Bree

Bree

Bree in the books

Bree: Atmosphere and Population
Bree is a trade centre on the Road, that lies on a hill in an otherwise near-abandoned region of Men. It is encircled by a large hedge, with two gates where the Road cuts through it.
Inside, there are ‘some hundred stone houses’ which are described as ‘large and strange’ to the Hobbits.

The town, being a commercial centre, is inhabited by a nice mixture of Men, Hobbits (with a certain affinity with the Brandybucks and the Hobbits of Michel Delving) and Dwarves.
The centre of the community is the Inn, where folk gather to hear the latest gossip and discuss the town’s business.

Tolkien describes the Men of Bree as brown-haired, broad, and rather short, cheerful and independent… but they were more friendly and familiar with Hobbits, Dwarves, Elves, and other inhabitants of the world about them than was (or is) usual with Big People.
When the Hobbits end up in the common room after their meal, they find that the Bree folk are very warm people, yet very inquisitive (especially the Hobbits), who enjoy singing and laughter.

The Prancing Pony Inn
The Prancing Pony Inn is, as said above, the heart of the community.
The Pony is a three-storey house with many windows looking out on the street. Tolkien’s description is the following:

It had a front on the Road, and two wings running back on land partly cut out of the lower slopes of the hill, so that at the rear the second-floor windows were level with the ground. There was a wide arch leading to a courtyard between the two wings, and on the left under the arch there was a large doorway reached by a few broad steps. The door was open and light streamed out of it. Above the arch there was a lamp, and beneath it swung a large signboard: a fat white pony reared up on its legs.

Inside, it is divided in several rooms: there is the entrance hall, the common room and several parlours for dining.
The Inn has some Hobbit-sized rooms on ground level and with large round windows.

Bree in the movies

Bree: Atmosphere & Population
Bree is presented to us as a dark, ominous place where the Hobbits feel strangely out of place. It doesn’t seem to be lying on a hill at all.
The architecture is in a late gothic style, reminiscent of German or English medieval town buildings. The fronts of the houses lean forward a little, which gives them an even more ominous feeling.

The Bree inhabitants are portrayed as large, ugly humans. We don’t see any of the Hobbits or Dwarves Tolkien mentions, not in the streets of the town or in the Prancing Pony itself.

The Prancing Pony Inn
The Pony is a small gothic house. We don’t get to see the inner court Tolkien describes, and the front is dark and unwelcoming.

Inside, the Inn is dark and crowded. There is no division into common room and parlours, and no white tablecloth with a hand-bell on the table the Hobbits are seated at (or any table we see, for that matter). The atmosphere is most unwelcoming, enhanced by the suspicious glances thrown at the visitors by the other guests (of which, as said, none are Hobbits or Dwarves).
There are no Hobbit-sized tables, chairs or mugs.
The room where the Hobbits sleep, which you can see in this shot, doesn’t have round windows.

Bookie Details
– When the Hobbits arrive at the gate, we see the gatekeeper open a spy-hole, close it again and open another one at a lower level. Although this isn’t in the book (the gatekeeper is just sitting outside), it is a nice nod to the permanent presence of Hobbits and Dwarves mentioned by Tolkien.
– The sign is very much like Tolkien describes it.