Did JRRT encourage new ME stories?

[davem]

Originally Posted by Raynor

So does Merry

Yes, another upper middle-class Hobbit, which puts him into a minority. And I refer you to the answer I gave earlier, 'cos I've lost interest in this point now - it was a throwaway point, generally correct, in that most hobbits are not middle-class & would not use a middle-class term like 'lunch' but would say 'dinner'. The point is that a writer of M-e fiction has to be aware of the subtleties of class distinction etc, & too many writers are not.

Middle-class Hobbits say 'lunch' & middle-class Hobbits are in the minority in the Shire. They are the exception. Hence, its true to say that Hobbits do not say 'lunch' - just as its true to say that Hobbits have nothing to do with Elves. Those Hobbits who do have anything to do with Elves are a tiny minority. LotR focusses on a tiny minority of unusual Hobbits. Hobbits don't wear footwear - (except for the minority who wear boots).

The habit of building farm-houses and barns was said to have begun among the inhabitants of the Marish down by the Brandywine. The Hobbits of that quarter, the Eastfarthing, were rather large and heavy-legged, and they wore dwarf-boots in muddy weather.

Geddit?