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The Tenant from Staddle by Larner	10 Review(s)
Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 23 on 7/26/2007
Goodness they've all had a lot of information to take in and process! Barti will have to change his ideas a bit, like it or not - he's intelligent enough to put all the pieces together. Although the family members being oath bound not to share their information makes it a bit more difficult. Ned's scroll is a fascinating and precious piece of hobbit history. Just as well it's in an elf-made tube - I'm sure that's what has kept it intact. Good to be home - but I suspect all the family will be quite keen to travel again. Maybe Barti has produced a family of adventurers after all! Author Reply: So good to hear from you again! Life has been difficult here, too. Barti's changing his ideas, but he and Frodo are about to have an unfortunate argument, which will increase problems. Ned's scroll is first mentioned in "Stirring Rings," and you know how I love to weave the various stories together. And the tube is Mithril, whose properties are mentioned in "A Matter of Record." And Barti has no idea just where his children MIGHT end up as time progresses. I have an idea that Persi just might make many journeys to Annuminas....

Baggins Babe	Reviewed Chapter: 23 on 7/18/2007
Delphie is certainly a Baggins once she allows her curiosity free rein. How clever of her to ask all those questions, and now she knows the story. Discovering that all those legends were actually true must have been a shock but she dealt with it well. No place like home, and having everything your own size. Author Reply: Yes, definitely a Baggins at heart here. And in learning the history of Middle Earth she finds the last pieces she needs to appreciate what Frodo did and why. And each one who in this past couple of years has found legends springing up out of the grass has felt a bit overwhelmed and yet has managed to come to accept it in the end. And for a Hobbit, to return to the Shire must have felt remarkably reassuring--save for Frodo who commented it felt as if he were falling asleep again. After living on sheer adrenaline for as long as he did, coming home must have felt very--grey.

Telpethoron	Reviewed Chapter: 23 on 7/17/2007
Ahh...nothing like a good old fashioned history lesson. Ever since reading LOTR several years ago (just after the first film came out) I've been curious about the early history of Middle Earth. I've read "The Silmarillion", and I'm currently reading "Children of Hurin" - both fascinating books, to be sure. No doubt Barti is more than glad to be back home, after spending so much time in the company of folks other than hobbits. Well done, as always! Author Reply: As I'm working on "Stirring Rings" concurrently with this story, I've been following history of the Third Age and at times becoming overwhelmed with it. It's been a time since I read "The Silmarillion," and I'm working on CoH now. And I'm CERTAIN Barti's glad to be back in the Shire, just as I always am glad to return home from England when I visit, as eager as I was to go. There's something so comfortable to knowing I'll have my own appliances and can count on the milk being cold rather than tepid and the steaks cooked to my preferences. And Barti will be going back out again, of course--has to get the lease signed and witnessed, of course! Heh!

Linda Hoyland	Reviewed Chapter: 23 on 7/17/2007
War is such a sadly recurring cycle.A nice recap of the troubled history of M-e Author Reply: One English lord once said "The business of Mankind is warfare." Unfortunately, he seems to have it all too right, doesn't he? And I tried to put this into terms that Delphie could put together and find the final answers she wanted and needed from. Thanks for the feedback.

Antane	Reviewed Chapter: 23 on 7/17/2007
There is a price all heroes pay and for some it is very high. I saw a bumper sticker the other day that said Support Our Troops / Understand PTSD. We can't stop that happening anymore now than in Frodo's time because while we can protect the body, the Enemy slips under those defenses and reaches into the heart and soul. Sometimes the hidden wounds are the deepest ones and the hardest to treat and we just need to love and try to understand. Namarie, God bless, Antane :) Author Reply: Unfortunately, all too true, Antane. The deepest scars are far more than skin-deep.

Pryderi	Reviewed Chapter: 23 on 7/17/2007
Previous review. Second line: "third age" should be "first age". Who am I to criticise?? Author Reply: We ALL do it, Pryderi! Heh! Thanks for the giggle, too. I appreciated it. Author Reply: Okay--check that portion out now. And thanks again.

Kitty	Reviewed Chapter: 23 on 7/17/2007
Was amused about the vibrations from the footsteps. The human race seems to be a noisy sort grin Larner, I absolutely love the idea to have Delphie going back to the Greenwillows to ask about the war. Even if they knew Frodo didn’t want everyone to know more about his own business, he can’t be annoyed with anyone who wants to know more about history and the world outside the Shire. I was so pleased Delphie asked at all, particularly as the Hobbits have been so insular and disinterested in other peoples matters for so long. And even if there were some things Analisë couldn’t tell her, she knew enough already to guess the most important parts. But even without that – it is good some Hobbits finally take an interest in history. How nice of the Greenwillows to give Barti the box. And I like the idea the Hobbits are taking all these model contracts back with them and that Persi is already qualified. Now I wonder how the Bracegirdles will react to meeting Frodo again, after all the knowledge they have gained during this trip to Bree. whispers You know, Delphie being so interested in the outer world could be the first step to a journey south ;-) Author Reply: Tolkien does indicate that Hobbits are only slightly less soundless than Elves when they walk, and that they consider Men to be hopelessly loud. Just the awareness of the vibrations of the floorboards of the house must have given Delphie pause. Delphie is Baggins (and probably Took as well) enough to want to know "Why?" We've had this war going on, and it's led to all this fuss, to the point this Sharkey and his minions used Lotho to gain a foothold within the Shire and sought to overrun it and subjugate it? Well, who are these folk and what is their interest in bothering us? We're just Hobbits, after all, and don't bother anyone and don't WANT to do so.... I suspect that Bilbo tended to tell the important tales to those of the younger fry who'd stay to listen, and that in this way Frodo, Freddy, Folco, Sam, Merry, and many of the cousins between Frodo's age and Pippin's all had a rudimentary knowledge of the world of Arda they didn't realize was more than just stories about Elves. Frodo, studying directly with Bilbo, had more direct knowledge and awareness these were in fact history; Sam, hearing Bilbo's instruction of Frodo and hearing and reading stories on his own and able to discuss them with Frodo and Bilbo, would also be more prepared than the others to begin putting them into context once he reached Rivendell. (As I indicated in my preface to "For Eyes to See as Can," I've always felt Sam was far, far more intelligent that Tolkien indicated or than Sam believed of himself!) Once he attended the Council of Elrond, for Frodo all this was more than just tales; Strider had clicked into place as THE Dúnedan and the proper heir of Isildur and thus the rightful king of both Kingdoms; Morgoth and Sauron were more than overwhelming villains--they were intended to stand before the Creator himself--and if they are real, then the Creator is real as well.... If Bilbo and Frodo both tended to tell tales at the Free Fair and in the Commons of the villages they visited and the Great Halls of the greater smials they visited, I suspect that Delphie had already heard many tales that at that moment are clicking into place in her own mind, for her, too, no longer merely entertaining stories but part of the great history of the world in which all these folk--Elves, Dwarves, Men, and Hobbits live. And am glad you like the box. And here Persi is, not yet fully a Lawyer of the Shire, yet already qualified to write contracts OUTSIDE the Shire! Yes, a pleasing irony. And it will probably lead to journeys ONE day....

Pryderi	Reviewed Chapter: 23 on 7/17/2007
I have been really enjoying this story and looking forward to your frequent posts of further chapters. I too noticed the problem with the length of the third age, which I think you should correct. No doubt you will not feel constrained by the precision of "590" particularly as, technically, years could not be measured until the rising of Anor!. However I was prompted to let you know of an even more pedantic concern which I have not only about this story of yours but others that I have looked at. When I first discovered you describing Rhuadar I wondered if the spelling had changed since my (very early) edition of LotR. But in all my researches I could find no other spelling than Rhudaur. Well spelling isn't a big deal for me and I know little Sindarin but this seems more important than spelling. As I understand it adar is Sindarin for father so Rhuadar means Fatherland or somesuch. It may be your intention to change the name to give this implication in which case I retreat and apologise. I would have no problems with that. On the other hand Rhudaur doesn't look Sindarin to me (I am no expert!). It looks to me like the Professor devising an uncouth name to imply the "fallen" nature of the Kingdom. Enough of that: I do hope that now Barti and the family are back in the Shire that we haven't heard the last of Master Alvric and Miss Denra Gorse. You cannot leave your avid readers speculating forever about their future! Keep up the good work. Pryderi. Author Reply: Sorry about this. I sometimes think I may almost have a form of dyslexia, as a word will find its way into my mind in a particular way, and that's how it stays until I'm knocked up alongside the head with the correct spelling; and you will note that although I've been reading "The Lord of the Rings" regularly for close to 44 years now I consistently write "Middle Earth" instead of the more canonical "Middle-earth" because EVERY time I go to write it that's what WILL come out. Don't ask why. And so "Rhudaur" has always been seen in that portion of my brain that holds the name as "Rhuadar." It may take some time to get it all corrected in every story, but--well, what can I say? On West of the Moon it may NEVER get properly corrected. (Grinning apologetically.) I have four editions of ROTK myself--the ACE paperback, the mid-sixties edition, the Redbook slipcased edition of LOTR, and the Alan Lee Tolkien Centenniel edition; first time I read a later edition and realized Tolkien had given Aragorn twenty more years of life than he'd known originally (as well as excising a part of the outburst toward Gimli after the commanding of the Palantir) I was a bit shocked. Then to realize that between the mid-sixties and later editions Aragorn now had THREE portions to his throne name took me even more aback. The second and third ages lasted roughly three thousand years; and so I tend to think of the first lasting roughly the same, even though much of it was before the rising of Sun and Moon and thus is perhaps beyond assigning proper time to. But I will do what I can to correct the final situation. Please forgive me. Barti isn't through yet with his travelling between the Shire, Bree, and the Hedge's farm, and Alvric has a few journeys to make of his own north to Annúminas and Fornost; and Denra does have her unwanted suitors to contend with. And Frodo will eventually meet with most of these. And thanks for the constructive criticism. I do appreciate it.

Dreamflower	Reviewed Chapter: 23 on 7/17/2007
Poor Delphinium! It must have been like having the Encyclopedia of Arda dropped on her head! How disconcerting for her to have to think about the beginning of the world--not something hobbits are accustomed to doing, as JRRT says they are not "religious" as a race! And poor Mistress Greenwillow, having to explain it all to someone who has no frame of reference. And now Delphinium kncws it all. True, Mistree Greenwillow didn't actually tell her that Frodo carried the Ring off to Mount Doom, but she didn't leave any doubt, either. And the family is home now, and Barti is going to have to face Frodo... Author Reply: Yes, Delphie has had the crash course. These aren't just odd magical beings knocking about who've been causing problems for folks, but those intended to assist in the running of Arda itself who've gone wrong; and it took a HOBBIT of all creatures to see to the destruction of Sauron! Pet, Persi, Lyssa, and Barti know the what of what happened, but only Mummy fully appreciates now the WHY of it--but then she is a Baggins by birth. When Frodo sails, I suspect that Delphie will be the only one in the family to truly appreciate what his choice is and why. And Barti is going to have to face Frodo--soon--just as Frodo announces he won't accept proper election as Mayor....

Fiondil	Reviewed Chapter: 23 on 7/17/2007
"For three thousand years they fought, Morgoth and those who opposed him...." Actually, it was only 590 years between the First Rising of Ithil to the War of Wrath (more or less). Still, it was a most comprehensive look at the history of the war against Morgoth, and later, Sauron and those who opposed them. I'm curious to know what is written in Sindarin on the scroll, myself.... will we ever find out? Always look forward to your updates. Author Reply: Yes, the Sindarin of the scroll will be described briefly at least, although much of it those who've read "Stirring Rings" will already know in part. And thanks to you, also, for the correction to the War of Wrath. Author Reply: Okay, now check out the relevant section again, Fiondil. Thanks again.

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