On September 21, 1937, J. R. R. Tolkien's 'The Hobbit' was published by George Allen and Unwin in London. An excerpt from the article:
""The Hobbit: Or, There and Back Again" was written by J.R.R. Tolkien as a children's book and first published in Great Britain in 1937 by George Allen & Unwin. It was published just before the outbreak of WWII in Europe, and the book acts as a prologue of sorts for the great trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. While it was originally conceived as a book for children, it has been accepted as a great work of literature in its own right.
While "The Hobbit" was by no means the first fantasy novel, it was among the first to combine influences from multiple sources. Elements of the book draw from Norse mythology, classic fairy tales, Jewish literature, and the works of 19th century Victorian children's authors such as George MacDonald (author The Princess and the Goblin, among others). The book also experiments with a variety of literary techniques including forms of "epic" poetry and song."