What is the title of J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1949 comic novella about a farmer and a giant?

J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1949 comic novella about a farmer and a giant is titled Farmer Giles of Ham.

The story follows Giles, an ordinary farmer whose accidental success against a giant brings him fame and eventually draws him into a larger adventure. It is set in a mock-medieval landscape and uses humor to play with the conventions of heroic legends, dragons, kings, and magical weapons.

The book was published by George Allen & Unwin with illustrations by Pauline Diana Baynes. Unlike The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, it is not part of the history of Middle-earth. Its setting resembles an invented version of England and includes deliberately comic names and situations.

The title is sometimes confused with Smith of Wootton Major, another shorter Tolkien work published later. Farmer Giles of Ham stands out for its playful treatment of a reluctant local hero whose reputation grows far beyond his original intentions.