Farmer Giles of Ham [Hardcover]

J. R. R. Tolkien (Author), Pauline Baynes (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1961

farmer giles of ham by j.r.r. tolkien

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson and Sons, Ltd.; 4th Impression edition (1961)
• ASIN: B000S6MW7U
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,148,379 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892.1973), beloved throughout the world as the creator of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, a fellow of Pembroke College, and a fellow of Merton College until his retirement in 1959. His chief interest was the linguistic aspects of the early English written tradition, but even as he studied these classics he was creating a set of his own.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars In the vulgar tongue: Cute, November 29, 2004

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Farmer Giles of Ham (Paperback)

"Farmer Giles of Ham" (in the vulgar tongue) is an entertaining little tale, maybe the first real comic fantasy novel (actually, more like novella). It's certainly not on par with his tales of hobbits and elves, but it's still cute, funny and very well-written.

Aegidius de Hammo (or in the "vulgar tongue," as Tolkien archly tells us, Farmer Giles of Ham) is a pleasant, not-too-bright farmer (a bit like Barliman Butterbur) who leads a fairly happy life. Until the day his excitable dog Garm warns him that a giant (deaf and very near-sighted) is stomping through and causing mayhem. Giles takes out his blunderbuss and takes a shot at the giant, and inadverantly drive him off.

Naturally, Giles is hailed as a hero. Even the King is impressed, and sends him the sword Caudimordax (vulgar name: Tailbiter), which belonged to a dragonslaying hero. By chance, the not-so-fierce dragon Chrysophylax Dives has started pillaging, destroying and attacking the nearby areas. Can a not-so-heroic farmer drive off a not-so-frightening dragon?

It's a fast, fun little adventure story with blundering giants, greedy dragons and unlikely heroes (the last one is what Tolkien always does best). It's not epic and it's not deep, but it is entertaining, especially for people who enjoy comic fantasies. You'll like this if you enjoyed the cuter moments of "The Hobbit" and stories like "Roverandum."

Tolkien's writing always seems to be winking at the reader. There are a lot of in-jokes for people who know Latin (the "vulgar tongue" comments) and a lot of cute moments, like the young dragons exclaiming that they always knew "knights were mythical!" And the illustrations resemble old tapestries and paintings, but they usually have a funny sort of twist to them.

"Farmer Giles" is not the deepest or most riveting of Tolkien's works, but it's a straightforward, cute little adventure that kids, adults, fans and non-fans of Tolkien will enjoy.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!, July 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Farmer Giles of Ham (Hardcover)

Farmer Giles of Ham is one of the best short stories I've ever read. It is about Giles, a Farmer from the village of Ham, who aquires Tailbiter, a magic sword, his talking dog (animals had speech way back then, you know), dragons, and giants. The whole thing has a wonderful humorous touch that I love. While this book isn't as monumental as The Lord of the Rings, I'm sure anyone will enjoy this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A few things you should know about 'Farmer Giles of Ham', April 7, 2011

By 

Edward Waverley - See all my reviews

This review is from: Farmer Giles of Ham (Paperback)

This little jewel of a story could be seen as a slender, more humorous companion volume to 'The Hobbit'. Tolkien was at his slyest and most playful in this very English fairy story, where dragons and giants are anachronistically attacked with blunderbusses, and a craggy farmer outwits millers and kings.

The story follows the fortunes of one Ęgidius Agricola de Hammo (Farmer Giles of Ham), as he reluctantly battles a very sly and conniving dragon called Chrysophylax Dives. Tolkien, the philologist, brings his language skills subtly into play throughout the book, and we learn the 'true' origins of familiar place names like 'Thames'.

The book contains wonderful pseudo-medieval illustrations by Pauline Baynes, embellishing the good-humoured seriousness of this not-quite-mock heroic epic.