Tree and Leaf

Tree and Leaf
First edition
AuthorJ. R. R. Tolkien
IllustratorPauline Baynes
PublisherGeorge Allen and Unwin
Publication date
28 May 1964
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Preceded byThe Adventures of Tom Bombadil 
Followed byThe Tolkien Reader 

Tree and Leaf is a small anthology of works by J. R. R. Tolkien published in 1964[1] and originally illustrated by Pauline Baynes which consisted of:

  • a revised version of an essay called "On Fairy-Stories" (originally published in 1947 in Essays Presented to Charles Williams)
  • an allegorical short story called "Leaf by Niggle" (originally published in the Dublin Review in 1945).


Both pieces were re-issued in the collection The Tolkien Reader (1966), and have also appeared in various subsequent collections.


Tolkien's poem "Mythopoeia" was added to the 1988 second edition (ISBN 0395502322), and his poem "The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son" was added in the 2001 third edition (ISBN 9780007105045).[2]

  1. ^ Christina Scull & Wayne G. Hammond (2006), The J. R. R. Tolkien Companion and Guide, HarperCollins, 'Chronology' volume, p.618; ISBN 9780618391028
  2. ^ "Tree and Leaf by J.R.R. Tolkien". tolkienlibrary.com. Retrieved 26 September 2024.