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TCG Letter #631 / Carpenter Letter #257

From

J.R.R. Tolkien

Christopher Bretherton

Date

16 July 1964

Type

Typed Letter Signed

Transcript

Partial

Tolkien wrote that he usually typed letters because of his handwriting (which can be very difficult to read at times). He talks about the invention of his legendarium and the publication of The Hobbit.

Tolkien had moved to 76 Sandfield Road in Headington and was having trouble with noisy neighbours.

John Christopher Bretherton (1925-2015) studied English at Lincoln College, Oxford, October 1942-June 1943 and January 1947-June 1949 and was taught by Professor Tolkien. He published a couple of books for children.

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

The letter was donated to the Bodleian Library.

Tags

Archive holdings

Bodleian Library

C. S. Lewis

Finnish

Middle-earth

Númenor

Sir Gawain & The Green Knight

The Children of Hurin

The Fall of Gondolin

The Hobbit

The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings writing

The Silmarillion

References

The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien: Revised and Expanded ed. (HarperCollins, UK), pp. 484-89, p. 632 (Carpenter notes)

The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (1981), pp. 344-49, p. 451 (Carpenter note)

The History of Middle-earth: Vol. 03 - The Lays of Beleriand, p. 367

The History of Middle-earth: Vol. 01 - The Book of Lost Tales, Part One, p. 45, p. 203

Tolkien and the Great War, p. 60 ('an entirely different mythological world'); p. 85 (see also note)

The Annotated Hobbit: Revised and Updated, p. 94, p. 188

Pity, Power, and Tolkien's Ring: To Rule the Fate of Many, pp. 1, 57

Marco Cristini "The Fall of Two Cities: Troy and Gondolin." Thersites 15 (2022), p. 4

Cartas de J.R.R. Tolkien, pp. 493-8, p. 643 (notas de Carpenter)

Letters from J.R.R. Tolkien to Christopher Bretherton MS. Misc. 4, fols. 52-59.

J. Henry Shorthouse - 'John Inglesent'

Tolkien Estate where this letter can be read freely.

The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide - Chronology (2017), p. 653, see also pp. 175-6 (entry for 'Late August-?early September 1932'), pp. 192-3 (?1936-?1937), and pp. 842-3 (note on '?1936-?1937).

Beren and Lúthien, p. 29, p. 222

J.R.R. Tolkien: Life and Legend, p. 28 (item 45 contains minor quotes from this letter)

The Story of Kullervo, p. 52, 136

Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary, p. 139

J.R.R. Tolkien A Descriptive Bibliography, Di1, p. 350

The Annotated Hobbit (1988), p. 61, p. 149

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TCG Letter #631 / Carpenter Letter #257

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