Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview
  • Tales from the Perilous Realm

  • By: J. R. R. Tolkien
  • Narrated by: Derek Jacobi
  • Length: 7 hrs and 42 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (163 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Tales from the Perilous Realm

By: J. R. R. Tolkien
Narrated by: Derek Jacobi
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

Combined into one volume, this is the definitive collection of Tolkien’s five acclaimed modern classic ‘fairie’ tales in the vein of The Hobbit, read by Derek Jacobi.

The five tales are written with the same skill, quality and charm that made The Hobbit a classic. Largely overlooked because of their short lengths, they are finally together in a volume which reaffirms Tolkien's place as a master storyteller for readers young and old.

  • Roverandom is a toy dog who, enchanted by a sand sorcerer, gets to explore the world and encounter strange and fabulous creatures.
  • Farmer Giles of Ham is fat and unheroic, but – having unwittingly managed to scare off a short-sighted giant – is called upon to do battle when a dragon comes to town;
  • The Adventures of Tom Bombadil tells in verse of Tom's many adventures with hobbits, princesses, dwarves and trolls;
  • Leaf by Niggle recounts the strange adventures of the painter Niggle who sets out to paint the perfect tree;
  • Smith of Wootton Major journeys to the Land of Faery thanks to the magical ingredients of the Great Cake of the Feast of Good Children.

Taken together, this rich collection of tales from the author of The Children of Húrin will provide the reader with a fascinating journey into lands as wild and strange as Middle-earth.

©2016 J. R. R. Tolkien (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers Limited
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Fall of Gondolin cover art
Beren and Lúthien cover art
The Fall of Númenor cover art
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil cover art
The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth cover art
The Children of Hurin cover art
Unfinished Tales cover art
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight cover art
The Silmarillion cover art
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Dramatised) cover art
The Lord Of The Rings: The Return of the King (Dramatised) cover art
The Hobbit (Dramatised) cover art
Roverandom cover art
Smith of Wootton Major cover art
Farmer Giles of Ham cover art
The Princess and the Goblin cover art

What listeners say about Tales from the Perilous Realm

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    93
  • 4 Stars
    42
  • 3 Stars
    23
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    108
  • 4 Stars
    25
  • 3 Stars
    9
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    82
  • 4 Stars
    37
  • 3 Stars
    20
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Tolkien… never what it seems

Delightfully simple almost childlike tales but with subtle insights into Tolkien’s deep spiritual views. In particular Smith of Wooton Major and my favourite Leaf by Niggle. Shame that the essay On Fairy Stories was not narrated as this is in published hardback edition.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

FIX THE CHAPTERS

Other Audible audiobooks consisting of short stories manage named chapters in the app to allow easy navigation so why can’t an important book by a major publisher?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

No chapter headings

Nicely read, and great for Tolkien fans like myself.

Badly spoiled by the lack of informative chapter headings. A book of short stories would surely benefit from being able to jump to the beginning of any particular story, but the chapter headings are seemingly random with no detail at all.

A real shame to go to all of the effort of reading the book out and then not to quite finish it off

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Dogs, dragons - and the Man in the Moon

Farmer Giles of Ham is the standout story in this collection - tales of the unexpected by the master of fantastical fiction. It’s a kind of parody of dragon-slaying folklore and its eponymous protagonist becomes an unlikely hero after taking on a formidable ‘worm’. It’s brilliantly narrated, as are all the tales, by the wonderful Derek Jacobi. The first story concerns the dog Roverandom and his run-in with the irascible wizard Artaxerxes. The Man in the Moon - the greatest magician of all - makes an appearance. It’s a novella and very charming in its way, but probably outstays its welcome - though it is essentially a children’s story. That goes for most if not all of the stories in this collection, but adults - and in particular Tolkien devotees - will also love them. The Tom Bombadil section is in verse. Again, it drags on a bit, although the verse has great musicality and Jacobi reads it very well. Leaf by Niggle, the final story, is allegorical and even has an arguably Kafka-esque feel, at least thematically. It doesn’t work as well as some of the others - but again it’s charming, and beautifully read. This is a must for Tolkien fans and a good possible introduction to his work for younger listeners.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Just so relaxing

Perfect reading of these stories, brought together in one volume. The only criticism is a technical one. Why when each story, poem or chapter has a name does audible only list them as chapter 1,2,3 ..... etc

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

dogs

I like dogs and fantasy this is perfect for me :3
I keep coming back :D

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

lovely listen

Apart from Tom's story ( personal preference), it's a delightful collection of stories in typical Tolkien's style.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Hmm

I'm not really sure what I think of this odd collection of stories. Tolkien's imagination is clear but I found some of them quite unfathomable. I'm not sure how many children would enjoy them. Brilliantly read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Tales from a perilous realm.

one of Tolkien's lesser known works,in truth I found it rather tedious but redeemed by the leaf by Niggle story and not without humour in fairness.
Derek Jacobi's voice also seemed absolutely ideal light and more than capable of expressing both the humour & when necessary the odd time of darkness .
I have mr. jacobi's Letters from Father Christmas also by Tolkien which I think is superior and well worth a listen especially at this time of the year.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant stories and it was very well read.

Brilliant stories and it was very well read. I love all these books. Isaac, age 8.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!