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{{book
[[File:Smith of Wootton Major Leaf by Niggle (HarperCollins Audiobook).jpg|thumb|Cover art for the audiobook by [[Pauline Baynes]] depicting Niggle painting the Tree]]
|title=Leaf by Niggle
|image=[[File:Leaf by Niggle 2016.jpeg|275px]]
|author=[[J.R.R. Tolkien]]
|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]
|date=January [[1945]]<br>Separate book: [[28 July]] [[2016]]
|format=Paperback; audio-book
|pages=64
|isbn=0008205531
}}
'''''Leaf by Niggle''''' is a short story written by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]] around [[1942]], first published in ''[[The Dublin Review (January 1945)|The Dublin Review]]'' in [[1945]].<ref>[[Christina Scull]] and [[Wayne G. Hammond]] ([[2017]]), ''[[The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide]]'' (Revised and Expanded Edition): II. Reader's Guide, "''Leaf by Niggle''" pp. 658-9</ref>


"'''Leaf by Niggle'''" is a short story written by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]] in 1938-39 and first published in ''[[The Dublin Review (January 1945)|The Dublin Review]]'' in January [[1945]]. It can be found, most notably, in Tolkien's book titled ''"[[Tree and Leaf]]"'', and in other places. This is notable because the book, consisting of a seminal essay called "[[On Fairy-Stories]]" and "Leaf by Niggle", offers the underlying philosophy of much of Tolkien's fantastical writings. The story is very much an [[#Analysis|allegory]] of Tolkien's own creative process, and, to an extent, of his own life. Tolkien wrote in [[Letter 241]], "It is not really or properly an 'allegory' so much as 'mythical'". On the other hand, in [[Letter 153]] he said, "I tried to show allegorically how [subcreation] might come to be taken up into Creation in some plane in my 'purgatorial' story Leaf by Niggle".
It is included in the book ''[[Tree and Leaf]]'' (1964) and in other compilations, such as ''[[The Tolkien Reader]]'' (1966), ''[[Poems and Stories]]'' (1980), and ''[[Tales from the Perilous Realm]]'' (1997).


== Plot ==
Its first separate appearance seemed to be a [[2003]] private print by the [[Wikipedia:Trinity Forum|Trinity Forum]], in this edition there is a foreword and a "group discussion guide" at the end.<ref>{{webcite|articleurl=https://www.tolkienguide.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?post_id=11502#forumpost11502|articlename=Interesting eBay Auctions|website=[https://www.tolkienguide.com/ Tolkien Collector's Guide]|accessed=11 November 2022}}</ref> The separate book was formally released by [[HarperCollins]] in [[2016]].
The story begins by explaining that an artist, named [[Niggle]], has a long journey to make, but procrastinates on it due to disliking the idea.


Despite being a painter, he spent much of his time being hindered from painting. The laws of his society forced him to do things he considered a nuisance. Most of the time, he could not find a way out of these things, though he did them well. He had other distractions as well such as being kind and being idle (doing nothing). Most of the time he was kind, he did small jobs for his neighbor , Mr. Parish, who had a lame leg. However, Niggle is described as not really taking any joy in being kind and even occasionally loosing his temper. His final distraction from painting was whenever he occasionally remembered his journey and ineffectively packed a few things.
== Overview ==
''Leaf by Niggle'' is very much an allegory of Tolkien's own creative process, and, to an extent, of his own life. Although Tolkien actively defended against being allegorical. He admitted having been just that in ''Leaf by Niggle'' in [[Letter 199|a letter]] to Caroline Everett ([[24 June]] [[1957]]):<ref>{{webcite|articleurl=https://tolkienlibrary.com/reviews/leafbyniggle.htm|articlename=Leaf by Niggle - a symbolic story about a small painter|accessed=12 June 2022|website=TL}}</ref>


Despite having many pictures, he does not consider himself good enough to paint them, focusing rather on leaves rather than bigger things like trees.
{{blockquote|''"I should say that, in addition to my tree-love (it was originally called The Tree), it arose from my own pre-occupation with the Lord of the Rings, the knowledge that it would be finished in great detail or not at all, and the fear (near certainty) that it would be 'not at all'. The war had arisen to darken all horizons. But no such analyses are a complete explanation even of a short story..."''}}


Working only to please himself, he paints a canvas of a great Tree, in the middle of a Forest, with many other trees around as well. He invests each and every leaf of his tree with obsessive attention to detail, making every leaf uniquely beautiful (of course, he ''niggles'' over each one!). Niggle ends up discarding all his other artworks, or tacks them onto the main canvas, which becomes a single vast embodiment of his vision.
== Synopsis==
Niggle is an artist who paints to please himself, living in a society that holds art in little regard. His main occupation is a huge painting of great tree. He started with one single leaf and the painting grows around it. Niggle hopes to draw every leaf in detail. Soon Niggle finds birds in the trees, hills that are visible through the branches. And so the painting grows and takes up all time from the painter. Niggle takes time off from his work, because of politeness, to aid his neighbor, a gardener named Parish who is lame and has a sick wife. In the process of helping Niggle catches a sickness.


However, there are many mundane chores and duties that prevent Niggle from giving his work the attention it deserves, so it remains incomplete and is not fully realized.  
Then he is forced to take a trip, but was ill prepared for it (partly due to his illness) and ends up in Workhouse Infirmary where he must labour each day. He is paroled and sent to work as a gardener in the country. He realizes that he is in fact working in the forest of his painting, but the Tree is the true realization of his vision, not the flawed version in his art.


At the back of his head, Niggle knows that he has a great trip looming, and he must pack and prepare his bags.
Niggle is reunited with Parish, his neighbour, and together they make the forest even more beautiful. Finally Niggle travels to the far reaches of the forest, to places on the fringe of his canvas.
 
Also, Niggle's next door neighbor, a gardener named Parish, is the sort of neighbor who always drops by whining about the help he needs with this and that. Moreover, Parish is lame of foot and has a sick wife, and honestly needs help &mdash; Niggle, having a good heart, takes time out to help.
 
And Niggle has other pressing work duties that require his attention. Then Niggle himself catches a chill in the rain upon going out to get a doctor for Mrs. Parish and a builder for Mr. Parish’s roof. However, the doctor arrives two days later, in time to deal with both Mrs. Parish and Niggle. The builder never comes at all.
 
More than a week later, Niggle's cold fades away and he tries to paint again, only to be interrupted by the Inspector of Houses, who threatens to take Niggle’s painting away to fix Parish's roof under the justification that "houses come first" as "That is the law".
 
When Niggle tries to protest, he is interrupted yet again by a man wearing all back who calls himself the Driver. The Driver forcibly takes Niggle away in a carriage, giving him very little time to pack. The driver takes him to a train, which then takes him through a dark tunnel and to a railway station. Niggle is so surprised as he is rushed out by a Porter that he forgets the one bag that he had time to pack. As a result of the missing luggage, the Porter ends up sending Niggle in a ambulance to a place called the [[Workhouse Infirmary]]. Niggle describes his experience there as akin to a prison and that the officials and attendants were unfriendly and the only person he ever saw was a severe doctor. During his life there, he at first worried endlessly about the past, pondering on his life choices. Eventually, he becomes accustomed to his life there that he becomes good at the work. He became the "master of his time". In other words, he conquered his procrastination and no longer was restless inside.
 
Eventually, he is forced to take a break by the severe doctor. During that break, he overhears two voices speaking about what the First Voice calls "the Niggle case".
 
The Second Voice makes the argument that through Niggle put off his journey until the last minute, "His heart was in the right place".
 
The First voice counters that his heart did not function correctly and that he wasted so much time and that he arrived at the Workhouse Infirmary without any luggage. The first voice believes that Niggle should spend more time working.
 
The Second Voice suggests to the first that they should decide Niggle's fate by looking at the Records for favorable points, though the first voice assumes that there would be very few.
 
Eventually, he is paroled from the institution, and he is sent to a place in the country to work as a gardener in a forest. But he discovers that the forest is in fact the Tree and Forest of his great painting, now long abandoned and all but destroyed (except for the one perfect leaf of the title which is placed in the local museum) in the home to which he cannot return &mdash; but the Tree here and now in this place is the true realization of his vision, not the flawed and incomplete form of his painting.
 
Niggle is reunited with his old neighbor, Parish, who now proves his worth as a gardener, and together they make the Tree and Forest even more beautiful. Finally, Niggle journeys farther and deeper into the Forest, and beyond into the great mountains that he only faintly glimpsed in his painting.
 
At the end of the book, the two voices conclude the story. The Second Voice considers Niggle's area to be the perfect holiday spot and that they are sending more people there.
 
The First Voice proposes that they have to give the region a name.
 
However, the Second Voice claims that the Porter had the matter already settled some time ago, when he shouts "Train for [[Niggle's Parish]] in the bay". The Second Voice claims right after that they sent a message to Niggle and Mr. Parish to see what they think of the name.
 
The First Voice presses the Second Voice to tell them and is told:
 
"They both laughed. Laughed—-the Mountains rang with it!"


== Characters ==
== Characters ==
Listed in order of appearance:
<div style="-moz-column-width: 400px; -webkit-column-width: 400px; column-width: 400px; -moz-column-gap: 15px; -webkit-column-gap: 15px; column-gap: 15px; -webkit-column-rule: 1px solid #cccccc; -moz-column-rule: 1px solid #cccccc; column-rule: 1px solid #cccccc;">Listed in order of named appearance:
# '''[[Niggle]]''' - An obsessive artist who needed to make a journey; Lived within a pleasant house miles away from town; Distracted constantly by interruptions; A distant friend fell ill; his neighbor pressed him for chores; He was constantly kept from niggling on every detail of his life's work. He was kindhearted, in a grumbling, reluctant kind of way.<ref>[[Leaf by Niggle]]</ref>
# '''Mr. Parish''' - An old man with a lame foot who was given the name '''Old Earthgrubber''' by Niggle; Was once ill with lumbago; Pressed his neighbor to do several chores for him, not understanding that they took time away from Niggle's art. Moved eventually to Niggle's Parish, finally understanding the art, and waited for his wife to join him.
# '''Mrs. Parish''' - The wife of Mr. Parish. Later, she was mentioned to be mopping up some rain water wondering if Niggle had forgotten to meet with the builder.
# '''Doctor''' - A doctor who worked within the town where Niggle lived; Enlisted by Niggle to cure Mrs. Parish's cold but took two days to arrive.
# '''Builder''' - A builder who worked within the town where Niggle lived; Enlisted by Niggle to fix Parish's roof and never arrived at all.
# '''Inspector of Houses''' - A very tall man and an enforcer of the ''houses come first'' law; Was once in the past called to inspect Niggle's neglected garden; Threatened to use ''Niggle's Picture'' to fix Parish's roof.
# '''Driver''' - A very tall man, clad all in black, who forcibly began Niggle's journey; Drove him by carriage to the Porter's railway station.
# '''Porter''' - The person who sent Niggle to the Workhouse Infirmary. Later coined the name ''Niggle's Parish''.
# '''Severe doctor''' - A doctor who worked at the Workhouse Infirmary; Supervised Niggle during his stay there.
# '''First Voice''' - A very severe voice; One of two voices that Niggle heard during a break at the Workhouse Infirmary.
# '''Second Voice''' - A gentle, but authoritative voice, sounding both sad and hopeful; One of two voices that Niggle heard during a break at the Workhouse Infirmary. Later considered Niggle's Parish to be the perfect holiday spot.
# '''Shepherd''' - A man who lived as a shepherd within the Mountains just beyond the Edge of Niggle's Parish; Offered to be Niggle's guide to the mountains beyond and revealed to Parish that this was the land from ''Niggle's Picture''.
# '''Councillor Tompkins''' - A councillor who lived at Niggle's old home; Claimed that Niggle had no use to Society at all, and that Society should have "put him away" forever long ago at the "Rubbish Heap", possibly another name for the Workhouse Infirmary.
# '''Atkins''' - A schoolmaster who claimed that Niggle is pitiful; Saved a piece of ''Niggle's Picture'', and framed it at the Town Museum.
# '''Perkins''' - A person who never knew that Niggle painted, yet voiced pity regardless.
</div>


# [[Niggle]]
== Locations and terms ==
# [[Mr. Parish]]
<div style="-moz-column-width: 400px; -webkit-column-width: 400px; column-width: 400px; -moz-column-gap: 15px; -webkit-column-gap: 15px; column-gap: 15px; -webkit-column-rule: 1px solid #cccccc; -moz-column-rule: 1px solid #cccccc; column-rule: 1px solid #cccccc;">Listed in order of named appearance:
# [[Mrs. Parish]]
# '''Town Council''' - The local government of the town that Niggle lived in. Niggle tried to save his painting from the Inspector of Houses by suggesting that Parish should file a complaint to the council to fix his roof, damaged by the rain.
# [[Doctor]]
# '''Emergency Service''' - An agency run by the Town Council that is responsible for providing disaster relief to the town. According to the Inspector of Houses, they could not deal with Parish's roof due to more significant damage from a flood in the nearby valley that left many families homeless.
# [[Builder]]
# '''Houses come first law''' - A law in the Society where Niggle lived that says that the fixing of houses must come before leisure activities, such as painting.
# [[Inspector of Houses]]
# '''[[Workhouse Infirmary]]''' - A prison like place that locked up people who did not "contribute" to Society and forcing them to work; The place was run by severe officials and attendants who were unfriendly and silent; Possibly referred to by Councilor Tompkins as the '''Rubbish Heap'''. There was a railway station just below the green hill the infirmary was on.
# [[Driver]]
# '''Medical Board/Court of Inquiry''' - A council at the Workhouse Infirmary that was comprised of at least the two voices. Their meetings took place in the room next to Niggle's room with the door open.
# [[Porter]]
# '''Records''' - The name of the documented report on Niggle's background that the Workhouse Infirmary possessed; It was read and used by the Second Voice to convince the First Voice to allow Niggle to be put through the Gentle Treatment.
# [[Severe Doctor]]
# '''Calls''' - A name given by the First Voice to refer to the action in Society of one person asking another person for help; The First Voice claimed that this type of action was called '''Interruptions''' by Niggle.
# [[First Voice]]
# '''[[Gentle Treatment]]''' - The name of the procedure that the Second Voice recommended to the Niggle case where the Workhouse Infirmary provides the subject with new clothes, breakfast, and a treatment for injuries before allowing them to leave for the next stage.
# [[Second Voice]]
# '''Great Tree''' - A name given by Niggle to the physical representation of the Tree from his painting and the central location within Niggle's Parish.
# [[Shepherd]]
# '''Forest''' - A physical representation of the Forest from ''Niggle's Picture'' located within Niggle's Parish, growing off in the distance on both sides of the Great Tree.
# [[Councillor Tompkins]]
# '''Mountains''' - A physical representation of the Mountains tipped with snow from ''Niggle's Picture'' located just beyond the Edge of Niggle's Parish, surrounding it in the distance.
# [[Atkins]]
# '''Spring''' - A physical representation of the Spring that Niggle imagined, but never had the time to paint within his painting. It was located at the heart of the Forest within Niggle's Parish, it was the source of a distant lake. The name appeared on the two tonics that Niggle and Parish were provided with.
# [[Perkins]]
# '''Edge''' - The name given to the border between Niggle's Parish and the Mountains beyond.
# '''Parish's Garden''' - The name given by the shepherd to a small region located within Niggle's Parish that belonged to Mr. Parish.
# '''''Niggle's Picture''''' - The name given by the shepherd to Niggle's painting; Given the names '''Niggle's Nonsense''' and '''That Daubing''' by Mrs. Parish; It began with a leaf caught within the wind and became a tree with strange birds nesting on it. The canvas was located up a ladder within a tall shed that Niggle had built above an old potato garden he had. It was left incomplete as it was eventually confiscated by the Inspector of Houses in order to fix Parish's roof.
# '''[[Society]]''' - A loose general term for the country and the town that Niggle lived in. This Society placed an emphasis on work over art, confiscating artworks such as ''Niggle's Picture'' to benefit the town. The people, such as Niggle, who violated the laws of Society have their homes and possessions given away after they go on their journey.
# '''Town Museum''' - A museum located within the town that Niggle lived in; The remnant of Niggle's work was framed there until the museum was burned down.
# '''''Leaf: by Niggle''''' - A damaged, but legible corner torn off from ''Niggle's Picture'' ("a mountain-peak and a spray of leaves") that was found by Atkins in a field and framed within the Town Museum where it had attracted a few people; The remnant was destroyed when the museum was burned to the ground, leaving Niggle to be completely forgotten by his old country.
# '''[[Niggle's Parish]]''' - The name given by the Porter to the region where the Gentle Treatment takes place; Given the name '''Niggle's Country''' by the shepherd and shares the name ''Niggle's Picture'' with Niggle's original painting; Named after both Niggle and Mr. Parish.
</div>


== History ==
== Portrayal in adaptations ==
=== Publication history ===
'''1992: ''[[Tales from the Perilous Realm (1992 radio series)#Leaf by Niggle|Tales from the Perilous Realm radio series]]''
;''Leaf by Niggle'' book
:''Leaf by Niggle'' Was one of the four stories that the series adapted. The other three adapted stories were: ''[[Farmer Giles of Ham]]'', ''[[Smith of Wootton Major]]'', and ''[[The Adventures of Tom Bombadil]]''. The cast of the ''Leaf by Niggle'' part of the series included [[Michael Hordern]] as [[J.R.R. Tolkien]], Alfred Molina as [[Niggle]], John Fleming as [[Mr. Parish|Parish]], and additional voices performed by Jonathan Adams, David Holt, Melanie Hudson, Matthew Morgan, Joanna Wake, and Melinda Walker.
[[HarperCollins]] published the short story in its own volume for the first time on [[28 July]] [[2016]].<ref>{{webcite|author=|articleurl=http://harpercollins.co.uk/products/leaf-by-niggle-j-r-r-tolkien?variant=32556993347662|articlename=''Leaf by Niggle''By J. R. R. Tolkien|dated=|website=[http://harpercollins.co.uk/ HarperCollins''Publishers'']|accessed=22 March 2022}}</ref> There was however a [[Leaf by Niggle (book)|separated print]] in [[2003]].


There is a paperback edition published as well: [[Leaf by Niggle (paperback)]]
== Publication history and gallery ==
 
{{Gallery
== Reception ==
|width=128
|height=125
|lines=2
|File:The Dublin Review.jpeg|1945 ''Dublin Review'' vol. 216, no. 432
|File:Leaf by Niggle - Trinity Forum (1).jpg|2003 [[Leaf by Niggle (book)|private print]]
|File:Leaf by Niggle 2016.jpeg|2016 HarperCollins
}}
*Burns, Oates & Washbourne Ltd. paperback ([[1945]])
*The Trinity Forum paperpback ([[2003]]) ISSN 1062-2527
*[[HarperCollins]] paperback ([[2016]]), pp. 64. ISBN 0008205531


== See also ==
== See also ==
*[[Leaf by Niggle (book)|''Leaf by Niggle'' (book)]]
* ''[[Tree and Leaf]]''
* [[Leaf by Niggle (paperback)|''Leaf by Niggle'' (paperback)]]
* ''[[Tales from the Perilous Realm]]''
*''[[Tales from the Perilous Realm]]''


== External links ==
== External links ==
Line 84: Line 94:
* [http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/reviews/leafbyniggle.htm Leaf by Niggle - a symbolic story about a small painter]
* [http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/reviews/leafbyniggle.htm Leaf by Niggle - a symbolic story about a small painter]
* [http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showthread.php?t=11107 The Workhouse - Tolkien's Purgatory], discussion of ''Leaf by Niggle'' at [http://forum.barrowdowns.com/index.php? The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum]
* [http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showthread.php?t=11107 The Workhouse - Tolkien's Purgatory], discussion of ''Leaf by Niggle'' at [http://forum.barrowdowns.com/index.php? The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum]
* [http://www.tolkiensociety.org/2016/06/leaf-by-niggle-to-be-published-in-its-own-volume/ “Leaf by Niggle” to be published in its own volume'] (announcement by [[The Tolkien Society]]).
{{References}}
{{Perilousrealm}}


{{perilousrealm}}
{{Publishedmajorbooks}}
{{references}}


[[Category:Books by J.R.R. Tolkien]]
[[Category:Fiction books]]
[[Category:Publications by title]]
[[Category:Leaf by Niggle| ]]
[[Category:Leaf by Niggle| ]]
[[Category:Writings]]
[[de:Blatt von Tüftler]]
[[de:Blatt von Tüftler]]
[[fi:Niukun lehti]]
[[fi:Niukun lehti]]

Revision as of 08:01, 18 December 2022

Leaf by Niggle
Leaf by Niggle 2016.jpeg
AuthorJ.R.R. Tolkien
PublisherHarperCollins
ReleasedJanuary 1945
Separate book: 28 July 2016
FormatPaperback; audio-book
Pages64
ISBN0008205531

Leaf by Niggle is a short story written by J.R.R. Tolkien around 1942, first published in The Dublin Review in 1945.[1]

It is included in the book Tree and Leaf (1964) and in other compilations, such as The Tolkien Reader (1966), Poems and Stories (1980), and Tales from the Perilous Realm (1997).

Its first separate appearance seemed to be a 2003 private print by the Trinity Forum, in this edition there is a foreword and a "group discussion guide" at the end.[2] The separate book was formally released by HarperCollins in 2016.

Overview

Leaf by Niggle is very much an allegory of Tolkien's own creative process, and, to an extent, of his own life. Although Tolkien actively defended against being allegorical. He admitted having been just that in Leaf by Niggle in a letter to Caroline Everett (24 June 1957):[3]

"I should say that, in addition to my tree-love (it was originally called The Tree), it arose from my own pre-occupation with the Lord of the Rings, the knowledge that it would be finished in great detail or not at all, and the fear (near certainty) that it would be 'not at all'. The war had arisen to darken all horizons. But no such analyses are a complete explanation even of a short story..."

Synopsis

Niggle is an artist who paints to please himself, living in a society that holds art in little regard. His main occupation is a huge painting of great tree. He started with one single leaf and the painting grows around it. Niggle hopes to draw every leaf in detail. Soon Niggle finds birds in the trees, hills that are visible through the branches. And so the painting grows and takes up all time from the painter. Niggle takes time off from his work, because of politeness, to aid his neighbor, a gardener named Parish who is lame and has a sick wife. In the process of helping Niggle catches a sickness.

Then he is forced to take a trip, but was ill prepared for it (partly due to his illness) and ends up in Workhouse Infirmary where he must labour each day. He is paroled and sent to work as a gardener in the country. He realizes that he is in fact working in the forest of his painting, but the Tree is the true realization of his vision, not the flawed version in his art.

Niggle is reunited with Parish, his neighbour, and together they make the forest even more beautiful. Finally Niggle travels to the far reaches of the forest, to places on the fringe of his canvas.

Characters

Listed in order of named appearance:
  1. Niggle - An obsessive artist who needed to make a journey; Lived within a pleasant house miles away from town; Distracted constantly by interruptions; A distant friend fell ill; his neighbor pressed him for chores; He was constantly kept from niggling on every detail of his life's work. He was kindhearted, in a grumbling, reluctant kind of way.[4]
  2. Mr. Parish - An old man with a lame foot who was given the name Old Earthgrubber by Niggle; Was once ill with lumbago; Pressed his neighbor to do several chores for him, not understanding that they took time away from Niggle's art. Moved eventually to Niggle's Parish, finally understanding the art, and waited for his wife to join him.
  3. Mrs. Parish - The wife of Mr. Parish. Later, she was mentioned to be mopping up some rain water wondering if Niggle had forgotten to meet with the builder.
  4. Doctor - A doctor who worked within the town where Niggle lived; Enlisted by Niggle to cure Mrs. Parish's cold but took two days to arrive.
  5. Builder - A builder who worked within the town where Niggle lived; Enlisted by Niggle to fix Parish's roof and never arrived at all.
  6. Inspector of Houses - A very tall man and an enforcer of the houses come first law; Was once in the past called to inspect Niggle's neglected garden; Threatened to use Niggle's Picture to fix Parish's roof.
  7. Driver - A very tall man, clad all in black, who forcibly began Niggle's journey; Drove him by carriage to the Porter's railway station.
  8. Porter - The person who sent Niggle to the Workhouse Infirmary. Later coined the name Niggle's Parish.
  9. Severe doctor - A doctor who worked at the Workhouse Infirmary; Supervised Niggle during his stay there.
  10. First Voice - A very severe voice; One of two voices that Niggle heard during a break at the Workhouse Infirmary.
  11. Second Voice - A gentle, but authoritative voice, sounding both sad and hopeful; One of two voices that Niggle heard during a break at the Workhouse Infirmary. Later considered Niggle's Parish to be the perfect holiday spot.
  12. Shepherd - A man who lived as a shepherd within the Mountains just beyond the Edge of Niggle's Parish; Offered to be Niggle's guide to the mountains beyond and revealed to Parish that this was the land from Niggle's Picture.
  13. Councillor Tompkins - A councillor who lived at Niggle's old home; Claimed that Niggle had no use to Society at all, and that Society should have "put him away" forever long ago at the "Rubbish Heap", possibly another name for the Workhouse Infirmary.
  14. Atkins - A schoolmaster who claimed that Niggle is pitiful; Saved a piece of Niggle's Picture, and framed it at the Town Museum.
  15. Perkins - A person who never knew that Niggle painted, yet voiced pity regardless.

Locations and terms

Listed in order of named appearance:
  1. Town Council - The local government of the town that Niggle lived in. Niggle tried to save his painting from the Inspector of Houses by suggesting that Parish should file a complaint to the council to fix his roof, damaged by the rain.
  2. Emergency Service - An agency run by the Town Council that is responsible for providing disaster relief to the town. According to the Inspector of Houses, they could not deal with Parish's roof due to more significant damage from a flood in the nearby valley that left many families homeless.
  3. Houses come first law - A law in the Society where Niggle lived that says that the fixing of houses must come before leisure activities, such as painting.
  4. Workhouse Infirmary - A prison like place that locked up people who did not "contribute" to Society and forcing them to work; The place was run by severe officials and attendants who were unfriendly and silent; Possibly referred to by Councilor Tompkins as the Rubbish Heap. There was a railway station just below the green hill the infirmary was on.
  5. Medical Board/Court of Inquiry - A council at the Workhouse Infirmary that was comprised of at least the two voices. Their meetings took place in the room next to Niggle's room with the door open.
  6. Records - The name of the documented report on Niggle's background that the Workhouse Infirmary possessed; It was read and used by the Second Voice to convince the First Voice to allow Niggle to be put through the Gentle Treatment.
  7. Calls - A name given by the First Voice to refer to the action in Society of one person asking another person for help; The First Voice claimed that this type of action was called Interruptions by Niggle.
  8. Gentle Treatment - The name of the procedure that the Second Voice recommended to the Niggle case where the Workhouse Infirmary provides the subject with new clothes, breakfast, and a treatment for injuries before allowing them to leave for the next stage.
  9. Great Tree - A name given by Niggle to the physical representation of the Tree from his painting and the central location within Niggle's Parish.
  10. Forest - A physical representation of the Forest from Niggle's Picture located within Niggle's Parish, growing off in the distance on both sides of the Great Tree.
  11. Mountains - A physical representation of the Mountains tipped with snow from Niggle's Picture located just beyond the Edge of Niggle's Parish, surrounding it in the distance.
  12. Spring - A physical representation of the Spring that Niggle imagined, but never had the time to paint within his painting. It was located at the heart of the Forest within Niggle's Parish, it was the source of a distant lake. The name appeared on the two tonics that Niggle and Parish were provided with.
  13. Edge - The name given to the border between Niggle's Parish and the Mountains beyond.
  14. Parish's Garden - The name given by the shepherd to a small region located within Niggle's Parish that belonged to Mr. Parish.
  15. Niggle's Picture - The name given by the shepherd to Niggle's painting; Given the names Niggle's Nonsense and That Daubing by Mrs. Parish; It began with a leaf caught within the wind and became a tree with strange birds nesting on it. The canvas was located up a ladder within a tall shed that Niggle had built above an old potato garden he had. It was left incomplete as it was eventually confiscated by the Inspector of Houses in order to fix Parish's roof.
  16. Society - A loose general term for the country and the town that Niggle lived in. This Society placed an emphasis on work over art, confiscating artworks such as Niggle's Picture to benefit the town. The people, such as Niggle, who violated the laws of Society have their homes and possessions given away after they go on their journey.
  17. Town Museum - A museum located within the town that Niggle lived in; The remnant of Niggle's work was framed there until the museum was burned down.
  18. Leaf: by Niggle - A damaged, but legible corner torn off from Niggle's Picture ("a mountain-peak and a spray of leaves") that was found by Atkins in a field and framed within the Town Museum where it had attracted a few people; The remnant was destroyed when the museum was burned to the ground, leaving Niggle to be completely forgotten by his old country.
  19. Niggle's Parish - The name given by the Porter to the region where the Gentle Treatment takes place; Given the name Niggle's Country by the shepherd and shares the name Niggle's Picture with Niggle's original painting; Named after both Niggle and Mr. Parish.

Portrayal in adaptations

1992: Tales from the Perilous Realm radio series

Leaf by Niggle Was one of the four stories that the series adapted. The other three adapted stories were: Farmer Giles of Ham, Smith of Wootton Major, and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. The cast of the Leaf by Niggle part of the series included Michael Hordern as J.R.R. Tolkien, Alfred Molina as Niggle, John Fleming as Parish, and additional voices performed by Jonathan Adams, David Holt, Melanie Hudson, Matthew Morgan, Joanna Wake, and Melinda Walker.

Publication history and gallery

1945 Dublin Review vol. 216, no. 432  
2003 private print  
2016 HarperCollins  

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond (2017), The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide (Revised and Expanded Edition): II. Reader's Guide, "Leaf by Niggle" pp. 658-9
  2. ↑ "Interesting eBay Auctions", Tolkien Collector's Guide (accessed 11 November 2022)
  3. ↑ "Leaf by Niggle - a symbolic story about a small painter", Tolkien Library (accessed 12 June 2022)
  4. ↑ Leaf by Niggle
Tales from the Perilous Realm
Farmer Giles of Ham · The Adventures of Tom Bombadil · Leaf by Niggle · Smith of Wootton Major
Roverandom (since 2008) · On Fairy-Stories (since 2008)


A J.R.R. Tolkien book guide
Books by or mainly by Tolkien
On Arda Authored by
J.R.R. Tolkien 		The Hobbit · The Lord of the Rings
(i.The Fellowship of the Ring · ii.The Two Towers · iii.The Return of the King) ·
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil · The Road Goes Ever On · Bilbo's Last Song
Edited by Christopher Tolkien The Silmarillion · Unfinished Tales · The History of Middle-earth series
(i.The Book of Lost Tales: Part One · ii.The Book of Lost Tales: Part Two · iii.The Lays of Beleriand · iv.The Shaping of Middle-earth · v.The Lost Road and Other Writings · vi.The Return of the Shadow · vii.The Treason of Isengard · viii.The War of the Ring · ix.Sauron Defeated · x.Morgoth's Ring · xi.The War of the Jewels · xii.The Peoples of Middle-earth · Index) ·
The Children of Húrin · Beren and Lúthien · The Fall of Gondolin
Edited by others The Annotated Hobbit · The History of The Hobbit · The Nature of Middle-earth ·
The Fall of Númenor · The Maps of Middle-earth
Not on Arda Short stories
and poems 		Leaf by Niggle · Farmer Giles of Ham · Smith of Wootton Major · Letters from Father Christmas ·
Mr. Bliss · Roverandom · Tree and Leaf (compilation) · Tales from the Perilous Realm (compilation)
Fictional works The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún · The Fall of Arthur · The Story of Kullervo · The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun
Translations and academic works Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo · Finn and Hengest ·
The Monsters and the Critics, and Other Essays · Beowulf and the Critics · Tolkien On Fairy-stories ·
Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary · A Secret Vice · The Battle of Maldon
Collected letters and poems The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien · The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien
Edited old texts A Middle English Vocabulary · Sir Gawain and the Green Knight · Ancrene Wisse · The Old English Exodus
Books by other authors
Biographies J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography · The Inklings · Tolkien and the Great War
Reference works The Complete Guide to Middle-earth · The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide
Scholarly studies The Road to Middle-earth · The Keys of Middle-earth · The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion ·
The Ring of Words · A Companion to J.R.R. Tolkien · Tolkien's Lost Chaucer ·
Tolkien's Library · Tolkien on Chaucer, 1913-1959
Scholarly journals Tolkien Studies · (The Chronology)
Other works by Tolkien
Linguistic journals Vinyar Tengwar various issues · Parma Eldalamberon issue 11-22
Collections of artwork
and manuscripts 		Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien · J.R.R. Tolkien: Life and Legend · J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator ·
The Art of The Hobbit · The Art of The Lord of the Rings · Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth ·
Tolkien: Treasures · J.R.R. Tolkien: The Art of the Manuscript
This list is only a selection of works, for a fuller bibliography of Tolkien see here or here. See also a timeline and an index.
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