Tales from the Perilous Realm Unabridged Audio edition Released (20.06.10 by Pieter Collier) - Comments

After the very successful release from Tales from the Perilous Realm by BBC Audiobooks America in 2008, the hardback and deluxe edition by HarperCollins in the same year, we had to wait until now to receive the unabridged audio edition of Tales from the Perilous Realm.

On the Audio CD's Derek Jacobi reads the definitive collection of Tolkien's four acclaimed modern classic fairy tales: Roverandom, Farmer Giles of Ham, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Smith of Wootton Major. Normally in this series there also belongs the fantastic tale Leaf by Niggle, but since I have not seen this audio set yet myself I don't know if it is included or not. Truly hope so, since it is one of my favorite tales.

All the five tales are written with the same skill, quality and charm that made The Hobbit a classic. They are largely overlooked because of their short lengths, but here they are finally together in an audio edition which reaffirms tolkien's place as a master storyteller for readers young and old. Taken together, this rich collection of new and unknown work from J.R.R. Tolkien will provide the listener with a fascinating journey into lands as wild and strange as Middle-earth.

Short summary of the Tales from the Perilous Realm

Roverandom:
In 1925, Tolkien's son Michael, then nearly five years old, lost his miniature toy dog on the beach. Tolkien wrote Roverandom to console his son. It tells the story of a dog named Rover, who annoys a wizard and is turned into a toy. The toy Rover is then lost on the beach by a young boy, and later found by a sand-sorcerer, who animates the toy. Roverandom tells of the random adventures of this toy dog Rover, on the far side of the Moon and under the sea.

Farmer Giles of Ham:
Farmer Giles of Ham did not look like a hero. He was fat and red bearded and enjoyed a slow, comfortable life. Then one day a rather deaf and short-sighted giant blundered on to his land. More by luck than skill, Farmer Giles managed to scare him away. The people of the village cheered: Farmer Giles was a hero! His reputation spread far and wide across the kingdom. So it was natural that when the dragon Chrysophylax visited the area it was Farmer Giles who was expected to do battle with it!

The Adventures of Tom Bombadil:
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil consists of 16 poems, three of which are about Tom Bombadil himself, one about a hobbit and a troll, two about the Man in the Moon, six which represent simply "adventures," and four which are in the nature of a bestiary. There is a wealth of good storytelling and mythmaking here. For those who love The Lord of the Rings, there are hobbits in the Shire, elves sailing west, and enough familiar places to give one the feel of Middle Earth as the setting.

Leaf by Niggle:
Leaf by Niggle recounts the story of the artist, Niggle, who has 'a long journey' to make and is seen as an allegory of Tolkien 's life. Written in the same period when The Lord of the Rings was beginning to take shape, these two works show tolkien's mastery and understanding of the the art of sub-creation, the power to give fantasy 'the inner consistency of reality'.

Smith of Wootton Major:
Smith of Wootton Major is a short story by J. R. R. Tolkien about a boy who gets a fay-star in a slice of cake during the Twenty-Four Feast, and explores Faery during the time before the next Feast.

Enjoyed this post? Click to get the RSS feed.

Spread the news about this J.R.R. Tolkien article: