Farmer Giles of Ham: Complete & Unabridged - J.R.R. Tolkien

...fairy stories.

Farmer Giles of Ham:The book I'm Reviewing.

The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth:A moving lament for the death of Beorhtnoth at the battle of Maldon in the year 991.

Smith of Wooton Major:Tells of the preparation of the great cake to mark the Feast of Good Children.

The Father Christmas Letters.

Roverandom:About a dog whos adventures take him to the moon and under the ...
...~The Story~

Farmer Giles of Ham is a fairy story about a farmer, his horse and his dog. In this story there is also a wily dragon;Chrysophylax of imperial line. And a giant, because of course no fairy story is complete without the odd dragon and a giant or two.

Farmer Giles is rather fat, he has a red beard and he lives in the village of Ham. He has a dog called Garm.

Late one night the giant goes out ... more

This is a review of the book only. This book is published by HarperCollins and is 144 pages long.

"Its imaginative atmosphere and magic are best captured when it is 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".

~About The Author~

I don't always do an "about the author" in my reviews but I have admired and been fascinated by J.R.R.TOLKEIN's work since first reading the hobbit at ten years old. This fascination has stayed with me into adulthood and as far as I know I have all or almost all of his work. Although Tolkien is best known for The Hobbit, The Lord Of The Rings trilogy and the Silmarillion, he has also written lots of other fantastic children's books:

Leaf by Niggle:Which recount's the strange adventures of the painter, Niggle.

On Fairy Stories:Discusses the nature of fairy stories.

Farmer Giles of Ham:The book I'm Reviewing.

The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth:A moving lament for the death of Beorhtnoth at the battle of Maldon in the year 991.

Smith of Wooton Major:Tells of the preparation of the great cake to mark the Feast of Good Children.

The Father Christmas Letters.

Roverandom:About a dog whos adventures take him to the moon and under the sea where he mets many fabulous and dangerous creatures.

Mr Bliss.

The Adventures of Tom Bombadil:A collection of songs and verses with hobbits, princesses, dwarves and trolls.

Old tom Bombadil was a merry fellow;
bright blue his jacket was and his boots were yellow,
green were his girdle and his breeches all of leather;
he wore in his hat a swan-wing feather.
He lived up under Hill, where the Withywindle
ran from grassy well down into the dingle.

I have listed them with a brief explanation of the book because most people only know Tolkien's more popular works.

John Ronald Rauel Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein in January 1892. Tolkien was orphaned in childhood and brought up in near poverty. He served in the first world war. Later in life he became Merton Professor of English at Oxford.

He was a contemporary and friend of that other great fantasy writer C.S.Lewis.

Then one day while he was marking essay papers he found himself writing 'In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit' - and worldwide renown awaited him. His books are translated into over 25 languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide. He was awarded a CBE, and an honorary Doctorate of Letters from Oxford University in 1972. He died in 1973 at the age of 81.

~The Story~

Farmer Giles of Ham is a fairy story about a farmer, his horse and his dog. In this story there is also a wily dragon;Chrysophylax of imperial line. And a giant, because of course no fairy story is complete without the odd dragon and a giant or two.

Farmer Giles is rather fat, he has a red beard and he lives in the village of Ham. He has a dog called Garm.

Late one night the giant goes out for a walk and ends up at farmer Giles's farm trampling and stamping on his cows and sheep. Garm wakes his master up who gets out his blunderbuss (a gun that fires anything farmer giles can stuff into it rubbish, stones, bones, wire and a half dozen nails on this occasion). Farmer Giles fires it at the giant and by luck it hits him in the face. The giant is stunned and decides to go home picking up a few sheep to eat along the way.

Farmer Giles becomes a bit of a local hero after this and even receives a letter and sword from the king. Everything seems perfect , that is-until the dragon came-I am not going to give away anymore of the story but will say Farmer Giles of Ham is one of Tolkiens most engaging stories which is full of wit and humour and is set in the days when giants and dragons walked the earth.

~My Opinion~

A well written magical story with lots of adventures along the way . I love this book because like all Tolkien's work it allows you to drift off into a fairy fantasy world where such giants, dragons and mystical creatures come to life.

~Age Suitable For~

Suitable for children aged 10 and over and adults who are young at heart.

~Genre~

Science fiction and fantasy

~Price And ISBN~

This book is available from Amazon online and is £5.39 plus postage.

ISBN 007177445 

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