The Hobbit was written by an English artist.
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien , ( [ ˈtɒlkiːn ] Tolkien pronounced his surname [ ˈtɒlkiːn ] , see his phonetic transcription published on the illustration in The Return of the Shadow : The History of The Lord of the Rings , Part One . Harlow : Longman , ISBN 0-582-05383-8 3 January 1892 -- 2 September 1973 ) was an English writer , poet , philologist , and university professor who is best known as the author of the classic high-fantasy works The Hobbit , The Lord of the Rings , and The Silmarillion . The Hobbit , or There and Back Again is a children 's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien .