I’m pretty sure I read Farmer Giles of Ham before I actually read the Lord of the Rings. It’s one of Tolkien's lesser works but it may be his most plain fun work.
Written in 1937 and published in 1949, Farmer Giles of Ham is a sendup of both fairy tales and epic literature. It tells the story of how the titular Farmer Giles gains both wealth and prestige through judicious use of luck and wits.
Which honestly sounds like any number of fairy tales like Puss in Boots.
One of the things that makes Farmer Giles of Ham such a hoot is the title character. He is a hard drinking, blustery, stubborn guy who still has the gumption to deal with a giant and a dragon. Oh, he doesn’t want to but he also sees the job through. He is a realistic character stuck putting with fairy tale stuff. And while he does change due to his adventures, he still keeps his feet of clay.
The book is also chock full of academic jokes, many of which I’m sure went over my head. I did like that Giles’ dog can talk but isn’t educated so he can’t even talk in Dog Latin. Tolkien was clearly have fun when he was writing this.
The setting is also silly fun, with plenty of anachronisms. Farmer Giles has a blunderbuss, despite the vague date of the setting is centuries before blunderbusses were developed. But who cares? Tolkien gets to have fun with the Oxford English Dictionary definition of blunderbuss.
The closest thing I have read to Farmer Giles of
Ham by Tolkien is the Hobbit. Which is by far the greater work and one of cornerstones of modern fantasy. I don’t think I’d have heard of Farmer Giles of Ham if it wasn’t for the Lord of the Rings.
Farmer Giles of Ham is a tiny footnote in a much bigger picture. But it is an entertaining bit of fun.
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