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| The Tenant from Staddle by Larner | 11 Review(s) |
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| Linda Hoyland | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 10/20/2006 |
| You always capture the minutae of Hobbit life well. Author Reply: Thank you, Linda! Got caught up last night with the sequel to Web of Treason and hope to see the last couple chapters soon. | |
| Radbooks | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 10/19/2006 |
| Bob and family have so much work to do getting that farm up and running... I don't envy them. :) I loved that Frodo caught the error even without being told... that's just like him, of course. I'm glad that Persivo is going to get a good education from good and decent hobbits. And then having his dad teaching him the stuff he needs to know about doing contracts outside the Shire will be very good, too. Author Reply: Yes, Frodo spots things like that, particularly as this came so soon after the last revision, and when he already has his eye on Lothario. And I suspect Persivo will like his first visit outside the Shire, which will come soon enough. Glad you had time to read. Looking forward to the next chapter, of course. | |
| Antane | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 10/18/2006 |
| "I doubt I’d have stamina for both the work here and at Berni’s side; and if I don’t--well, I doubt that Sam would allow it." "Is Sam your keeper now?" Bard asked. Frodo gave a saddened laugh. "My keeper? Perhaps. You must understand, Isumbard Took--Samwise Gamgee has been as my brother for years, and even more so since we left the Shire. He’s stood by me through trials you can’t begin to appreciate, and has helped me keep grounded when it felt as if my very soul must be torn asunder." Love it! Sam would always look after his Frodo. Namarie, God bless, Antane :) Author Reply: The two have always sought to look out for one another; but when Sam feels he is the stronger of the pair he WILL do so for Frodo. And so it is now. Thanks, Antane. | |
| Baggins Babe | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 10/17/2006 |
| Could Lothario be more obnoxious? He really is a crafty, devious so-and-so and I'm glad Perviso has his measure. He sounds a good and sensible lad who will be a good lawyer one day. So glad Frodo recognises just what sort Lothario is - the sort of lawyer intended in Shakespeare's Henry VI when Jack Cade yells 'First thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers!' Author Reply: Yes, one who hides behind only following through on other folks' intentions but in doing so seeking to see to it his own agenda is fulfilled and his pockets filled. Cade would be right in seeking to get rid of Lothario, I think. And Persivo has Baggins integrity as well as the better sort of Bracegirdle directness to him, plus the integrity his father and cousin Benlo exhibit. | |
| SurgicalSteel | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 10/17/2006 |
| Another great chapter - lots of lovely intrigue. Interesting that Bartolo and Frodo seem to have reached the same conclusions about one another - that they'll never be friends but they know the other to be an honorable person. That Lothario deserves something nasty to happen to him, though. Author Reply: No, never the friendship that ought to have grown between Bartolo and Frodo. But sometimes mutual respect is even more important. As for Lothario--it will be a while, but he'll get his. He's still being to cagey at this point. | |
| French Pony | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 10/16/2006 |
| Give us decent meals and spoke to all of us as if we all mattered. That's probably the kindest thing Frodo's done all throughout this story. He's been very good and conscientious about tracking down people's legal troubles, but what really shows off his strength of character is the way he treated that nice family. Author Reply: It's an old saying that it is in treating those who mean least to you that you show your true quality, and I think Frodo's was of the highest. He even accepted the dreaded dog for their sake, faced his fear of such creatures, accepting that this was one fear he should truly leave behind him. Thank you, French Pony. I appreciate the reviews. | |
| Andrea | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 10/16/2006 |
| "It appears the lad is as honorable as his father." Bard was surprised. "Bartolo Bracegirdle? Honorable? Since when?" Wow! What a hobbit! Frodo does very well know that Bartolo dislikes him. But for him that has nothing to do with Bartolo's skills as a lawyer. With the help of Bernigard Persivo Bracegirdle will be a skilled and just lawyer someday. But, in my eyes the most honorable hobbit in all of the Shire is Frodo Baggins :) Once again, he deeply impressed me. Author Reply: Frodo recognizes true honor and respectability when he sees it, and is, as you point out, probably the most honorable Hobbit around. And in part because Frodo recognizes that honor and integrity in Persivo as well as his father, he helps make certain both become even more his vision of them. Thanks so for the feedback. | |
| Kitty | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 10/16/2006 |
| Another chapter I've greatly enjoyed. Frodo trying to evade the questions of his cousins about Boboli and to distract with Pippin's clothes was so typical. Besides, he managed to make Sam's status as a friend and brother very clear, and somehow I have the feeling Bard was able to piece more deatils together than Frodo had intended. But what I most enjoyed was the way how Lothario fared. Bartolo's eldest acted very clever, even if it in the end wasn't needed, because Frodo caught the questionable clauses all by himself. What a fun to have him questioning Gammer Alma to reveal the way this new will was written and then sending Lothario away without success! Well, serves him right for underestimating Frodo so badly. And I don't begrudge Lothario even *one* coin he had to spent for this trip on lodging and all that for his relatives. Only a pity it wasn't more *evil grin* And I am glad they are reviewing if there are more wills presented by Lothario who might be used to cheat people in this way. Interesting idea to offer Frodo an apprenticeship with a lawyer, even if he is rather old for it and - what few know, of course - not healthy enough. But I think if Persivo is being offered this apprenticeship, it will be for the best - for Bartolo, Persivo himself and for the Shire. The boy is so intelligent, clever and perceptive and will make a great lawyer, I am sure. The meeting of the lawyers sounds to be interesting, too. It's a good idea to have all of them alerted to the way how so many contracts and wills were twisted to get an unfair advantage over someone, and that even now there are some certain people who still try to do it. Author Reply: Having everyone always worried about him and poking their noses into his business, even when the ones doing the poking are his beloved cousins, can and will get tiresome in the end, and I think Frodo would be trying not to distract Sam from his upcoming marriage by bringing to mind responsibilities outside the Shire at this time. Bard is realizing how much Frodo feels he owes to Sam, and how close they are as brothers of the heart. This will help the rest of the Shire accept Sam inheriting Bag End and being considered as Mayor for the Shire, I think. Persivo has inherited both the integrity his father shows and that common to the Bagginses; and to see someone taking advantage of his great grandmother I would think would make the lad livid--it would me, I know. And to see Lothario brought up short by true Baggins intelligence is satisfying to all of is, I think. Yes, he deserved to spend more than he did on this trip. Had a friend who when he found someone who appeared to be skilled at his specialty would go out of his way to try to teach them more. He's a truly dear man, and spent a good deal of time communicating with me during my graduate studies. And the lawyers of the Shire will made aware that inequitable contracts will not be tolerated and made part of the process of insuring such problems don't happen again. | |
| harrowcat | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 10/16/2006 |
| A chapter worth the waiting for Larner. Full of intrigue and just desserts! Love to see that Persivo is going to get such a great opportunity and that Sam is being acknowledged in his rightful place alongside Frodo. Author Reply: Real life hit this last week. Have spent an odd week trying to help a client prepare for an inspection of quarters, and feel very disheartened about it all. Although my hens finally once again have a rooster to keep them company, for the client's mother gave me a barred rock rooster to augment my tiny flock. Maybe I'll be able to have some chicks hatch out this year. Need now to go out to the chicken house and remove any excess eggs they have hidden out there. And Lothario's machinations are leading him to full investigation, although it will be several years before he finally gets his proper just desserts. Persivo deserves good training, and the Shire is beginning to realize there is more to Sam Gamgee than just a gardener, and more to the relationship between Frodo and Sam than just master/servant. Hope all is going well with you and your family. | |
| Elemmírë | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 10/16/2006 |
| Another great chapter Larner! I really love all the details that just add so much to any tale, like using a sheepskin so Pippin won't ruin his finely embroidered tabbard (Very wise decision, Pippin); the Ranger escort outside of Bree; Mina's thoughtful breakfast for Frodo (although what's a pullet egg?), etc. I continue to really enjoy this story. It's turning out to be another fine addition to the world within the Professor's world that you've created. I like reading all of the different viewpoints you come up with from characters that ineracted with Frodo at some point in his life ie: the Hedges, the Whitfoots, various Tooks, Bracegirdles, etc. It gives even more life to an already incredible saga. ~Elemmírë~ Author Reply: Sheepskin vests are fairly commonly used around my area by hikers and so on because of their warmth and versatility. That such would prove useful to someone like Pippin seemed likely. A pullet is a young hen, and their eggs tend to be smaller than they will lay once they are fully adult. I would think that considering all the devastation wrought in the Shire by the ruffians many of the hens they have laying at this time would be young ones, hens who were either not hatched or too small during the Time of Troubles to eat; most of these would now just be beginning to lay eggs. We kids used to love the pullet eggs and the ones laid by our bantam chickens when we were growing up, as they were just the right size for youngsters. 've written the Ranger escort for those traveling between the Shire and Bree into other stories, most notably in "The Ties of Family," where Narcissa in telling Frodo about how her father used to have such an escort when he was going into Bree to sell part of his vegetable crop to the proprietors of the Prancing Pony usually found himself with such an escort, and how he loved it when the Ranger Strider would shadow him as that particular Ranger would often sing as he rode and he loved it; and how he heard a story told by Strider one evening at the Prancing Pony (remember how Barliman Butterbur indicated in FOTR that Strider could truly tell a tale from time to time? Had to play with that one). And I'm glad you appreciate seeing things from different points of view. That I've indeed managed to give the story more depth is encouraging. Thank you. | |