The Adventures of Tom Bombadil by J R R Tolkien

The Adventures of Tom Bombadil by J R R Tolkien

This revised and expanded edition of Tolkien’s own Hobbit-inspired poetry includes previously unpublished poems and notes, and is beautifully illustrated by Narnia artist Pauline Baynes.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.

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

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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 80 languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.