Of all of the extraordinary and beautiful things in the world, none of them had ever happened to Charles Carlton. There was nothing wrong with Charles Carlton, unless it is wrong to never be right. His clothes were smart and never quite fit him, and though their hue and cut perfectly suited him, his own complexion was the wrong colour to suit them. The last time he had had a haircut that he liked was twenty-nine years ago, when his mother had last taken him to the barber. His eyes shone like small puddles, and his voice reminded others of…
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For the last post in this year’s September Series, it only seems natural to discuss the last work Tolkien published in his life, and the last of the tenuously-connected ‘Lesser Tales’ – Smith of Wootton Major. And discuss it we will – in a manner of speaking. Because this choice of mine to write about Smith is, alas, also a critical error of judgement on my part. Smith might be my favourite thing Tolkien ever wrote. Ever. There’s nothing like the richness of The Lord of the Rings, and On Fairy Stories might have had a more profound influence on…
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Give me a king whose chief interest in life is stamps, railways, or race-horses; and who has the power to sack his Vizier (or whatever you care to call him) if he does not like the cut of his trousers. J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 52 to Christopher Tolkien It is not difficult, I think, to see Farmer Giles of Ham as being at least somewhat representative of Tolkien’s idealised monarch. By all accounts, Giles is a perfectly decent ruler – the Little Kingdom grows and thrives under his reign. He treats his friends and allies generously, and his enemies (chiefly the…
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Niggle was a painter. Not a very successful one… Of all Tolkien’s works, arguably none of them lend themselves so readily to analysis as Leaf by Niggle. The allegory by the man who claimed to hate allegory. A touchingly close examination of a character who may be as close as Tolkien ever came to writing a self-insert. Even, arguably, Tolkien’s most religious and theological work (of his fictional tales, that is…On Fairy Stories is, of course, Tolkien’s theological triumph). As such, Leaf by Niggle is probably the Lesser Tale in least need of yet another analysis, especially one by a…
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Last year, for the month of September, I did a little blog miniseries, focusing on The Hobbit and some of its less-appreciated themes and aspects. And, since I really enjoyed writing those posts, and having a theme to work towards…I decided to do it again this year! So, over the next few weeks, we’re going to be looking at three stories by Tolkien…stories which, actually, aren’t under-appreciated in the same way that The Hobbit is. But they’re also stories that a lot of Tolkien fans might not pay much attention to, or even know about…and that’s a great shame, because…
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