J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Adventures of Tom Bombadil first appeared in 1962.
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil is a poetry collection published by George Allen & Unwin. Its title poem concerns Tom Bombadil, the mysterious character who appears in The Fellowship of the Ring. The book contains sixteen poems, although only two are directly about Bombadil.
The collection presents poems as works preserved or translated within Middle-earth. This framing lets Tolkien explore the different voices and traditions of Hobbits, Men, and other peoples. Some poems are comic or playful, while others draw on legends and darker folklore.
The 1962 publication should not be confused with Tolkien’s earlier appearance of Tom Bombadil in The Lord of the Rings, which was published in the 1950s. The poetry book expanded the character’s literary setting but did not form part of the main three-volume novel.