AUTHOR'S NOTES -


CHAPTER 4: STANDING STILL

Slowly they made their way out of the kitchen, and met Mrs. Cotton coming along the hallway. Sam lowered his head to hide the worst of the damage, although he realised the bruise would die in glorious colours for at least a week, and there would be no hiding it. Apparently, somewhere, there exists a plan of the Cotton’s farm drawn by Tolkien, in which all rooms open directly off the kitchen, and so there is no hallway. Since I haven’t even followed what Tolkien told us about Bag End, designing it to suit my own purpose, I saw no reason to change my idea of South Farm. To have all rooms opening off the kitchen seemed more suited to a hole-dwelling, but the Cottons’ farm is a house. The Return of the King, The Scouring of the Shire: “Sam hurried to the house. By a large door at the top of the steps from the wide yard stood Mrs. Cotton and Rosie, and Nibs in front of them grasping a pitch-fork.”

The Grange was destroyed as well as Bag End...
The Return of the King, The Scouring of the Shire: “The Old Grange on the west side had been knocked down, and its place taken by rows of tarred sheds.”

‘I love the breadth of your chest, Sam, and the soft cover of hair. I think you must have some Stoor blood in you.’

‘Don’t like water,’ said Sam, rather shortly because he wanted the wretched Fallohide to admire his chest with his hands, not with words.
See The Fellowship of the Ring, Prologue: Concerning Hobbits.

Stoors had facial hair (and maybe more body hair?) and lived near water; Frodo fits the descriptions of Fallohides mixed with a good dose of Harfoot. “Even in Bilbo’s time the strong Fallohidish strain could be noted among the greater families, such as the Tooks and the Masters of Buckland.” The fallohides were “fairer of skin and also of hair, and they were taller and slimmer than the others; they were lovers of trees and woodlands... They were more friendly with the Elves than the other hobbits were, and had more skill in language and song...” In Fellowship of the Ring, Strider Frodo is described as “taller than some and fairer than most.” The only similarity missing seems to have been “slim” since Gandalf calls Frodo a “stout little fellow...” but then, he may have been slimmer in his younger days. Frodo certainly considers himself “flabby” at the beginning of the story (The Fellowship of the Ring, Three is Company).