Dilly Dalley’s Reviews > The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien > Status Update

It is 1956 and Tolkien is beginning what I assume will be a long line of letters from readers. One of whom is Sam Gamgee! He writes to his son, Christopher "I have had a letter from a real Sam Gamgee, from Tooting! He could not have chosen a more Hobbit-sounding place, could he? though un-Shirelike, I fear, in reality.

It is 1955 and finally all three volumes of LoTR have been published. Allen & Unwin have published it but not without a number of peevish and testy letters of frustration from Tolkien, due to production hiccups. Along the way, there has been quite a bit of exposition about the themes of the novel, and about Tolkien's personality. I must admit he is level of self-awareness kind of surprises me.

I am up to 1950 - We are getting close to the publication of Lord of the Rings and there's a bit of back and forth about whether Tolkien wishes to change publishers. He's also acknowledging that it has taken him 12 years to write the requested follow up to the Hobbit. There is much discussion about how big it is - a million words - and he is still keen to publish the Silmarillion.

Nearly finished the Second World War letters. At this stage the letters cover Tolkien's everyday life, reading like a diary, his concern for his children in the war (one set covers Michael's war experiences) but the great bulk are letters to Christopher who is the RAF. In the diary like format, you get a sense of Tolkien's academic life during the war. Then towards the end of the war, his novel writing picks up.

The letters about illustrations and the US publisher are interesting. Tolkien is just so invested in every part of the process.