 Cover of the first edition | |
| Author | J. R. R. Tolkien |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Pauline Baynes[1] |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fantasyshort stories,play,essay,poetry |
| Publisher | Ballantine Books |
Publication date | September 1966[2] |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | xvi, 24, 112, 79, 64 pp (contents separately paginated) |
| ISBN | 0-345-34506-1 (reprint) |
| OCLC | 49979134 |
| Preceded by | Tree and Leaf |
| Followed by | The Road Goes Ever On |
The Tolkien Reader is an anthology of works byJ. R. R. Tolkien. It includes a variety ofshort stories,poems, aplay and somenon-fiction. It compiles material previously published as three separate shorter books (Tree and Leaf,Farmer Giles of Ham, andThe Adventures of Tom Bombadil), together with one additional piece and introductory material. It was published in 1966 byBallantine Books in the USA.[3]
Most of these works appeared injournals,magazines, orbooks years before the publication ofThe Tolkien Reader. The earliest published pieces are the poems "The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late" and "The Hoard", both of which were first published in 1923.[4] They were reprinted together with a variety of other poems in the bookThe Adventures of Tom Bombadil in 1962, and the entire book was included inThe Tolkien Reader in 1966.[5] The section titledTree and Leaf is also a reprint. It was published as a book bearing the same name in 1964, and consists of material initially published in the 1940s.[6] The bookFarmer Giles of Ham was published in 1949, and unlikeThe Adventures of Tom Bombadil andTree and Leaf, it did not merge previously published material, although unpublished versions of the story had existed since the 1920s.[7] "The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son" was first printed in an academic journal in 1953.[8]
The "Publisher's Note" and "Tolkien's Magic Ring" are the only works in the book which Tolkien did not write. They are also the only parts of the book which were written in the same year thatThe Tolkien Reader was published.[5]
J. R. R. Tolkien wrote the works contained withinThe Tolkien Reader in different contexts and for different purposes.The Adventures of Tom Bombadil began as a single poem, inspired by a Dutch doll belonging to Tolkien's son,Michael. Tolkien wrote the poem as a form of entertainment for his children, but by 1934 it had been published inThe Oxford Magazine.[9] In October 1961, Tolkien's aunt Jane Neave encouraged him to put together a small book which would have "Tom Bombadil at the heart of it."[10] Tolkien took her advice and a year later Allen & Unwin publishedThe Adventures of Tom Bombadil.[10] It contains both older works, such as "Oliphaunt" (1927), and works written specifically for the book, such as "Tom Bombadil Goes Boating" (1962).[11] The collection has connections to Tolkien's trilogyThe Lord of the Rings. There are a few points in the trilogy where the main characters recite or sing the poems inThe Adventures of Tom Bombadil. Frodo sings “The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late,” during his stay at The Prancing Pony in Bree, and Samwise recites “Oliphaunt” during a battle.[12] The title character of the poems, Tom Bombadil, appears on several occasions in the series, one time being when he rescues Frodo from the Barrow-wights inThe Fellowship of the Ring.[13]
Farmer Giles of Ham, a tale about a “semilegendary England,” grew out of Tolkien's curiosity about theetymology of place-names, particularly the name “Worminghall.” LikeThe Adventures of Tom Bombadil, it was originally a story which he told to his children, but which was later published.[7] The year of publication was 1949, the same year that Tolkien finishedThe Lord of the Rings. It is generally considered to be a light, comical read in which Tolkien “laughs good-humoredly at much that is taken most seriously by his epic.”[12] Tolkien was a professor ofAnglo-Saxon inOxford at the time, and scholars assert that Tolkien wroteFarmer Giles of Ham as a mockery of the discipline ofphilology, which was his area of expertise.[14]
Other works, such as “On Fairy Stories” and “The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son” were contributions to academia. Tolkien was a professor of English Language and Literature,[15] and “On Fairy Stories” was initially a lecture, delivered in 1939 at theUniversity of St. Andrews.[16] "Leaf by Niggle", first published in 1945,[6] is a short story that Tolkien wrote to accompany "On Fairy Stories", and which has been described as an autobiographical allegory.[17]
“The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son” was a submission for theEnglish Association'sEssays and Studies for 1953, which Tolkien wrote while he was teaching at theUniversity of Oxford sometime before 1945.[18][19]
Peter S. Beagle's five-part introduction "Tolkien's Magic Ring" serves as an accompaniment to works inThe Tolkien Reader. Beagle was familiar with Tolkien's writing, having previously collaborated with Chris Conkling on a screenplay forThe Lord of the Rings.[20] In "Tolkien's Magic Ring", which was first published inHoliday Magazine in 1966, Beagle gives the reader a short summary of Tolkien'sThe Lord of the Rings trilogy.[21]
| Title | Publication Date | Publication Location | Content | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Publisher's Note" | 1966 | The Tolkien Reader, Ballantine Publishing Group | An overview of the contents ofThe Tolkien Reader. A short description is provided for each of the works contained within the book.[22] | Overview |
| "Tolkien's Magic Ring" | 1966 | Holiday Magazine, Curtis Publishing | An introduction to the world of J. R. R. Tolkien byPeter S. Beagle. It provides short descriptions of J. R. R. Tolkien's booksThe Lord of the Rings andThe Hobbit.[21][23] | Introduction |
| “The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son” | 1953 | Essays and Studies for 1953, The English Association | I. "The Death of Beorhtnoth": the events of “Beorhtnoth’s Death” are outlined. Following this is an analysis of the Battle of Maldon, which was fought between the English and the Danes in 991.[24] II. "The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son": Torhthelm, a poet, and Tídwald, a farmer, go to the battlefield to retrieve the body of their slain master,Beorhtnoth. The men search through the bodies until they have found Beorhtnoth, whereafter they put the corpse on a wagon and travel toEly. As they approach the abbey of Ely, they hear the monks singing a dirge.[25][26] III. “Ofermod”: the concept of heroism is discussed and critiqued.[26][27] | Essay Play Essay |
| Tree and Leaf | 1964 | Tree and Leaf, George Allen & Unwin | "On Fairy-Stories": Tolkien discusses the definition, origin and purpose of fairy stories.[28] "Leaf by Niggle": a painter named Niggle paints an elaborate picture of a tree. Duties and a journey eventually force Niggle to abandon his painting. A small fragment of the picture - depicting a single leaf - ends up in amuseum. Niggle travels to the country of the Tree and Forest, the place which he had painted from afar.[29] | Essay Short story |
| Farmer Giles of Ham | 1949 | Farmer Giles of Ham, George Allen & Unwin | Ægidius Ahenobarbus Julius Agricola de Hammo, known colloquially as Farmer Giles of Ham, wakes up to find that agiant has killed his cow. Giles manages to drive the giant away but is later forced to take action again when adragon attacks the kingdom. Giles manages to build an alliance with the dragon and win his hoard of gold. In the end he builds his own “Little Kingdom”, which he rules over.[7] | Short story |
| The Adventures of Tom Bombadil | 1962 | The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, George Allen & Unwin | Sixteen poems including "Errantry", "The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late", "Fastitocalon", and "The Sea-Bell", with aframe story preface that pretends Tolkien found the poems.[30] | Poetry |
"On Fairy-Stories" has received both praise and criticism from scholars.Tom Shippey describes the essay as "Tolkien’s least successful if most discussed piece of argumentative prose" and as coming “perilously close to whimsy”.[31] J. Reilly proposes that the essay can be used as a guide for understanding Tolkien's trilogyThe Lord of the Rings. He makes the case that “the genre and the meaning of the trilogy are to be found in his essay on fairy stories.”[32] Another scholar, Tanya Caroline Wood, calls attention to the similarities between Tolkien's “Of Fairy-Stories” andSir Philip Sidney'sDefense of Poesy. She qualifies both writers as “Renaissance Men,” based on her observation that both of their works demonstrate elements ofRenaissance philosophy.[33]
"The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son" too has received scholarly attention. Shippey praises the work, arguing that Tolkien's interpretation ofThe Battle of Maldon is one of the few to correctly identify the poem's main message.[34]
In his essay "J.R.R. Tolkien and the True Hero", George Clark writes about how works like “Homecoming” demonstrate Tolkien's fascination with Anglo-Saxon literature. He points out what he believes to be an incongruence between Tolkien'sCatholic faith and his obsession with narratives that have "no explicitly Christian references".[35]
Radio adaptations ofFarmer Giles of Ham andLeaf by Niggle were included in theBBC Radio 5 seriesTales from a Perilous Realm. The recording was released in 1993.[36] These two works have also been made into theatrical dramatisations inSweden and theNetherlands.[37]
In 2016, The Puppet State Theatre Company premiered a theatrical rendition of Leaf by Niggle,[38] and they have performed the play several times since.[39][40]
Del Rey Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, released a second edition ofThe Tolkien Reader in 1986.[41][42]
Among similar collections of Tolkien's minor works arePoems and Stories (Allen & Unwin 1980, illustrated byPauline Baynes) andTales from the Perilous Realm (HarperCollins 1997, without illustrations; revised edition illustrated byAlan Lee, 2008).
