1925

27 June 1925

J.R.R. Tolkien to [University of Oxford Electors]

#7

Carpenter #7

Tolkien applies for the position of 'Professorship of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University'. He describes his schooling and his time at Leeds Univ...

22 July 1925

J.R.R. Tolkien to Vice Chancellor of Leeds University

#8

Carpenter #8

Tolkien has been elected to the Rawlinson & Bosworth professorship at Oxford and must therefore resign his position at Leeds. His posting takes effect f...

1937

5 February 1937

J.R.R. Tolkien to Susan Dagnall

#11

Carpenter #11

Tolkien replies to Susan Dagnall of GA&U on matters of the reproductions of some of his illustrations in The Hobbit. He is happy to let the "Produc...

31 August 1937

J.R.R. Tolkien to C.A. Furth

#15

Carpenter #15

Tolkien sends the last two colour drawings for the American edition of The Hobbit and asks GA&U to send it on to Houghton Mifflin. he also asks about a ...

15 October 1937

J.R.R. Tolkien to Stanley Unwin

#19

Carpenter #17

Tolkien was pleased that The Hobbit was being well received, though he knows that the two glowing, unsigned reviews in The Times and the Times Literary ...

23 October 1937

J.R.R. Tolkien to Stanley Unwin

#21

Carpenter #18

Originally published as just a fragment of a thank you letter to Stanley Unwin who had written that Tolkien was "one of those rare people with geni...

16 December 1937

J.R.R. Tolkien to Stanley Unwin

#22

Carpenter #19

Tolkien has received a letter from Arthur Ransome, who wonders about the use of the word "man" in The Hobbit, as well as a few other letters f...

1938

1 February 1938

J.R.R. Tolkien to C.A. Furth (Allen & Unwin Ltd.)

#24

Carpenter #21

Tolkien asks for four more copies of The Hobbit. While on vacation he has been unwell and spent most of the time "laid up".

4 February 1938

J.R.R. Tolkien to C.A. Furth

#25

Carpenter #22

Tolkien sends to his publisher, the first chapter of a new book, the sequel to The Hobbit. 'A Long-expected Party', the first chapter of this ...

12 March 1938

J.R.R. Tolkien to Houghton Mifflin Co.

#31

Carpenter #27

Tolkien expresses reluctance to create drawings of hobbits and suggests leaving such tasks to someone with artistic skills. He provides a description of...

1941

6-8 March 1941

J.R.R. Tolkien to Michael Tolkien

#58

Carpenter #43

In a comprehensive letter, J.R.R. Tolkien reflects on relationships between men and women, addressing physical, friendly, and romantic dimensions. He de...

18 March 1941

J.R.R. Tolkien to Michael Tolkien

#59

Carpenter #44

Identifying more with his Suffield heritage than his Tolkien name, Tolkien expresses a deep connection to Worcestershire, considering it "home"...

9 June 1941

J.R.R. Tolkien to Michael Tolkien

#60

Carpenter #45

In a letter to his son Michael, Tolkien expresses his struggles with writing due to constant rain and increased responsibilities. He sympathizes with go...

26 November 1941

J.R.R. Tolkien to R.W. Chapman

#61

Carpenter #46

Tolkien reflects on his time in Leeds from 1920 to 1925, associating it with Gordon and expressing gratitude for his kindness and encouragement.

1943

29 November 1943

J.R.R. Tolkien to Christopher Tolkien

#86

Carpenter #52

Tolkien reflects on the challenging and disheartening circumstances of the time, including the impact of war, propaganda, and the bleak conditions of li...

9 December 1943

J.R.R. Tolkien to Christopher Tolkien

#87

Carpenter #53

Writing to son Christopher, Tolkien reflects on the challenges and monotony of daily life during a turbulent period, expressing a sense of isolation due...

1944

8 January 1944

J.R.R. Tolkien to Christopher Tolkien

#88

Carpenter #54

Tolkien offers Christopher advice on prayer and to remember his guardian angel. He reminds him to use "praises", and says of them "if you...

1 March 1944

J.R.R. Tolkien to Christopher Tolkien

#90

Carpenter #56

Tolkien notes the lack of humorous anecdotes due to limited social interactions in recent weeks. He also mentions an encounter with Lewis, who is energe...

3 April 1944

J.R.R. Tolkien to Christopher Tolkien

#92

Carpenter #58

Tolkien recounts recent events, including a cycle ride to Pembroke, a train journey to Birmingham, and a visit to his hometown. During the train journey...

6 May 1944

J.R.R. Tolkien to Christopher Tolkien

#100

Carpenter #66

Tolkien responds to Christopher's letters and acknowledges the challenges and frustrations of life in the military camp during the war. He empathiz...

11 May 1944

J.R.R. Tolkien to Christopher Tolkien

#101

Carpenter #67

Tolkien completed a fourth new chapter titled 'Faramir,' which received approval from C.S. Lewis and Charles Williams. He notes that he attend...

29 June 1944

J.R.R. Tolkien to Stanley Unwin

#145

Carpenter #74

Stanley Unwin had sent Tolkien a large cheque as payment of royalties on The Hobbit, and mentions that Rayner is now at Oxford reading English. Tolkien ...

31 July 1944

J.R.R. Tolkien to Christopher Tolkien

#166

Carpenter #77

Tolkien reports in a newly published portion that he had received Christopher's air letter of 24 July. He says that his day on Friday was "gri...

6 October 1944

J.R.R. Tolkien to Christopher Tolkien

#172

Carpenter #83

Tolkien makes the acquaintance of Roy Campbell at the Eagle & Child Tolkien makes reference to T.W. Earp being "the original twerp" and on Joh...

24 November 1944

J.R.R. Tolkien to Christopher Tolkien

#179

Carpenter #90

Tolkien expresses joy at receiving several letters from Christopher and comments on the amusing account of the Wings ceremony. He appreciates the mentio...

18 December 1944

J.R.R. Tolkien to Christopher Tolkien

#217

Carpenter #92

In a newly published portion, Tolkien says that today is the last day for Christmas post arriving in time for Christmas and laments the way the holiday ...

28 December 1944

J.R.R. Tolkien to Christopher Tolkien

#219

Carpenter #94

Tolkien is happy to get so many letters from Christopher, and is very pleased that the third batch of Ring material has gotten to Christopher and that h...

1945

30-31 January 1945*

J.R.R. Tolkien to Christopher Tolkien

#221

Carpenter #96

Tolkien describes some domestic plumbing troubles that prevented him from meeting up with Lewis in the morning, but the eventually managed to make it to...

1950

5 February 1950

J.R.R. Tolkien to Milton Waldman

#275

Carpenter #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...

10 March 1950

J.R.R. Tolkien to Milton Waldman

#293

Carpenter #126

Unwin wants to break up Tolkien's "monstrous Saga", and Tolkien hopes Unwin will let the project go, so Tolkien can publish The Lord of t...

14 April 1950

J.R.R. Tolkien to Stanley Unwin

#294

Carpenter #127

Relations between Tolkien and Allen & Unwin had begun to become strained as Tolkien felt that A&U were not open to publishing his work as he would have ...

1951

1951 (late)

J.R.R. Tolkien to Milton Waldman

#152

Carpenter #131

Tolkien wrote this letter to Milton Waldman. Tolkien wanted his publisher, George Allen & Unwin, to publish both The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarill...

1953

2 December 1953

J.R.R. Tolkien to Father Robert Murray

#370

Carpenter #142

Robert Murray had offered Tolkien some thought on The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien replied that The Lord of the Rings is a Catholic work, describing it as...

1954

7 August 1954

J.R.R. Tolkien to Katharine Farrer

#393

Carpenter #148

Tolkien expresses concerns about misprints in The Fellowship of the Ring. He highlights a disagreement over a botanical term, corrected by the printers....

9 September 1954

J.R.R. Tolkien to Rayner Unwin

#394

Carpenter #149

Tolkien expresses his relief that the critiques were better than feared. He acknowledges the disadvantage of issuing the work in three parts, with criti...

18 September 1954

J.R.R. Tolkien to Hugh Brogan

#398

Carpenter #151

Tolkien shares thoughts on the fascination of The Lord of the Rings. The author hopes to include an upcoming note on translation. The letter ends with t...

23 September 1954

J.R.R. Tolkien to Rayner Heppenstall

#399

Carpenter #152

Tolkien discusses the English dialogue in The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth, Beorhthelm's Son that should be used in the BBC Radio programme. In the 202...

1955

10 November 1955

J.R.R. Tolkien to Lord Halsbury

#522

Carpenter #174

Tolkien expresses gratitude for Lord Halsbury's approval and interest in his work. He discusses the surprising success of The Lord of the Rings and...

1956

16 April 1956

J.R.R. Tolkien to H [Humphrey]. Cotton Minchin

#243

Carpenter #187

Tolkien describes himself as a philologist, and sometime calligrapher. An index of Elvish names was intended to be produced, noting that his 'speci...

1957

21 March 1957

J.R.R. Tolkien to Katharine Farrer

#558

Carpenter #196

Tolkien mentions C.S. (Jack) Lewis and acknowledges having limited knowledge of Lewis's troubles and commiserates with Farrer about her health.

7 September 1957

J.R.R. Tolkien to Rayner Unwin

#576

Carpenter #201

Tolkien expresses dissatisfaction with the current script for the proposed film version of The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien describes the ending as "...

1960

31 December 1960

J.R.R. Tolkien to L.W. Forster

#602

Carpenter #226

Writing to L.W. Forster, Tolkien states that The Lord of the Rings was not influenced by the two World Wars, except for the landscape. Tolkien also writ...

1962

18 July 1962

J.R.R. Tolkien to Jane Neave

#613

Carpenter #238

Writing to his aunt, Jane Neave, and in a newly published portion of this letter Tolkien says that fan mail keeps arriving, some of it is interesting an...

20 July 1962

J.R.R. Tolkien to Alina Dadlez

#614

Carpenter #239

Writing to Alina Dadlez, Tolkien explains his displeasure at the Spanish translation of 'Hobbit' and remarks back to the "private fancies...

1965

12 September 1965

J.R.R. Tolkien to Dick Plotz

#650

Carpenter #276

Tolkien writes about The Silmarillion, the Númenórean legends, and his friendship with C.S. Lewis. He discusses the formation of the Tolkien Society o...

1971

29 November 1971

J.R.R. Tolkien to William Cater

#425

Carpenter #331

Tolkien writes to William Cater about the death of his wife, "Edith Tolkien" and his utter bereavement.