Scholars and fans of the great mythologist will find a rich vein of information in Humphrey Carpenter's The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien was a prodigious letter writer all his life; the sheer mass of his correspondence would give pause to even the most stalwart archivist (one shudders to think what he would have done with e-mail). But with the able assistance of Tolkien's son Christopher and a healthy dose of determination, Carpenter manages find the cream of the crop--the letters that shed light on Tolkien's thoughts about his academic and literary work, as well as those that show his more private side, revealing a loving husband, a playful friend, and a doting father. The most fascinating letters are, of course, those in which he discusses Middle-Earth, and Carpenter offers plenty of those to choose from. Tolkien discussed the minutia of his legend--sometimes at great length--with friends, publishers, and even fans who wrote to him with questions. These letters offer significant insights into how he went about creating the peoples and languages of Middle-Earth.
I have long ceased to invent (though even patronizing or sneering critics on the side praise my 'inventions'): I wait till I seem to know what really happened. Or till it writes itself. Thus, though I knew for years that Frodo would run into a tree-adventure somewhere far down the Great River, I had no recollection of inventing Ents. I came at last to the point, and wrote the 'Treebeard' chapter without any recollection of any previous thought: just as it is now. And then I saw that, of course, it had not happened to Frodo at all.
This new edition of letters has an extensive index, and Carpenter has included a brief blurb at the beginning of each letter to explain who the correspondent was and what was being discussed. Still, we strongly recommend buying the companion volume, J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography, in order to better understand the place these correspondents had in Tolkien's life and get a better context for the letters. --Perry M. Atterberry
Scholars and fans of the great mythologist will find a rich vein of information in Humphrey Carpenter's The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien was a prodigious letter writer all his life; the sheer mass of his correspondence would give pause to even the most stalwart archivist (one shudders to think what he would have done with e-mail). But with the able assistance of Tolkien's son Christopher and a healthy dose of determination, Carpenter manages find the cream of the crop--the letters that shed light on Tolkien's thoughts about his academic and literary work, as well as those that show his more private side, revealing a loving husband, a playful friend, and a doting father. The most fascinating letters are, of course, those in which he discusses Middle-Earth, and Carpenter offers plenty of those to choose from. Tolkien discussed the minutia of his legend--sometimes at great length--with friends, publishers, and even fans who wrote to him with questions. These letters offer significant insights into how he went about creating the peoples and languages of Middle-Earth.
I have long ceased to invent (though even patronizing or sneering critics on the side praise my 'inventions'): I wait till I seem to know what really happened. Or till it writes itself. Thus, though I knew for years that Frodo would run into a tree-adventure somewhere far down the Great River, I had no recollection of inventing Ents. I came at last to the point, and wrote the 'Treebeard' chapter without any recollection of any previous thought: just as it is now. And then I saw that, of course, it had not happened to Frodo at all.
This new edition of letters has an extensive index, and Carpenter has included a brief blurb at the beginning of each letter to explain who the correspondent was and what was being discussed. Still, we strongly recommend buying the companion volume, J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography, in order to better understand the place these correspondents had in Tolkien's life and get a better context for the letters. --Perry M. Atterberry
From Library Journal
The old fellow's letters to friends, family, and fans offer insight into his life and writings. Fun but not essential.
1 To Edith Bratt..............................................10
2 From a letter to Edith Bratt 27 November 1914...................................................11
3 From a letter to Edith Bratt 26 November 1915................................................12
4 From a letter to Edith Bratt 2 March 1916 ......................................................13
5 To G. B. Smith ...........................................................................14
6 To Mrs E. M. Wright................................16
7 To the Electors of the Rawlinson and Bosworth Professorship of Anglo-Saxon, University of Oxford..17
8 From a letter to the Vice Chancellor of Leeds University .............19
9 To Susan Dagnall, George Allen & Unwin Ltd. ..........................20
10 To C. A. Furth, Allen & Unwin ...............................21
11 From a letter to Allen & Unwin 5 February 1937..........................22
12 To Allen & Unwin................................23
13 To C. A. Furth, Allen & Unwin .....................................24
14 To Allen & Unwin..............................25
15 To Allen & Unwin....................................26
16 To Michael Tolkien............................................................28
17 To Stanley Unwin, Chairman of Allen & Unwin.................................29
18 From a letter to Stanley Unwin 23 October 1937 .................................31
19 To Stanley Unwin........................................................32
20 To C. A. Furth, Allen & Unwin .........................................34
21 From a letter to Allen & Unwin 1 February 1938 .........................35
22 To C. A. Furth, Allen & Unwin 20 Northmoor Road, Oxford..........................36
23 To C. A. Furth, Allen & Unwin ......................................37
24 To Stanley Unwin...............................................38
25 To the editor of the 'Observer' .........................................39
26 To Stanley Unwin........................................................41
27 To the Houghton Mifflin Company....................................43
28 To Stanley Unwin........................................................44
29 From a letter to Stanley Unwin 25 July 1938.................................45
30 To Rütten & Loening Verlag.............................................46
31 To C.A.Furth, Allen & Unwin ................................................47
32 To John Masefield ...........................................................................48
33 To C. A. Furth, Allen & Unwin ............................................49
34 To Stanley Unwin..........................................50
35 To C. A. Furth, Allen & Unwin 20 Northmoor Road, Oxford................51
36 To C. A. Furth, Allen & Unwin ....................................52
37 To Stanley Unwin...........................................53
38 To Stanley Unwin..............................................54
39 From a letter to Michael Tolkien 29 September 1940.............................55
40 From a letter to Michael Tolkien 6 October 1940.................................56
41 From a letter to Michael Tolkien 2 January 1941 ............................57
42 To Michael Tolkien ................................................58
43 From a letter to Michael Tolkien 6-8 March 1941 ...........................59
44 From a letter to Michael Tolkien 18 March 1941 .................................63
45 To Michael Tolkien ......................................................64
46 From a draft to R. W. Chapman 26 November 1941 .........................66
47 To Stanley Unwin........................................................................68
48 To C. S. Lewis ................................................................69
49 To C. S. Lewis (draft)......................................70
50 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 25 October 1943 ...................................72
51 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 27 October 1943 ....................................73
52 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 29 November 1943 ....................................74
53 To Christopher Tolkien 20 Northmoor Road, Oxford ......................................75
54 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 8 January 1944 ................................76
55 To Christopher Tolkien ............................................................................77
56 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 1 March 1944 (FS 6) ...............................78
57 From an airgraph to Christopher Tolkien 30 March 1944 (FS 12) ....................79
58 To Christopher Tolkien .....................................................80
59 From an airgraph to Christopher Tolkien 5 April 1944 (FS 14) ......................81
60 To Christopher Tolkien (airgraph) ............................................82
61 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 18 April 1944 (FS 17) ........................83
62 From an airgraph to Christopher Tolkien 23 April 1944 (FS 18) ....................85
63 To Christopher Tolkien ...................................86
64 To Christopher Tolkien 20 Northmoor Road, Oxford ................87
65 From an airgraph to Christopher Tolkien 4 May 1944 (FS 21) ...........89
66 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 6 May 1944 (FS 22) ..............90
67 From an airgraph to Christopher Tolkien 11 May 1944 (FS 23) ...........91
68 From an airgraph to Christopher Tolkien 12 May 1944 (FS 24) ..............92
69 To Christopher Tolkien ................................93
70 To Christopher Tolkien 20 Northmoor Road, Oxford ..................94
71 To Christopher Tolkien (airgraph) ...........95
72 To Christopher Tolkien 20 Northmoor Road, Oxford .........96
73 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 10 June 1944 (FS 30) .............97
74 From a letter to Stanley Unwin 29 June 1944 .....................98
75 To Christopher Tolkien ....................99
76 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 28 July 1944 (FS 39) ................100
77 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 31 July 1944 (FS 41) ......................101
78 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 12 August 1944 (FS 43) .........102
79 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 22 August 1944 (FS 45) .................103
80 From an airgraph to Christopher Tolkien...................104
81 To Christopher Tolkien ........................105
82 From an airgraph to Christopher Tolkien.................107
83 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 6 October 1944 (FS 54)............108
84 From an airgraph to Christopher Tolkien..............110
85 From an airgraph to Christopher Tolkien.................111
86 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 23 October 1944 (FS 57)...........112
87 To Christopher Tolkien ....................113
88 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 28 October 1944 (FS 58)..............114
89 To Christopher Tolkien ..............115
90 To Christopher Tolkien ......................118
91 To Christopher Tolkien 20 Northmoor Road, Oxford ...............119
92 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 18 December 1944 (FS 68) ........120
93 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 24 December 1944 (FS 70) ................121
94 To Christopher Tolkien 20 Northmoor Road, Oxford ..............122
95 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 18 January 1945 (FS 76) ..........123
96 To Christopher Tolkien 20 Northmoor Road, Oxford ..................124
97 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 11 February 1945 (FS 80) .....................127
98 To Stanley Unwin...................128
99 To 'Michal' Williams, widow of Charles Williams ............130
100 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 29 May 1945.................131
101 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 3 June 1945.............132
102 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 9 August 1945 ...................133
103 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 11 October 1945.............134
104 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 22 October 1945...............135
105 To Sir Stanley Unwin............136
106 From a letter to Sir Stanley Unwin 30 September 1946.............137
107 From a letter to Sir Stanley Unwin 7 December 1946 ...............138
108 From a letter to Allen & Unwin 5 July 1947................139
109 To Sir Stanley Unwin.............140
110 From a letter to Allen & Unwin 20 September 1947 ..........143
111 From a letter to Sir Stanley Unwin 21 September 1947..............144
112 To Katherine Farrer...............145
113 To C.S.Lewis............146
114 From a letter to Hugh Brogan 7 April 1948.........149
115 To Katherine Farrer...........150
116 From a letter to Allen & Unwin 5 August 1948...........151
117 From a letter to Hugh Brogan 31 October 1948.................152
118 To Hugh Brogan............153
119 From a letter to Allen & Unwin 28 February 1949.............154
120 From a letter to Allen & Unwin 16 March 1949..............155
121 From a letter to Allen & Unwin 13 July 1949....................156
122 To Naomi Mitchison ....................157
123 From a draft to Milton Waldman 5 February 1950...................158
124 To Sir Stanley Unwin.....................159
125 To Sir Stanley Unwin..................161
126 To Milton Waldman (draft) 3 Manor Road, Oxford .....................162
127 To Sir Stanley Unwin..................163
128 From a letter to Allen & Unwin 1 August 1950........................164
129 From a letter to Sir Stanley Unwin 10 September 1950................165
130 From a letter to Sir Stanley Unwin 14 September 1950.............166
131 To Milton Waldman...........................167
132 From a letter to John Tolkien 10 February 1952.............179
133 To Rayner Unwin........................180
134 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 29 August 1952 ...........182
135 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 24 October 1952...........183
136 To Rayner Unwin..............184
137 To Rayner Unwin..............185
138 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 4 August 1953 ...............187
139 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 8 August 1953......................188
140 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 17 August 1953 ......................189
141 From a letter to Allen & Unwin 9 October 1953 .............................190
142 To Robert Murray, SJ...........................191
143 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 22 January 1954 ...................192
144 To Naomi Mitchison ........................193
145 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 13 May 1954 ................198
146 From a letter to Allen & Unwin 3 June 1954...............199
147 From a letter to Allen & Unwin 15 June 1954.................200
148 From a letter to Katherine Farrer 7 August 1954.................201
149 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 9 September 1954.................202
150 From a letter to Allen & Unwin 18 September 1954 .................203
151 From a letter to Hugh Brogan 18 September 1954 ....................204
152 From a letter to Rayner Heppenstall, BBC 22 September 1954 ................205
153 To Peter Hastings (draft)..................206
154 To Naomi Mitchison .....................212
155 To Naomi Mitchison (draft) .....................215
156 To Robert Murray, SJ. (draft)......................216
157 From a letter to Katherine Farrer 27 November 1954.............221
158 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 2 December 1954 .............222
159 From a letter to Dora Marshall 3 March 1955.................223
160 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 6 March 1955 ................224
161 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 14 April 1955 .................225
162 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 18 April 1955 ................226
163 To W. H. Auden .................227
164 From a letter to Naomi Mitchison 29 June 1955..................231
165 To the Houghton Mifflin Co. ................232
166 From a letter to Allen & Unwin 22 July 1955......................235
167 From a letter to Christopher and Faith Tolkien 15 August 1955 ...............236
168 To Richard Jeffery...................237
169 From a letter to Hugh Brogan 11 September 1955 .....................238
170 From a letter to Allen & Unwin 30 September 1955 ..........239
171 To Hugh Brogan.....................240
172 From a letter to Allen & Unwin 12 October 1955 ..................242
173 From a letter to Katherine Farrer 24 October 1955.......................243
174 To Lord Halsbury...............244
175 From a letter to Mrs Molly Waldron 30 November 1955..............245
176 From a letter to Naomi Mitchison 8 December 1955...............246
177 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 8 December 1955 ...................247
178 From a letter to Allen & Unwin 12 December 1955...............248
179 From a letter to Hugh Brogan 14 December 1955....................249
180 To 'Mr Thompson' [draft]...........................250
181 To Michael Straight [drafts]..............................252
182 From a letter to Anne Barrett, Houghton Mifflin Co. ...................................256
183 Notes on W. H. Auden's review of The Return of the King ..............................257
184 To Sam Gamgee.............................261
185 From a letter to Christopher and Faith Tolkien 19 March 1956 ............................262
186 From a letter to Joanna de Bortadano (drafts)...............................263
187 From a letter to H. Cotton Minchin (draft)...................264
188 From a letter to Allen & Unwin 3 April 1956.............................265
189 From a letter to Mrs M. Wilson 11 April 1956 ....................266
190 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 3 July 1956...................................267
191 From a letter to Miss J. Bum (draft) 26 July 1956 ................................269
192 From a letter to Amy Ronald 27 July 1956................................270
193 From a letter to Terence Tiller 2 November 1956....................271
194 To Terence Tiller 76 Sandfield Road, Headington, Oxford........................272
195 From a letter to Amy Ronald 15 December 1956 ...................273
196 From a letter to Katherine Fairer 21 March 1957 ..................274
197 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 9 May 1957 ................275
198 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 19 June 1957 .................276
199 From a letter to Caroline Everett 24 June 1957..................277
200 From a letter to Major R. Bowen 25 June 1957 ................279
201 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 7 September 1957................280
202 From a letter to Christopher and Faith Tolkien ...............281
203 From a letter to Herbert Schiro 17 November 1957 ..............282
204 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 7 December 1957 ...............283
205 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 21 February 1958 ..................285
206 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 8 April 1958 ...............286
207 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 8 April 1958 ................287
208 From a letter to C. Ouboter, Voorhoeve en Dietrich, Rotterdam 10 April 1958 ...............288
209 From a letter to Robert Murray, SJ. 4 May 1958 ..........289
210 From a letter to Forrest J. Ackerman [Not dated; June 1958] ...............291
211 To Rhona Beare...........295
212 Draft of a continuation of the above letter (not sent) ..............300
213 From a letter to Deborah Webster 25 October 1958 ...................303
214 To A. C. Nunn (draft) ...................304
215 To Walter Allen, New Statesman (drafts) .....................309
216 From a letter to the Deputy Registrar, University of Madras 12 August 1959 ..................311
217 From a letter to Allen & Unwin 11 September 1959 ..................312
218 To Eric Rogers..........313
219 From a letter to Allen & Unwin 14 October 1959 ................314
220 From a letter to Naomi Mitchison 15 October 1959 .......................315
221 From a letter to the First Assistant Registrar, Oxford University 24 November 1959 ......316
222 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 9 December 1959 ..................317
223 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 31 July 1960 ..................318
224 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 12 September 1960...........319
225 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 10 December 1960 ...................320
226 From a letter to Professor L. W. Forster 31 December 1960 ..........321
227 From a letter to Mrs E. C. Ossen Drijver 5 January 1961 ................322
228 From a letter to Allen & Unwin 24 January 1961 ......................323
229 From a letter to Allen & Unwin 23 February 1961 ...................324
230 From a letter to Rhona Beare 8 June 1961 .......................326
231 From a letter to Jane Neave 4 October 1961 ..............................327
232 From a letter to Joyce Reeves 4 November 1961..................328
233 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 15 November 1961 .................329
234 To Jane Neave ........................330
235 From a letter to Mrs Pauline Gasch (Pauline Baynes) 6 December 1961 ..............332
236 To Rayner Unwin .................333
237 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 12 April 1962 .............335
238 From a letter to Jane Neave 18 July l962 ..................336
239 From a letter to Allen & Unwin 20 July 1962...............338
240 To Mrs Pauline Gasch (Pauline Baynes).................339
241 From a letter to Jane Neave 8-9 September 1962 ............340
242 From a letter to Sir Stanley Unwin 28 November 1962............342
243 To Michael Tolkien 76 Sandfield Road, Headington, Oxford .............343
244 From a draft to a reader of The Lord of the Rings........................344
245 To Rhona Beare..............345
246 From a letter to Mrs Eileen Elgar (drafts) September 1963 ..........346
247 To Colonel Worskett ......................351
248 To Sir Stanley Unwin .................353
249 From a letter to Michael George Tolkien 16 October 1963 ..............354
250 To Michael Tolkien 76 Sandfield Road, Headington, Oxford ...............355
251 To Priscilla Tolkien .....................358
252 From a letter to Michael Tolkien (draft) ..........................359
253 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 23 December 1963 ................360
254 To the Rev. Denis Tyndall .....................361
255 From a letter to Mrs Eileen Elgar 5 March 1964 ...............362
256 From a letter to Colin Bailey 13 May 1964...........................363
257 To Christopher Bretherton....................364
258 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 2 August 1964 .......................367
259 From a letter to Anne Barrett, Houghton Mifflin Co. ..................368
260 From a letter to Carey Biyton 16 August 1964 ...........................369
261 From a letter to Anne Barrett, Houghton Mifflin Co. ...................370
262 To Michael di Capua, Pantheon Books ...............371
263 From a letter to the Houghton Mifflin Co. 10 September 1964 ...............372
264 From a letter to Allen & Unwin 11 September 1964 .......................373
265 From a letter to David Kolb, S.J. 11 November 1964........................374
266 From a letter to Michael George Tolkien 6 January 1965 ................375
267 From a letter to Michael Tolkien 9-10 January 1965 ........................376
268 From a letter to Miss A. P. Northey 19 January 1965......................377
269 From a letter to W. H. Auden 12 May 1965...................378
270 To Rayner Unwin ............379
271 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 25 May 1965 ...................380
272 From a letter to Zillah Sherring 20 July 1965 .....................381
273 From a letter to Nan C. Scott 21 July 1965 ..................................383
274 From a letter to the Houghton Mifflin Co. 28 July 1965 ....................384
275 From a letter to W. H. Auden 4 August 1965 ................385
276 To Dick Plotz, 'Thain' of the Tolkien Society of America .................386
277 To Rayner Unwin 12 September 1965 ............388
278 From a letter to Clyde S. Kilby 20 October 1965 ................389
279 From a letter to Michael George Tolkien 30 October 1965 ............390
280 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 8 November 1965 .............................391
281 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 15 December 1965 .........................392
282 From a letter to Clyde S. Kilby 18 December 1965 .................393
283 To Benjamin P. Indick..................394
284 To W. H. Auden ...............395
285 From a letter to W. H. Auden 8 April 1966 ..........................396
286 From a letter to A. E. Couchman 27 April 1966 .......................397
287 From a letter to Joy Hill, Allen & Unwin 10 May 1966 ...................398
288 To Professor Norman Davis ......................399
289 From a letter to Michael George Tolkien 29 July 1966 ............................400
290 From a letter to Michael George Tolkien 28 October 1966 .......................401
291 To Walter Hooper.....................402
292 To Joy Hill, Allen & Unwin ........................403
293 From a letter to William Foster 29 December 1966.............404
294 To Charlotte and Denis Plimmer...........405
295 To W.H.Auden .....................409
296 To Rayner Unwin Hotel Miramar, Bournemouth .............410
297 Drafts for a letter to 'Mr Rang' ..................411
298 To William Luther White ....................416
299 To Roger Lancelyn Green .................417
300 From a letter to Walter Hooper 20 February 1968..............418
301 From a letter to Donald Swann 29 February 1968 .............419
302 From a letter to Time-Life International Ltd. 2 May 1968 ................420
303 From a letter to Nicholas Thomas 6 May 1968..............421
304 From a letter to Clyde S. Kilby 4 June 1968 ........422
305 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 26 June 1968 .............423
306 From a letter to Michael Tolkien..........424
307 From a letter to Amy Ronald 14 November 1968..............428
308 To Christopher Tolkien ............429
309 From a letter to Amy Ronald 2 January 1969 ..............430
310 To Camilla Unwin ............431
311 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 31 July 1969 .................433
312 From a letter to Amy Ronald 16 November 1969.........................434
313 From a letter to Michael Tolkien 25 November 1969......................435
314 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 15 December 1969 ................436
315 From a letter to Michael Tolkien 1 January 1970 ......................437
316 From a letter to R. W. Burchfield 11 September 1970..................438
317 From a letter to Amy Ronald All Hallows 1970 ........................439
318 From a letter to Neil Ker 22 November 1970 ........................440
319 From a letter to Roger Lancelyn Green 8 January 1971 ..................441
320 From a letter to Mrs Ruth Austin 25 January 1971...................442
321 From a letter to P. Rorke, S.J. 4 February 1971 ..................443
322 From a letter to William Cater 18 March 1971 ....................444
323 To Christopher Tolkien [19 Lakeside Road]........................445
324 From a letter to Graham Tayar 4-5 June 1971 ....................446
325 From a letter to Roger Lancelyn Green 17 July 1971 ...................447
326 From a letter to Rayner Unwin 24 July 1971 .....................448
327 From a letter to Robert H. Boyer 25 August 1971 ..............449
328 To Carole Batten-Phelps (draft) [19 Lakeside Road]................450
329 From a letter to Peter Szabó Szentmihályi (draft) ...................452
330 From a letter to William Cater 1 November 1971...................453
331 To William Cater [Miramar Hotel, Bournemouth] ..................454
332 To Michael Tolkien .................455
333 To Rayner Unwin Merton College............456
334 To Rayner Unwin .................457
335 From a letter to Michael Salmon 18 May 1972.................458
336 From a letter to Sir Patrick Browne 23 May 1972 ................459
337 From a letter to 'Mr Wrigley' 25 May 1972 ..................460
338 From a letter to Fr. Douglas Carter 6[?] June 1972...............461
339 To the Editor of the Daily Telegraph ...............462
340 From a letter to Christopher Tolkien 11 July 1972 .................................463
341 From a letter to Marjorie Incledon 17 September 1972 .........................464
342 From a letter to Mrs Meriel Thurston 9 November 1972.........................465
343 From a letter to Sterling Lanier 21 November 1972 ..............................466
344 From a letter to Edmund Meskys 23 November 1972 ............................467
345 To Mrs Meriel Thurston .....................................................................468
346 From a letter to Lyie Leach 13 December 1972.....................................469
347 To Richard Jeffery.............................................................................470
348 From a letter to Mrs Catharine Findlay 6 March 1973............................473
349 From a letter to Mrs E. R. Ehrardt 8 March 1973 .................................474
350 To C. L. Wiseman ............................................................................475
351 To Christopher Tolkien .....................................................................476
352 From a letter to Ungfrú Aðalsteinsdottir 5 June 1973............................477
353 From a letter to Lord Halsbury 4 August 1973 .....................................478
354 To Priscilla Tolkien ...........................................................................479
Towards the end of his life, J. R. R. Tolkien was deprived for a few weeks of the use of hisright arm. He told his publisher: 'I found not being able to use a pen or pencil as defeating as the loss of her beak would be to a hen.'
An immense amount of Tolkien's time was taken up with the written word: not just his academic work and the stories of 'Middle-earth', but also letters. Many of these had to be written in the way of business, but in any case letter-writing was on most occasions a favourite activity with him. The consequence is that an immense number of letters by Tolkien survive; and when, with the help of Christopher Tolkien, I began work on this selection, it became obvious that an enormous quantity of material would have to be omitted, and that only passages of particular interest could be included. Naturally, priority has been given to those letters where Tolkien discusses his own books; but the selection has also been made with an eye to demonstrating the huge range of Tolkien's mind
and interests, and his idiosyncratic but always clear view of the world.
Among the omissions is the very large body of letters he wrote between 1913 and 1918 to Edith Bratt, who was his fiancée and then his wife; these are highly personal in character, and from them I have chosen only a few passages which refer to writings in which Tolkien was engaged at the time.
Between 1918 and 1937 few letters survive, and such as have been preserved record (unfortunately) nothing about Tolkien's work on The Silmarillion and The Hobbit, which he was writing at this time. But from 1937 onwards there is an unbroken series of letters to the end of his life, giving,
often in great detail, an account of the writing of The Lord of the Rings, and of later work on The Silmarillion, and often including lengthy discussions of the meaning of his writings.
Within the letters chosen for publication, all passages omitted have been indicated by a row of four dots, thus:.... In cases where three dots appear, this is the usage employed by Tolkien himself in the letter. In almost all cases, omissions have been made simply for reasons of space, and only very rarely has it been necessary to leave a passage out of a letter for reasons of discretion.
Tolkien's original text has been left unaltered except in the case of the address and date, which have been given according to the same system throughout the book. and in the matter of titles of Tolkien's books. He himself employed a number of different systems for giving titles: for instance,
is indicated by a superior numeral in the text. Notes are numbered consecutively throughout each letter, and are identified letter by letter (rather than page by page) at the back of the book. The notes have been compiled according to the principle of providing such information as is necessary for comprehension, but the aim has been brevity, too, and it is assumed that the reader will have a fairly thorough knowledge of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Bearing in mind the large number of editions of the latter book, with their different paginations, Tolkien's page-references to it in his letters are explained in the notes, with a citation of the passage to which he is referring.
In the editorial notes, four books are cited by brief titles: Pictures, Unfinished Tales, Biography, Inklings. These are, in full: Pictures by J. R. R. Tolkien, with foreword and notes by Christopher Tolkien (1979); J.R.R. Tolkien, Unfinished Tales, edited by Christopher Tolkien (1980); Humphrey Carpenter, J.R.R. Tolkien, a biography (1977); and Humphrey Carpenter, The Inklings (1978). All four books are published in Britain by George Allen & Unwin Ltd., and in America by
the Houghton Mifflin Company.
The division of labour between myself and Christopher Tolkien has been as follows. I myself collected and transcribed all the letters, and the initial selection was mine; he commented on the selection and transcription, and made various suggestions for changes, which we discussed further, and adopted with various emendations. We then found it necessary to reduce the text quite severely, for considerations of space; again, I proposed the initial cuts, he made comments
on my suggestions, and we agreed on a final procedure.
With the notes, too, I wrote the original text, and he again commented on what I had done and supplied certain additional pieces of information. The book as published therefore reflects my own taste and judgement rather more than his, but it is also the product of our joint work; and I am very grateful to him for sparing many hours, and for guiding and encouraging me.
Humphrey Carpenter
