Smith of Wootton Major - Hardcover

Tolkien, J. R. R.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0007557280 ISBN 13: 9780007557288

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2015

Synopsis

A charming new pocket edition of one of Tolkien’s major pieces of short fiction, and his only finished work dating from after publication of The Lord of the Rings.

What began as a preface to The Golden Key by George MacDonald eventually grew into this charming short story, so named by Tolkien to suggest an early work by P.G. Wodehouse. Composed almost a decade after The Lord of the Rings, and when his lifelong occupation with the ‘Silmarillion’ was winding down, Smith of Wootton Major was the product of ripened experience and reflection. It was published in 1967 as a small hardback, complete with charming black and white illustrations by Pauline Baynes, and would be the last work of fiction to be published in Tolkien’s own lifetime.

Now, almost 50 years on, this enchanting tale of a wanderer who finds his way into the perilous realm of Faery is being published once again as a pocket hardback. Contained here are many intriguing links to the world of Middle-earth, as well as to Tolkien’s other tales, and this new edition is enhanced with a facsimile of the illustrated first edition, a manuscript of Tolkien’s early draft of the story, notes and an alternate ending, and a lengthy essay on the nature of Faery.

About this title

Review:

“The book has a haunting quality, characteristic of the best of the ‘deeper’ folktales. It is a beautiful, memorable story.” Times Educational Supplement

“It may be compared to the most delicate miniature but it is one of a rare kind: the more closely it is examined the more it reveals the grandeur of its conception. Whoever reads it at eight will still be going back to it at eighty.” New Statesman

“A tremendously valuable volume with important new insights into Tolkien’s way of working. It’s also a beautiful hardcover edition of the story.” Mythprint

From the Back Cover:

J.R.R. Tolkien's enchanting fairy-story.

Every twenty-four years in the village of Wootton Major the Feast of Good Children was held. This was a very special occasion and to celebrate it a Great Cake was prepared, to feed the twenty-four children who were invited. The cake was very sweet and rich and entirely covered in sugar icing. But inside there were some very strange ingredients and whoever swallowed one of them would gain the gift of entry into the Land of Faery...

"The book has a haunting quality characteristic of the 'deeper' folk-tales. It is a beautiful memorable story."
TIMES EDUCATIONAL SUPPLEMENT

"May be compared to the most delicate miniature but it is one of a rare kind: the more closely it is examined the more it reveals the grandeur of its conception. And whoever reads it at eight, will no doubt still be going back to it at eighty."
NEW STATESMAN

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0007557280
• ISBN 13: 9780007557288
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224
• Editor: Flieger Verlyn
• Illustrator: Baynes Pauline