We return to Book I, Chapter 3 of The Lord of the Rings to find Frodo, Sam, and Pippin still in high spirits as they stroll through the Shire. Before long, though, they realize that they’re being followed by a shadowy, sniffing black rider. We talk about the “unpremeditated turn” that transformed Tolkien’s Hobbit sequel into something darker and more adult, investigate trouble with the Big People, and even receive alarming news about Lobelia’s questionable plantation income. Oh, and if you hear surf guitars, get to high ground immediately.
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Recommended Reading:
Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (Mariner Books, paperback)
Rateliff, John D. The History of the Hobbit (HarperCollins, one-volume hardcover)
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Hobbit (Mariner Books, paperback)
Tolkien, J. R. R. (Christopher Tolkien, ed.) The Silmarillion (Mariner Books, paperback)
Tolkien, J. R. R., and Donald Swann. The Road Goes Ever On (HarperCollins, hardcover)
Re: Places in the US like Middle Earth:
I grew up in Northern Vermont. One of the reasons Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit resonated with me to the degree that they did was because the landscapes described by Tolkien, particularly the Shire, were so similar to what I lived in every day. Obviously, there are differences – Vermont is more forested, the flora is different (though similar), the hills are higher, and some of the roads are paved in asphalt. Nevertheless, I could leave my back door and walk into the fields and woods, and it was no stretch for me to see Middle Earth where I was.
That’s great, Ben! I haven’t spent any time in the Northeast, and I don’t believe Alan has either; but it must be beautiful countryside. It’s on my list to visit someday.