Leaf by Niggle

J. R. R. Tolkien

Jun 2016 · HarperCollins · Narrated by Derek Jacobi

About this audiobook

Tolkien’s acclaimed modern classic ‘fairie’ tale, read by Derek Jacobi.

Leaf by Niggle recounts the strange adventures of the painter Niggle, who sets out to paint the perfect tree. But he senses that he will be snatched away from his work long before it is finished – if indeed it could ever be finished in this world. For it is in another and brighter place that Niggle finds his tree is finished, and learns that it is indeed a real tree, a true part of creation.

Written in the early 1940s at the same time as The Lord of the Rings was taking shape, ‘Leaf by Niggle’ is a passionate adult fairy tale about a man who has ‘a long journey to make’, thought to be an allegory of Tolkien’s own life.

Ratings and reviews

Few authors in history have mastered the art of intertwining vivid imagination, profound meaning, and mythical legend together as the great J.R.R. Tolkien. He is doubtless highly ranked among the most creative and well-beloved authors of all time. One of his lesser-known works is ‘Leaf by Niggle’. While the book is quite short and in composed in a thoroughly different style than the 'Lord of the Rings', I really enjoyed it. I believe the work offers a glimpse into what Tolkien modestly thought of himself and his labors as well as being a highly allegorical work on the Catholic doctrine of purgatory, which is paradoxical because Tolkien professed open hostility to allegory in fiction. If my theory is correct, it only goes to show that sometimes persons may resemble what they most criticize.

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About the author

J.R.R.Tolkien (1892-1973) was a distinguished academic, though he is best known for writing The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, plus other stories and essays. His books have been translated into over 70 languages and have sold many millions of copies worldwide.