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1999 Farmer Giles of Ham (Derek Jacobi)
Release Date: 1999.11.15
Reader: Sir Derek Jacobi
Language: English
Translator: n/a
Organisation: HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: See below
Duration: 1 hours 47 minutes
Unabridged: Yes
Country: UK
Licenced: Yes
Formats: Cassette, CD, Digital
Sir Derek Jacobi is a legendary British actor of stage and screen as a narrator, he brings a “grand old storyteller” energy to the poems. He manages to sound like a Shire elder recounting old rhymes by a fireplace.
Tolkien wrote Farmer Giles of Ham to be read aloud (it originally began as a story for his children). Jacobi’s training allows him to handle the “long, rhythmic sentences” and the humorous Latinized names in a way that makes the comedy land much better than a standard reading. It is often cited as the best entry point for listeners new to Tolkien’s non-Middle-earth writings.
It was included in the HarperCollins 2010 collection entitled Tales from the Perilous Realm on CD. See separate entry for the rather confusing and complicated history of the two different collections using this name.
Release History
| Release Date | ISBN | Publisher | Format | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 / 2001 | 0618114807 | Mariner Books / HarperCollins | 2 Cassettes | |
| 2003 | 0007177445 | HarperCollins Audio | 2 CDs | |
| 2005 | 9780007227839 | HarperCollins Audio | CD Box Set | Tolkien Treasury |
| 2010 | 9780007237333 | HarperCollins Audio | CD Box Set | Tales From the Perilous Realm |