- In one set of notes Bilbo is to leave with 3 Took nephews (Odo, Drogo, and Frodo).
- They have adventures on their journey: "witch-house on the way to Rivendell" (p. 41, The Return of the Shadow). That could have been a very interesting adventure!
- Odo believe about 25% of Bilbo's tales, Drogo was less skeptical, and Frodo believe nearly everything.
- The Frodo of the notes is in NO way the forerunner of Frodo of The Lord of the Rings
- Another note details a conversation between father (Bilbo) and son (Bingo): "'Now I have spent all my money which seemed once to me too much and my own as gone after it [sic]. And I don't like being without after [?having] - in fact I am being lured" (p. 41, The Return of the Shadow).
- Bilbo seeks advice from Elrond to cure his dragon-sickness (want of money) and is told of an Island (Tolkien was still, at this point, kicking around a connection to England!) where the Elves still reigned and the rest of the story pointed toward a perilous journey to that isle.
- Also included are first notes about The Ring: "whence its origin. Necromancer? Not very dangerous when used for good purposes. But it exacts a penalty, You must either lose it, or yourself" (p. 42, The Return of the Shadow). Even his earliest jottings the Ring was more than a simple magic ring.
- It is Gandalf who advises a disappearance and Bingo (in this set of notes) confides in three friends: Odo, Frodo, and Vigo. As you can see the names are very fluid (and hard to differentiate) at this point. But I found it highly entertaining that for a brief period Vigo was considered as a hobbit name given the fact that Viggo Mortensen played a key role in the film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings.
- Other notes point to Bilbo going to Rivendell to cure the dragon-longing but that very longing is passed on to Bingo who possesses the Ring.
- Another set of notes lays out more adventures after the collection of a friend (now Frodo Brandybuck) which include the dubious Old Forest, getting lost, caught by Willowman and Barrow-wights, and the appearance of Tom Bombadil. It should be noted that the latter three pre-existed in poems Tolkien published several years before.
- A final note reads: "Ring must eventually go back to Maker, or draw you towards it" (p. 43, The Return of the Shadow).
It is very interesting to see the first germs beyond the opening chapter and how many core elements remained. While Tolkien would obsess over details like chronology, names, and word choice is first vision (in many cases) was quite clear.
Christopher Tolkien released bits of narrative next in the book. Snapshots of the journey of Bingo and his friends toward Rivendell. Some of these narratives would be taken up whole heartedly in what would become the next chapter others were wholly changed. Again, I'll give a few highlights:
- The Ring is still regarded fairly lightly as Bingo, invisible by wearing it, knocks his friends off a fence.
- Perhaps the biggest unprecedented turn, that gave Tolkien pause for a season, reads: "'I can hear a horse coming along the road behind!" (p. 47, The Return of the Shadow).
- Remarkably, this first mysterious encounter by a bundled and sniffing rider on a white horse is none-other than Gandalf himself! However, this scrap of narrative ends rather quickly indicating Tolkien gave up the idea of Gandalf showing up rather quickly.
- But the idea of the surprise rider stayed as evidenced by revisions to the passage: "Round a turn came a white [>black] horse, on it sat a bundle-or that is what it looked like: a small [>short] man wrapped entirely in a great [added: black] cloak and hood so that only his eyes peered out [. so that his face was entirely shadowed]…" (p. 48, The Return of the Shadow).
So the question becomes who is the mysterious black rider?
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