A BLOCK-HEADED BRACEGIRDLE FROM HARDBOTTLE
One would not know it to look at her, but in her youth Lobelia Sackville-Baggins had been a lovely lass with a fair complexion and long dark hair, the latter of which she'd been rather vain. Her name was Bracegirdle then, the daughter of Blanco and Primrose Bracegirdle. The Bracgirdles lived in the remote town of Hardbottle in the Shire's Northfarthing.
Young Lobelia disliked the cold winters of the north, and the rocky soil was unsuitable for farming, not that Lobelia cared. As long as there were sufficient vittles on her table at mealtime she cared not a whit from whence they came. She did, however, adore flowers. She longed to one day live in a large, comfortable dwelling, preferably a traditional Hobbit-hole, with a garden of fragrant flowers.
Lobelia's beauty attracted many suitors when she became of age. She hoped to marry a hobbit lad from a well-to-do family who would take her away from Hardbottle. Lobelia rejected many suitors due to their lack of wealth. Some would-be suitors were put off by Lobelia's prickly temperament, while others by her obvious avarice. Lobelia had also developed a reptuation of being a bit light-fingered. Small objects mysteriously disappeared after Miss Bracegirdle had come for a visit, but no one was ever able to prove that Lobelia had been responsible.
LOBELIA FINDS A HUSBAND
At last Lobelia Bracegirdle found the suitor she had dreamed of. His name was Otho Sackville-Baggins, the son of Longo Baggins and Camillia Sackville. His father's family was very respectable, and his mother's was quite wealthy indeed. Otho wasn't handsome. In fact, he was rather homely. But he had money, ensuring that Lobelia would live the life of ease and comfort that she felt her beauty deserved.
Longo's older brother Bungo had also married well, taking the lovely Belladonna Took for his bride. She was the daughter of Gerontius Took, known in his later years as "The Old Took", the patriarch of the powerful Took family. Gerontius was in fact the Thain of the Shire, a very important person by all accounts.
Longo and Belladonna Baggins had only one child, a boy named Bilbo. Yes, the same Bilbo who befriended dwarves, elves, and a wizard named Gandalf. The same Bilbo who one Spring went on a long journey, and was presumed dead until his sudden reappearance in June of the following year. Cousin Bilbo's return dashed the hopes Otho and Lobelia of inheriting his beautiful home, Bag End, that Bilbo's father Longo had built financed largely from Belladonna's fortune. Lobelia consoled herself by surreptitiously acquiring a few of Bilbo's silver spoons, or so it is rumoured.
LOBELIA HAS A SON
Lobelia and Otho had been married many years before they were finally blessed with a child, a son they named Lotho. Much to Lobelia's disappointment young Lotho resembled his unattractive father far more than his pretty mother. Among other unattractive physical features, Lotho had a rather poor complexion. While in his tweens Lotho was given the nickname "Pimple"; it followed him to the end of his days.
Lotho was not a particularly bright lad, but he was crafty. When Lotho and the other young hobbits his age played games, Lotho would employ every trick he could devise, cheating when he could not win honestly. Lotho came to enjoy winning by cheating very much. In truth, it gave him a greater thrill than if he'd won by honest means.
Lotho did inherit one trait from his mother: avarice. Lotho enjoyed lying, cheating, and stealing, gaining wealth by any and every means possible regardless of the consequences to his victims. Truth be told, Lotho took pleasure in their misery. It made him feel powerful to win these petty battles. Sadly, it ultimately lead to his demise.
BAG END
Bilbo Baggins, Otho's first cousin, continued to live in Bag End for many years. Bilbo was a confirmed bachelor with no children. Otho, being his nearest relative, stood to inherit Bag End when cousin Bilbo passed. Otho and Lobelia's hopes of living in Bag End were again dashed, however, when Bilbo adopted his orphaned cousin Frodo, whose parents had tragically drowned in a boating accident. Otho and Lobelia had sought to challenge Frodo's right of inheritance, but were thwarted when Bilbo had papers drawn up to make it legal.
Bilbo Baggins was a beloved figure by those who knew him well. He was generous and kind, if a bit odd. It was very likely Bilbo's eccentricities that caused some to distrust if not dislike him entirely. They were convinced that the treasure he had brought home from his adventure was acquired by ill-means, and that he was certain to suffer from the consequences--eventually. When Bilbo disappeared in a flash of smoke while giving a speech during his famous, or infamous depending on your point of view, birthday party the Hobbits of the Shire began referring to him as "Mad Baggins".
FRODO SELLS BAG END
Frodo Baggins, who coincidentally shared a birthday with his much older cousin, Frodo called him "Uncle Bilbo", seemed to share many of the same odd tendancies as his guardian and benefactor. Some seventeen years after Bilbo's mysterious disappearance, Frodo sold his home to Lobelia and her son Lotho. Otho Sackville-Baggins, who had passed six years earlier, never fulfilled his dream of calling Bag End his home. Frodo reportedly purchased a small cottage in his native Buckland, his mother was a Brandybuck, where he planned to live out his days.
Frodo Baggins, with the aid of his cousins Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took, and his servant Samwise Gamgree, did move to Crickhollow, a village in Buckland, but was not there for long. Early the next day Frodo and his companions left Buckland, not yet a part of the Shire, and were not seen again for over a year.
OCCUPATION OF THE SHIRE AND ITS SCOURING
All was not well in the Shire, as Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin discovered upon their return. During their absence the Shire had transformed into a wretched place full of ruffians, evil Men full of mischief.
This was largely the doing of Lotho Sackville-Baggins, who had deposed Mayor Will Whitfoot and began calling himself "Chief". The Chief himself in turn was put down by a mysterious fellow called "Sharkey", who himself inhabited Bag End--for a little while.
Emboldened by the return of Frodo and his friends, the Shire-folk overthrew Sharkey and his ruffians. They learned that Sharkey's servant, one Gríma Wormtongue, had murdered Lotho in his sleep. Mayor Whitfoot was released from the Lockholes, a sort of prison, as was Lotho's mother Lobelia.
Lobelia was naturally saddened to learn of her son's death, and gave her wealth to the hobbits who had suffered most during Lotho's reign of terror. For standing up to the ruffians and attempting to make things right, Lobelia for the first time in her life was a beloved and respected figure. She gave Bag End back to Frodo, and returned to her native Hardbottle where she passed the following Spring at 102 years of age.
THE END
