come from? Like his whole world of Middle-earth, J. Published on this day in 1937, The Hobbit has delighted and terrified generations of children.
Amidst trolls, orcs and sundry other dangers, one memorable antagonist stands out in The Hobbit: the giant, dwarf-eating, hobbit-scaring, treasure-hoarding dragon Smaug.
