TCG Letter #275 / Carpenter Letter #123

Tolkien had "dumped" the manuscript of The Lord of the Rings on Milton Waldman just as he was going on holiday, and Tolkien felt bad burdening him with it. Though Tolkien does note that he is excited to see what someone else other than his "few like-minded friends" thinks of it. Tolkien remarks that he feels he has no legal obligation to GA&U with regard to The Lord of the Rings. He says that he has offered them a book, and that either their refusal to publish it, or their "eventual acceptance" of his other book, Farmer Giles of Ham, concludes that agreement. Tolkien mentions his brother Hilary's health, having trouble recalling a prior letter he hadn't kept a copy of, and noting that he has written to Sir Stanley Unwin, going into more detail about how The Silmarillion is related to The Lord of the Rings and that they need to be published together.