In the first pages of Book I, Chapter 1 of The Lord of the Rings, “A Long-Expected Party”, we see Bilbo Baggins through the eyes of the hobbits of the Shire, not all of whom view him kindly. Seeming eccentric to some and suspicious to others, Bilbo is nevertheless the chief topic of conversation as the occasion of his eleventy-first birthday approaches. While the Gaffer gabs in the Ivy Bush, we discuss the secret ambitions of the Sackville-Bagginses, admire Tolkien’s intractability towards proofreaders, and have fun with numbers in Old English.
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Recommended Reading:
Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (Mariner Books, paperback)
To Alan and Shawn:
I am late in finding your podcast, so maybe you have discussed this, but about Bilbo putting on the ring in the Shire. You discuss it in episode 95. Every time Frodo put the ring on, he could see things not in the real world AND Sauron and his minions felt the ring.
So, why didn’t Bilbo feel or see anything? Why didn’t Sauron, the ringwraiths, et al., head to the Shire then?
Just curious.
Bob Saigh
I don’t know that there’s a really good answer for this, Bob, but my hunch is that Sauron simply wasn’t looking for it yet… its powers were more subdued as a result, perhaps. Also, I’m not sure that Sauron and the Nazgûl would have been aware every time Frodo put the Ring on — unless they were in close proximity. For example, at Tom’s, there’s no indication that Frodo entered the ‘wraith world’ when he put on the Ring to make his ill-fated escape attempt. So I suspect it’s a matter of proximity for the bad guys… and a matter of the Ring not yet fully active for Bilbo.
01:15:45 “The three hobbit families of Bagshot Row.” The Bagginses were absolutely, definitively not one of these. Bag End being 1 Bagshot Row comes from a game spinoff. Bag End is in fact higher up the Hill, as is shown in Tolkien’s painting
https://www.reddit.com/r/lotr/comments/g8dcpf/the_hill_hobbiton_across_the_water_original_art/
The Gamgees are at Number 3. Daddy Twofoot is their next-door neighbour, so he is at Number 2. Who is at Number 1? Widow Rumble?
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