‘I should like to save the Shire, if I could – though there have been times whe

‘I should like to save the Shire, if I could – though there have been times when I thought the inhabitants too stupid and dull for words, and have felt that an earthquake or an invasion of dragons might be good for them. But I don’t feel like that now. I feel that as long as the Shire lies behind, safe and comfortable, I shall find wandering more bearable: I shall know that somewhere there is a firm foothold, even if my feet cannot stand there again.’

–J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Shadow of the Past

Art by Alan Lee