letter from J R R Tolkien 'Lord of the Rings'

Here it is, a letter from Tolkien to a friend in 1945
in his characteristic handwriting that would become famous as the recognised script for the maps in 'Lord of the Rings'.

Take a look at the sample here of page 4 - click to enlarge it

Below are a few choice quotes from the letter - written to a friend giving some writing tips on manuscripts he had submitted to Tolkien - of course, this was way before 'Lord of the Rings!



9 June 1945

I ought to have acknowledged your packet at once; but I thought you'd like to have it back soon, with some comment. However, things have been pretty shaky all through May, with an endless series of small extra jobs, exam work, and also death. Especially the sudden death of my very dear friend Charles Williams, the author, which has thrown all our little circle into deep mourning.

Professors, too, seem dying or retiring everywhere, and as I am now (as a survivor) or adviser in half a dozen places, I have had a hell of a lot of letters to write.

I don,t know that I can do or say a lot that would be helpful, as I am not a professional critic, merely an occasional writer and that sort of man is apt simply to feel what he (with his own mode and habit) would have done in such and such a place: not always a good thing in some one else's work.

And in any case, you say you don,t want to publish merely to amuse yourself (and friends). Well, in order to say anything, I have to imagine these things as offered for publication and anonymous. On those conditions: I should say that the ideas, general and particular, are good...

Tolkien then proceeds to critique his friend's stories, and finishes:

I am afraid little of this will be legible but I've had to scribble a great speed. Anyway here's to you, and I hope you'll accept it as a token of friendship. Here's to our next shared pints.

J R R T