All Program Dates
March 9th, 2026 | 7:00pm - 9:00pm
March 16th, 2026 | 7:00pm - 9:00pm
March 23rd, 2026 | 7:00pm - 9:00pm
March 30th, 2026 | 7:00pm - 9:00pm
April 6th, 2026 | 7:00pm - 9:00pm
April 13th, 2026 | 7:00pm - 9:00pm
April 20th, 2026 | 7:00pm - 9:00pm
April 27th, 2026 | 7:00pm - 9:00pm
January 26th, 2026 | 7:00pm - 9:00pm
February 2nd, 2026 | 7:00pm - 9:00pm
February 9th, 2026 | 7:00pm - 9:00pm
February 16th, 2026 | 7:00pm - 9:00pm
February 23rd, 2026 | 7:00pm - 9:00pm
March 2nd, 2026 | 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Registration
This is a free program.
Please check your spam folder for your email confirmation. If you have questions, please call (215) 732-1600 or email rsvp@rosenbach.org.
Episodes stream live on Mondays, January 26 through April 27, 7:00-9:00 pm ET, with the recordings available to watch on the Rosenbach’s YouTube channel.
Description
We’re going on a Biblioventure to Middle-Earth with J.R.R. Tolkien’s first fantasy novel, The Hobbit. First conceived as a story Tolkien told to his own children, then published in 1937, The Hobbit isn’t your ordinary children’s book. Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf, and the dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield, go on a quest to recover the treasure stolen by the dragon Smaug. Along the way they encounter trolls, goblins, elves, and other fantastic creatures. However, through it all, Tolkien has weaved a thousand years of language, lore, and literature. We’ll explore the deep roots of the mythic tales that inspired Tolkien’s work and examine how the novel fits into the broader Middle-Earth legendarium the author created over many years. Host Edward G. Pettit and a rotating group of Tolkienian cohosts (see below the schedule for their bios) will have our usual Biblioventures “conversational annotation” each week, chapter by chapter, providing context and insight about the author, the characters, and this brilliantly conceived fantasy story. And we’ll have fun as we travel there and back again along the road with Bilbo. So, pack your pipeweed and pocket handkerchiefs and join us in Middle Earth!
(While The Hobbit certainly appeals to children, this will not be a children’s show. It will feature grown-ups talking about the book and we can’t guarantee that the conversation will always be for all ears. And hobbits love to smoke and drink. Every week will also feature specialty drinks inspired by the chapters and as much pipe smoking as the host can do in the given time.)
The Rosenbach has first American editions of both The Hobbit (https://www.rosenbach.org/blog/hobbit-day) and poet Marianne Moore’s personal copy of The Lord of the Rings. We’ll share images of these and talk about the publishing history and reception of The Hobbit over the many years since it was first published.
Chapter Schedule
Jan 26: 1. An Unexpected Party
Feb 2: 2. Roast Mutton
Feb 9: 3. A Short Rest and 4. Over Hill and Under Hill
Feb 16: 5. Riddles in the Dark
Feb 23: 6. Out of the Frying-Pan into the Fire
Mar 2: 7. Queer Lodgings
Mar 9: 8. Flies and Spiders
Mar 16: 9. Barrels out of Bond
Mar 23: 10. A Warm Welcome and 11. On the Doorstep
Mar 30: 12. Inside Information
Apr 6: 13. Not at Home and 14. Fire and Water
Apr 13: 15. The Gathering of the Clouds and 16. A Thief in the Night
Apr 20: 17. The Clouds Burst and 18. The Return Journey
Apr 27: 19. The Last Stage
Series Host
Edward G. Pettit is the Sunstein Senior Manager of Digital Initiatives at the Rosenbach and has been presenter for the weekly Biblioventures series on Dracula, Frankenstein, Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, The Pickwick Papers, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, A Christmas Carol, and The Picture of Dorian Gray. The Biblioventures series Sherlock Monthly is still running. When not drinking, smoking, and talking about books, Pettit also oversees the online reading courses at the Rosenbach. In 2018, he helped found a Tolkien Society smial in Philadelphia, the Bagshot Row Irregulars, which still meets intermittently. A hobbit by nature, but a (biblio)wizard by profession, Edward G. Pettit wanders but is rarely lost.
Cohosts
Graeme Cheadle is an educator based in Vancouver, BC, the co-owner of an online teaching company, founding member and co-ordinator of the Grey Havens Smial (Tolkien fan club) in the Pacific Northwest (US/Canada), member of the Tolkien Society, Marquette Tolkien Fandom Oral History Project participant (#0324), and numerous other Tolkien fandom communities, and is interested in history, politics, sports, and building community."
Sara Brown is Director of the Graduate Program and Chair of the Language and Literature Faculty at Signum University, USA, where she has taught since 2012 on courses with Corey Olsen, Verlyn Flieger, Dimitra Fimi, Robin Reid, Doug Anderson, Amy Sturgis, and John Garth. Her work on Tolkien has appeared in various journals, including Journal of Tolkien Research and Mallorn, and in essay collections including Tolkien and Diversity, Proceedings of the Tolkien Society Seminar 2021, and Queer Approaches to Tolkien: Essays on the Many Paths to Middle-earth (2025). Sara is also co-editor of a special issue of Journal of Tolkien Research, “Tolkien and Psychology” (with Kristine Larsen; 2025). She won the Tolkien Society Award for Best Article in both 2023 and 2024, and is currently also working on a book, Transgressive Tolkien, with Christopher Vaccaro. Sara serves on the editorial board of Mallorn, the academic journal of the Tolkien Society, and is co-presenter on podcasts such as The Tolkien Experience, The Rings of Power Wrap-Up, Rings and Rituals and The Prancing Pony.
Robert Berry, trained as a painter and a cartoonist, is probably best known for work in adapting James Joyce's ULYSSES into a long-form graphic novel. He teaches that novel, and comics, at the University of Pennsylvania and Villanova as well as here at the Rosenbach. But he has a long-time fixation on (and obsession with) the work of J.R.R. Tolkien that he brings into all of his teaching. Occasionally he still gets the opportunity to paint pretty pictures that have nothing to do with either of those things.