Hobbit Tales, or Never There And Back Again...
© Michael Martinez
The reason J.R.R. Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings was that his readers wanted to read more about hobbits. When first told this by his publishers, Tolkien replied, "I cannot think of anything more to say about hobbits. Mr. Baggins seems to have exhibited so fully both the Took and the Baggins side of their nature" (Tolkien, "The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien", p. 24).
In the end he produced a great epic not only about Hobbits but also about Elves, Dwarves, Ents, and Men. But Tolkien didn't stop there. He wrote so much more which went unpublished for decades. Most of his fans probably still do not know why Gollum could speak of receiving birthday presents when the hobbits of the Shire gave presents on their birthdays (the answer: Gollum's people had different customs from the Shirefolk). And it's doubtful many people know the story of Lalia the Fat, the Tookish matriarch who held on to family power after her husband, Fortibras II, died in S.R. 1380. She ruled the Tooks for 22 years, and her son Ferumbras III -- Thain and leader of the Shire-moot -- lived in a single room at Great Smials, unable to find a wife. Lalia died under mysterious circumstances, and rumors suggested that her niece Pearl Took (sister of Peregrin, Frodo's friend Pippin) pushed Lalia down the hillside, possibly with the family's approval or at least tacit acceptance.
Questions about other Hobbits besides Bilbo and Frodo are occasionally posted on the Tolkien news groups, or the various message boards. These are not easy questions to answer. For example, where did Bilbo's uncle Isengar Took (S.R. 1262-1360) go when he "went to sea in his youth"? How did he get there? Whose ships did he sail on? If we assume he took off around the age of 20, that would have been the year 2882 by Stewards' Reckoning.
In that year Thorin II Oakenshield was living quietly west of the Shire, Durin's Heir and leader of a small but growing community of Longbeard Dwarves in the Ered Luin. Gimli the son of Gloin was about 3 years old. Argonui, great-grandfather of Aragorn, was Chieftain of the Dunedain of the North, and Thorondir died and was succeeded as Ruling Steward of Gondor by his son Turin II. And, what the heck, the last unnamed Lord of Dol Amroth was still ruling in Belfalas (his son was Aglahad, great-grandfather of Prince Imrahil).
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