It is a truth universally acknowledged that a blog with any sort of Tolkien adjacency is in want of a Tom Bombadil theory. The Bombadil Question is not only a perennial fixture for Tolkien’s readers, it may well be the original Middle-earth enigma. Where other Legendarium mysteries are relatively recent preoccupations (how were Orcs first made?) or have been repeated to the point of parody (do Balrogs have wings?), the Bombadil issue remains not only pertinent (if now itself somewhat parodied), but possesses an ancient lineage. Even before The Lord of the Rings was published, Tolkien found himself fielding questions…
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I had a stray thought recently, inspired by Sam’s reluctance to give the Ring back up to Frodo in the Tower of Cirith Ungol. For anyone who needs a refresher, this occurs in Book VI, following Shelob’s Lair and Sam’s taking of the Ring from Frodo’s (seemingly) lifeless body. When Sam finds and rescues Frodo in the tower, he has a moment of hesitation in giving the Ring back: Sam fumbled for the Ring and its chain. ‘But I suppose you must take it back.’ Now it had come to it, Sam felt reluctant to give up the Ring and…
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The Man with the Golden Gun is not a great Bond film. Indeed, it isn’t even a particularly good film. It’s by no means the worst Bond film ever made (I can think of three or four that I loathe much more off the top of my head), but it’s either the best of the bad Bond films, or the worst of the mediocre entries. Yet, I think it’s the Bond film we need right now. It might not be the best Bond film ever made, but I think that The Man with the Golden Gun is the best Bond…
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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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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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