Tree and Leaf
About this book
Fairy-stories are not just for children, as anyone who has read Tolkien will know. In his essay 'On Fairy-Stories', Tolkien discusses the nature of fairy-tales and fantasy and rescues the genre from those who would relegate it to juvenilia. This is aptly and elegantly illustrated in the haunting short story, 'Leaf by Niggle', which recounts the story of the artist, Niggle, who has 'a long journey' to make and is seen as an allegory of Tolkien 's life. The poem Mythopoeia relates an argument between two unforgettable characters as they discuss the making of myths. Written in the same period when 'The Lord of the Rings' was beginning to take shape, these two works show Tolkien's mastery and understanding of the art of sub-creation, the power to give fantasy the inner consistency of reality. Tree and Leaf is an eclectic, amusing, provocative and entertaining collection of works which reveals the diversity of J.R.R. Tolkien's imagination, the depth of his knowledge of English history, and the breadth of his talent as a creator of fantastic fiction.
Reader Profile
4.0/5 · 1786 readers · 112 pages · ≈ 2 h 04 m · Challenging
How long does it take to read Tree and Leaf?
About ≈ 2 h 04 m — 112 pages, assuming roughly 250 words per page at 225 words per minute.
How many pages is Tree and Leaf?
112 pages in its most-read edition.
What genre is Tree and Leaf?
It sits on the Fairy Tales shelves.
Is Tree and Leaf in the public domain?
No — it is still under copyright.
Who wrote Tree and Leaf?
J.R.R. Tolkien.