The Adventures of Tom Bombadil

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This revised and expanded edition of Tolkiens own Hobbit-inspired poetry includes previously unpublished poems and notes, and is beautifully illustrated by Narnia artist Pauline Baynes.
'Tom was here before the river and the trees. He made paths before the Big People and saw the little People arriving. He was here before the Kings and the graves and the Barrow-wights. When the Elves passed westward, Tom was here already

One of the most intriguing characters in The Lord of the Rings, the amusing and enigmatic Tom Bombadil also appears in verses said to have been written by Hobbits and preserved in the Red Book with stories of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins and their friends.

The Adventures of Tom Bombadil collects these and other poems, mainly concerned with legends and jests of the Shire at the end of the Third Age. This special edition has also been expanded to include earlier versions of some poems, a fragment of a prose story with Tom Bombadil, and comprehensive notes by acclaimed Tolkien scholars Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond.

Reviews

Professor Tolkien revealed in the verses scattered through The Hobbit that he had a talent for songs, riddling rhymes, and a kind of balladry. In The Adventures of Tom Bombadil the talent can be seen to be close to genius.

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Author Bio

J.R.R.Tolkien (1892-1973) was a distinguished academic, though he is best known for writing The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, plus other stories and essays. His books have been translated into over 60 languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide. Christina Scull is the former librarian of Sir John Soanes Museum, London. She is the author of The Soane Hogarths (1991), edits the journal The Tolkien Collector, and frequently writes and speaks about Tolkien. Her husband, Wayne G. Hammond, is Assistant Librarian in the Chapin Library of Rare Books, Williams College, author of the standard bibliography of Tolkiens works, J.R.R. Tolkien: A Descriptive Bibliography (1993), and a regular contributor of Tolkiens notes to the journal Mythlore. He also lectures on the history of printing and illustration and is a practising book designer and graphic artist making him the ideal co-author of the acclaimed study of Tolkiens paintings and drawings, J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist & Illustrator. The couple live in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Wayne G Hammond is a librarian at the Chapin Library of Rare Books at Williams College Massachusetts. He is the author of The Graphic Art of C.B. Falls (1892), J.R.R. Tolkien: A Descriptive Bibliography (1993), and regular notes on Tolkien in the journal Mythlore. Christina Scull is the former librarian of Sir John Soane's Museum, London. She is the author of The Soane Hogarths (1991), edits the journal The Tolkien Collector, and frequently writes and speaks about Tolkien. Together, Wayne and Christina have written the two-volume J.R.R. TOLKIEN COMPANION & GUIDE and edited Tolkien's ROVERANDOM and FARMER GILES OF HAM 50th anniversary edition.