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Review
“The book has a haunting quality, characteristic of the best of the ‘deeper’ folktales. It is a beautiful, memorable story.” Times Educational Supplement
“It may be compared to the most delicate miniature but it is one of a rare kind: the more closely it is examined the more it reveals the grandeur of its conception. Whoever reads it at eight will still be going back to it at eighty.” New Statesman
“A tremendously valuable volume with important new insights into Tolkien’s way of working. It’s also a beautiful hardcover edition of the story.” Mythprint
Product Description
A new, expanded edition of one of Tolkien’s major pieces of short fiction, and his only finished work dating from after publication of The Lord of the Rings; it contains many previously unpublished texts.
In 1964 J.R.R. Tolkien was invited to write the preface to a new edition of “The Golden Key” by George MacDonald. Accepting the invitation, Tolkien proposed the preface would explain the meaning of Fairy through a brief story about a cook and a cake. But the story grew, and took on a life of its own, and the preface was abandoned. Tolkien eventually gave it the title, “Smith of Wootton Major”, to suggest an early work by P.G. Wodehouse or a story in the Boy’s Own paper. It was published in 1967 as a small hardback, complete with charming black and white illustrations by Pauline Baynes.
Now, almost 40 years on, a facsimile of this early illustrated edition is being republished, but in addition to this enchanting story the new edition includes:
• Tolkien’s own account of the genesis of the story
• Tolkien’s Time-Scheme and Characters
• Tolkien’s discussion of the shadowy but important figure of “Grandfather Rider” and a lengthy, 10,000-word essay on the nature of Faery
• Early draft versions and alternative endings
• Foreword by the editor, containing a brief history of the story’s composition and publication, and its connection to Tolkien’s other published stories
Contained within “Smith of Wootton Major” are many intriguing links to the world of Middle-earth, as well as Tolkien’s other tales, and in this ‘extended edition’ the reader will finally discover the full story behind this major piece of short fiction.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
These two unabridged stories, written by J R R Tolkien and read by Derek Jackobi are:
Smith of Wootton Major
Tells of the folk of a traditional old rural village who have some contact with the folk of Faerie. One of the village children is secretly passed a gift which has some magical effects on him and allows him to enter and explore the 'perilous realm'. He travels there at will over the course of his life, has many adventures, meets Faerie royalty and learns wisdom of the fair folk, until (now a venerable old fellow) he has to hand his 'passport' on to the next child. He's reluctant to relinquish his gift but finally does so without making a fuss and receives praise and respect for doing so and is allowed a say in who the next child should be to receive the magical object.
Leaf by Niggle
Is a strange little tale, which tells of a painter who wants only to paint a fabulous tree in peace, but is constantly interrupted by neighbours and other people wanting him to do other things. His precious painting is used by 'the authorities' to patch his neighbour's roof and he is sent away on a journey that he's been dreading. He seems to live in some sort of totalitarian society where people have, by law, to help their neighbours. Niggle is incarcerated in a place that he takes to be a hospital, to mend his selfish ways. There, after a long long time, he eavesdrops on a conversation in which his faults are being discussed by, what seem to be, a couple of bureaucrats of the after-life. They finally decide that he's been sufficiently rehabilitated to progress to the next stage of his 'journey' and he takes a train to a place where his marvellous painting has become a reality.
I read both of these stories many years ago when I was a child. I don't think I properly appreciated them then and I certainly didn't remember them very well. Perhaps it's Derek Jacobi's excellent reading that adds an extra touch of magic to them, but whatever the reason, I enjoyed them more than I remember doing first time round. So I recommend them for children of course, but I especially recommend them to those adults who appreciate a bit of fantasy. And if you haven't ever tried listening to an audiobook before, it's a luxury that you shouldn't deny yourself any longer - this is a good place to start.
Smith of Wootton Major
Tells of the folk of a traditional old rural village who have some contact with the folk of Faerie. One of the village children is secretly passed a gift which has some magical effects on him and allows him to enter and explore the 'perilous realm'. He travels there at will over the course of his life, has many adventures, meets Faerie royalty and learns wisdom of the fair folk, until (now a venerable old fellow) he has to hand his 'passport' on to the next child. He's reluctant to relinquish his gift but finally does so without making a fuss and receives praise and respect for doing so and is allowed a say in who the next child should be to receive the magical object.
Leaf by Niggle
Is a strange little tale, which tells of a painter who wants only to paint a fabulous tree in peace, but is constantly interrupted by neighbours and other people wanting him to do other things. His precious painting is used by 'the authorities' to patch his neighbour's roof and he is sent away on a journey that he's been dreading. He seems to live in some sort of totalitarian society where people have, by law, to help their neighbours. Niggle is incarcerated in a place that he takes to be a hospital, to mend his selfish ways. There, after a long long time, he eavesdrops on a conversation in which his faults are being discussed by, what seem to be, a couple of bureaucrats of the after-life. They finally decide that he's been sufficiently rehabilitated to progress to the next stage of his 'journey' and he takes a train to a place where his marvellous painting has become a reality.
I read both of these stories many years ago when I was a child. I don't think I properly appreciated them then and I certainly didn't remember them very well. Perhaps it's Derek Jacobi's excellent reading that adds an extra touch of magic to them, but whatever the reason, I enjoyed them more than I remember doing first time round. So I recommend them for children of course, but I especially recommend them to those adults who appreciate a bit of fantasy. And if you haven't ever tried listening to an audiobook before, it's a luxury that you shouldn't deny yourself any longer - this is a good place to start.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
People who know anything about the mind of J.R.R. Tolkien know that he disliked allegory. That makes "Smith of Wootton Major" a bit of an oddity among his writings, but not an unwelcome one. It's a sweetly fantastical little fable that drips over with Tolkien's love of real, deep fairy tales.
It takes place in a little town "not very long ago for those with long memories, not very far away fro those with long legs." The Master Cook of that village takes a vacation, and returns with an apprentice in tow. But something odd happens at the Feast of the Cake -- the cook stirs in a "fay-star" with little trinkets in the cake, and it's accidently swallowed by a boy there.
The boy (later called Smith) is changed by the fay-star, which sparkles on his forehead. When he grows up Smith ventures into Faery itself, and even meets the Faery Queen herself. The message she gives him is for her mysterious, missing husband, the King -- who turns out to be the last person anybody in Wootton Major would have expected.
"Smith" is a fairy tale in the best sense. Don't expect cackling witches or convenient loopholes in spells here; Tolkien was too skilled for that. Instead we have majestic fey and sparkling magic, woven with a tidy medieval town. (Not to mention the custom of naming people after their jobs -- Smith, a smith, capisce?) Never once does it become precious or cutesy.
It's among Tolkien's simpler writings. In fact, it's so simple that it barely has a plot -- the vanishing King is the closest thing it has. But Tolkien's writing sparkles with little details of the fey, with only a minimum of description. His glimpses of Faerieland are too brief, but they're also reminiscent of a few passages from "Lord of the Rings."
A sweet, fantastical little story, this is one of Tolkien's lesser-known but still deserving stories. Charmingly symbolic.
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a wonderfully crafted and deeply moving book. Not really one for the kids but for every adult who secretly mourns the passing of their childhood. Be warned though, it could bring a few tears to your eyes.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
If you have an hour to spare...
... Read this book!
It is no wonder that Tolkien is loved the world over, no wonder that Jackson's retelling of the Trilogy spawned a legion of new and loyal fans, no... Read more
It is no wonder that Tolkien is loved the world over, no wonder that Jackson's retelling of the Trilogy spawned a legion of new and loyal fans, no... Read more
Published on 16 May 2010 by E45TY
Tolkien's farewell to the land of Faery
Smooth of Wootton Major, written between 1964 and 1966* and published in 1967, is a meditation on the gift of fantasy. Read more
Published on 16 Jun 2001 by Mike London
Beautifully written, compact fable
The summary says it all really - it's a very beautiful, well-crafted and endearing book. It is shorter but just as meticulous and rich in story-telling as other Tolkien prose. Read more
Published on 28 Mar 2000 by Nigel Collier
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