TCG Letter #1166

Replying to Rosemary Summers, believed to be a teacher, Tolkien says that some critics argued the Hobbit was too frightening for children. Her school children were currently reading the Lord of the Rings. He says that in his opinion the tale being set so "long ago" makes it less a nightmarish story such as a horror story set in our times. He concludes that the children will gain much from the third volume and notes that goblin is a translation of orc. Tolkien also mentions the BBC radio production of The Hobbit.


The letter is held at the Bodleian Library archives, labelled 'MS. Eng.c. 6859, fols. 68-70.