This (rare, landscape-format) instalment of the Dalek Game is for J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, and other verses from The Red Book, and particularly for Pauline Baynes’ beautiful, cascading, angular, half-Gothic, half-fairytale illustrations for it.
It is a lovely book, a very Hobbitish book, and while the illustrations and later heartbreak occasionally touch the elven austerity glimpsed in The Lord of the Rings, the words themselves are often sheer play – joyful literary silliness (“He battled with the Dumbledors, the Hummerhorns, and Honeybees”, “An unwary guest on a lunatic quest/from the Mountains of the Moon”, “The pard dark-starred, fleet upon feet”, “He passed the archipelagoes/where yellow grows the marigold”). It tells how Tom Bombadil defeated the Barrow-Wights and stole Goldberry, and of the Man in the Moon’s difficulties with time. It tells of princesses and vagabond knights, greedy hobbits, put-upon trolls, oliphaunts and mewlips, cats and giant turtles, loss and longing.
The fact that I haven’t read this belies what I tell others and myself, which is that I am a huge fan of the work of J.R.R. Tolkien. I do have this in a collection and have no excuse for being remiss.
I only recently discovered your work and must tell you how much I love it, particularly these Dalek Game images. In addition to the fun work I enjoy reading what you have to say about the stories that inspire them.
Thank you very much!
And I’m glad to have drawn it again to your attention :) My personal favourite is still Farmer Giles of Ham.
aaaand how do I buy a copy?? :D
Drawing or book? :)
Drawing!
Consult at con! Am considering fates of various drawings.
OOOH BOY
I adore the whimsy of this one! It’s almost as if they want to join him, but know that right afterwards they’d have to commit harikiri. Yet the joy would be worth it…
Poor things…
This is great, and I just read your “snapshot interview”! I’ll be interested to learn more about the children’s fantasy project when it is time for more info.
Oh, I shall be sure to let you know!
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This is wonderful! You have a new follower right now! x
Thank you Lily, and welcome!