This volume collects two of J. R. R. Tolkien’s short books: Farmer Giles of Ham and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. I’ve already read the latter, and have reviewed it under another edition here, so I’ll concentrate on the former here. This is a fairly short story, aimed at a younger audience, about the titular Farmer Giles and how an encounter with a giant led to a series of increasingly heroic events. Even in this short volume, Tolkien can’t resist epic world-building, with the story being a foundation myth for something else (although set in what would become England, and not connected to Middle-Earth at all).
There are some lovely medieval-style “illuminated” illustrations to go along with the story (artist not credited in my edition) which really add to the atmosphere. I can’t say the same about the illustrations with The Adventures of Tom Bombadil though. Those are pixelated and low resolution, which is a shame because the originals (in colour in my other copy) are lovely.
