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Loading... A sonkádi Egyed gazda (original 1949; edition 1988)by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, Árpád Göncz (Translator)
Work InformationFarmer Giles of Ham by J. R. R. Tolkien (Author) (1949)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Farmer Giles (aka Aegidius Ahenobarbus Julius Agricola De Hammo) lives in a kingdom where giants and dragons occasionally terrorize the community. Normally one to mind his own business and not get involved, Farmer Giles is seen as a hero after he chases off a giant terrorizing the village and squashing livestock. After such accidental bravado, it is only natural that the village appoint Farmer Giles as the one to slay a greedy dragon (worm) when it comes calling on Ham. With a talking dog and an overworked mare, Giles accepts the challenge. The result is as humorous as it is childish. This is a book for children of all ages, after all. Farmer Giles of Ham has been in my house for a very long time, but for most of that time it was shelved among children's books, under the misapprehension that that was where it belonged. But as the dust-jacket attests, Tolkien did not write it for children in particular, though many will enjoy it all the more for that. It is best read aloud, when it will live with all the force of "a tale that holdeth children from play and old men from the chimney corner." Wikipedia quotes Tolkien himself about the story's origin: [Farmer Giles of Ham] was, in fact, written to order, to be read to the Lovelace Society at Worcester College [Oxford]; and was read to them at a sitting. For that reason I should like to put an inscription to C. H. Wilkinson on a fly-leaf, since it was Col. Wilkinson of that College who egged me to it... Further hunting reveals that this first outing of this story is one of the Treasures of Worcester College, and in this blog post you can see the minutes of the Lovelace Society when it recorded the proceedings on 14 February 1938. The author of the article, Emma Gudrum points out that During his lifetime J. R. R. Tolkien published only a few of the stories originally written for his children (though several have appeared posthumously). That he considered Farmer Giles of Ham worthy of publication must be partly down to the laughter and appreciation of the Lovelace Club and the support of their patron Colonel Wilkinson. Farmer Giles of Ham is a story that resonates with the era of reading as an entertainment for adults rather than as a private solitary activity. Accordingly, I read it in company with Amber, and read out the bits that involved Farmer Giles' dog Garm... Farmer Giles had a dog. The dog's name was Garm. Dogs had to be content with short names in the vernacular: the Book-latin was reserved for their betters. Garm could not talk even dog-latin; but he could use the vulgar tongue (as could most dogs of his day) either to bully or to brag or to wheedle in. Bullying was for beggars and trespassers, bragging for other dogs, and wheedling for his master. Garm was both proud and afraid of Giles, who could bully and brag better than he could. (p.10) The mock-serious tone of this fable is established from the first paragraph where we learn that our hero rejoices in the name Ægidus Ahenobarbus Julius Agricola de Hammo: To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2021/11/22/farmer-giles-of-ham-by-j-r-r-tolkien/ no reviews | add a review
Belongs to Publisher Seriesdtv zweisprachig (Englisch) Reclam Fremdsprachentexte (9025) Reclams Universal-Bibliothek (9025) Is contained inTolkien Collection: The Hobbit, Farmer Giles of Ham, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, Tree and Leaf. Smith of Wootton Major, The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien (indirect) Tolkien Fantasy Tales Box Set (The Tolkien Reader/The Silmarillion/Unfinished Tales/Sir Gawain and the Green Knight) by J. R. R. Tolkien (indirect) Tales from the Perilous Realm: Farmer Giles of Ham / The Adventures of Tom Bombadil / Leaf by Niggle / Smith of Wootton Major by J. R. R. Tolkien The Tolkien Treasury (audio book) by J. R. R. Tolkien (indirect) Has as a study
Farmer Giles, his mare, and his talking dog go into the valley of the Thames to fight the dragon Chrysophylax. No library descriptions found. |
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The audiobook performed by Derek Jacobi is beautiful too. ( )