Smith of Wootton Major

This slender novella was one of Tolkien's last works that he saw published during his lifetime. It is a cross-generational fable about creativity, fortune, and loss. It is very effective when read aloud; I had the pleasure of having it read to me by my Other Reader over the course of three sittings.

Smith is unoriginal in the best possible way for a modern fairy-tale. I was reminded strongly of Dunsany's The King of Elfland's Daughter, but some of the episodes in Faery in the middle of the book exhibit the sort of psychedelic reverie that I associate more with the work of George MacDonald. Sure enough, the wikipedia article on Smith of Wootton Major gives Tolkien's story its origin in an attempt at a preface to MacDonald's "The Golden show more Key." Tracing the line of influence the other direction, I believe that Susanna Clarke must have read this book.

The Pauline Baynes illustrations are lovely, and really capture the spirit of the thing. show less

A deceptively simple tale of a fairy touched man, how he became so, his wanderings into fairyland and encounters with fairies, and his life at home as a smith. Written in a detached somewhat wistful tone.

A charming fairy tale about a Smith and his adventures. I love the way Tolkien’s writing about the fairies in this story echoes the elves in his earlier writing in their beauty and majesty. It’s also satisfying that everyone is friends at the end but the dodgy guy also gets put in his place.

This is a really neat story, and it feels like a classic fairy story even though it's much more modern than the fairy tales I grew up with. (Yes, I know, Tolkien is not "modern" now, just by comparison to traditional fairy tales.) The illustrations in it were a perfect complement.

Note: I did not read any of the additional material, just the story itself.

Esta história fascinante de um andarilho que encontra o caminho para o perigoso reino da Terra-Fada está sendo publicada pela primeira vez no Brasil. Esta edição inclui um manuscrito do rascunho original de Tolkien para a história, as ilustrações de Pauline Baynes, notas sobre a gênese, a cronologia e o final alternativo da história e um longo ensaio sobre a natureza da Terra-Fada, tudo inédito até agora. Estão contidas em 'Ferreiro de Bosque Grande' muitas ligações interessantes com o mundo da Terra-média e também com os demais contos de Tolkien, e nesta "edição ampliada" o leitor finalmente descobrirá a história completa por trás dessa importante peça de ficção breve.

Charming. Over used word and really not appropriate here – but on the surface charming.
Actually the story is a dream. A sleep walk with bright moments of wonder. The smith was a quiet, young boy, whom no one turned to view. He did not stop people on the street but he received the star from Faery.
His adventures were perilous but not extreme. His life saved by a birch and nothing he could do to repay.
That’s often how life is – we wander along and perish if no one lends a hand but often times out of nowhere help arrives.
The story was a dream, with language soft and open – at times a whisper and at times a soft laugh.
It was a wonderful story with an ending that continues. So nice to see the star move in the land no Faery.

A delightful fun JRR Tolkien piece of work. I went to the Hershey Public Library looking for a homebrew book, but they didn't have it, and browsing around I came across this, and having never even heard of it, I decided to give it a read.

It's a children's book and done really well, I will probably get it out again to read to my daughters once I'm done with the Narnia series. There's not a 'whole lot' to it, but it is about how to be respectful to others and to keep faith in the Faery kingdom, something I know my oldest will absolutely love.

For any JRR Tolkien fan (LTTR, Hobbit, etc.) it's definitely worth a pick up and read. It's all of 74 pages with numerous illustrations and big font, easily something to read for an hour or two in an show more afternoon. show less