The Adventures of Tom Bombadil

Written by J. R. R. Tolkien

Narrated by Derek Jacobi

Tolkien’s acclaimed modern classic ‘fairie’ tale, read by Derek Jacobi.

‘Here is something that no devotee of the Hobbit epic can afford to miss, while awaiting a further instalment of the history of these fascinating people – a selection [of verses] offered as an ‘interim report’ to those interested in Hobbit-lore, and to any others who may find amusement in this mixed bag of old confections.’

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 been expanded to include earlier versions of some of Tolkien’s poems, a fragment of a prose story with Tom Bombadil, and comprehensive notes by acclaimed Tolkien scholars Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: May 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9780007384099

J. R. R. Tolkien

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 sixty languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.

Reviews for The Adventures of Tom Bombadil

[something_-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

4 stars for the stories at the end - I loved them ^^
The translated poetry was not my cup of tea though, couldn't get into it at all (reason why I took so long to have the heart to finish this book).
But I'll probably read the short stories again in the near future - at least, I feel really inclined to do so. Couldn't really pick a favourite from all three, but somehow I feel that I didn't completely grasp the third one, Niggle. I'll start rereading from that one.

[jinjer-641812 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the first collection of poems I've ever read straight through and I really enjoyed it. Two of the poems are about Tom Bombadil. The rest of the poems are about characters and places one might encounter in his world. Some poems were written by the Hobbits we all know & love, including Sam Gamgee's Stone Troll song! "I'll try my teeth on thee now. Hee now! See now!"

[muumuumousie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Hobbit poems. It's Middle Earth like you've never seen it before. And once you've read it, you'll know why. Yikes.

I enjoyed this book very much. Tolkien is probably better at prose than poems, but in this small book, he's expanded a great deal on Middle Earth mythology. He has poems by Bilbo and by Sam. He has goofy Hobbit folk poems. He's got Hobbits being silly and serious, sometimes trying to imitate Men and Elves with varying degrees of success. It's got Elvish gibberish, words that Hobbits have made up to sound Elvish but which don't mean anything. If this sounds funny, it is. I know that real languages and their histories inspired Tolkien to invent his own languages, and I also know that his own languages were the inspiration for Middle Earth. Reading these poems, I kind of felt like I was getting closer to some of the joy of invention; I could really understand why so many people have loved Middle Earth. Tolkien even makes some fun of his own poetry skills. Most of his poems keep a rigid rhyme scheme, but Tolkien also complains about all the rhyming, saying, "in their simplicity Hobbits evidently regarded such things as virtues." He also describes an annoying-on-purpose kind of poem by saying that it "may be recited until the hearers revolt." It really is cute.


However, this book is not perfect. It has a very uneven tone, and I'm not sure that I like either extreme.

This is a children's book, yet parts of it don't seem all that children-y to me. For one thing, it assumes that the reader has read The Lord of the Rings, and for another, it gets pretty dark (really, really creepy-dark) in some places. One of the poems, for example, tells of Frodo: "Like a dark mole groping I went, to the ground falling . . . beetles were tapping in the rotten trees, spiders were weaving . . . I saw my hair hanging grey . . . I have lost myself". This poem touches on old age and insanity and solitude; while I'm certainly not denying that children's literature can be dark, this just doesn't seem to be trying to appeal to children. Frodo isn't even described in the book--you'd have to read The Lord of the Rings for that.

On the other hand, this book has some lighthearted moments, to put it mildly, and those are certainly geared for children. If I could just quote one stanza:

"He battled with the Dumbledors,
the Hummerhorns, and Honeybees,
and won the Golden Honeycomb;
and running home on sunny seas
in ship of leaves and gossamer
with blossom for a canopy,
he sat and sang, and furbished up
and burnished up his panoply"

That about says it all. What a mouthful.

[cc120323 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Summary:Tolkien Treasury is a collection of poems written by other people about the Lord of the Rings books. Some poems are about certain characters or just the imaginary Middle Earth that is created by this author. You really should be familiar with the books to appreciate the collection of poems.Reaction: It is interesting to see how others interpret the characters and setting from this collection of poems. Sometimes they bring out other things from their imagination that I would not have picked up on.Activities:Choose a poem and create a bookmarker with that poem. You could even cut the bookmarker out to create a shape from the poem or book.Create a greeting card using one of the poems from this collection.

[cef126 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It is a good book. If you read the previous books, it is beautiful to read. Because of the way the poem expresses that epic tone. (Translated from Spanish)

[GustavoIGG · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I am not very knowledgeable about poetry, but I read this "novel" mainly to complete Tolkien's saga and his world.
Strangely enough, it was originally written by Tolkien in Spanish and he had the courage to dare to write poetry.
This edition also contains beautiful illustrations very similar to those seen in The Children of Húrin. (Translated from Spanish)

[michael5rimmer · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As this isn't the first time I've read these poems, I already knew I was going to like them. The added elements in this edition are the commentaries on every poem by the editors, which usually include earlier variants of the core poems, together with a very brief outline by Tolkien of a never realised, stand-alone Tom Bombadil story. Well worth the relatively modest cover price, but I'd have happily paid more for better paper, a larger format and colour illustrations.

[bookwomble · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As this isn't the first time I've read these poems, I already knew I was going to like them. The added elements in this edition are the commentaries on every poem by the editors, which usually include earlier variants of the core poems, together with a very brief outline by Tolkien of a never realised, stand-alone Tom Bombadil story. Well worth the relatively modest cover price, but I'd have happily paid more for better paper, a larger format and colour illustrations.

[darthdeverell · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In J.R.R. Tolkien's The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, editors Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond reprint Tolkien's 1962 volume, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book complete with Pauline Baynes' original illustrations. As part of Tolkien's mythology, these poems and stories represent part of the cultural background of Middle Earth. Bombadil himself appears in The Lord of the Rings while this also includes "Oliphaunt," a poem Samwise Gamgee recites in that volume. Tolkien's joy in language and styles of verse are sure to delight those who enjoy his writing while Scull and Hammond's commentary explores the evolution of the various poems. A little over half of this edition focuses on earlier versions of the poems and Tolkien's references, either to his own mythology or to Britain's history and languages. This edition will entertain fans of Tolkien as well as those who enjoy poetic stories.

[benkline · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A super fun quick read of poems based on Tom Bombadil from The Fellowship of the Ring, as well as poems of other Middle-earth (and non-Middle Earth but fantasy trope) characters. Doesn't add any real depth to the character, but a quick entertaining hour of poems.

[clicksclan · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Love that you can read this whole book in less than an hour. Makes for a nice filler book.

Find new favourites with each read; The Mewlips is delightfully creepy and there's bones, a foot and creepy faces in the picture.

'Beyond the Merlock Mountains, a long and lonely road,
Through the spider-shadows and the marsh of Tode,
And through the wood of hanging trees and the gallows weed,
And go to find the Mewlips, - and the Mewlips feed.'
(Page 46)

The pictures re all fantastic, I love the little bits of colour in them.

The book smells lovely (it's got that musty old vanilla smell) and feels really nice too. It's small but sturdy.