My work did not 'evolve'

"My work did not 'evolve' into a serious work. It started like that," states a somewhat testy J. R. R. Tolkien in response to a request for information about himself and his books from Miss Bradley at the London office of the New York Times.

Tolkien, who wrote The Hobbit based on stories he told to his children, was primarily a scholar. He fell into authorship by accident when an incomplete manuscript came into the hands of a publisher. The Hobbit, which came out in 1937, was an instant success.

Following the success of The Hobbit, his publisher, George Allen & Unwin, urged him to write a sequel. Somewhat reluctantly, Tolkien began work on what would become the Lord of the Rings. The series took sixteen years to complete and eventually led to wealth and unwelcomed notoriety.

The Two Towers, the second book of the Lord of the Rings trilogy came out six months before the letter from Miss Bradley. Tolkien, in the final throes of Return of the King, which came out in October of 1955, notes that he is "rather harried at the moment." Indeed he sounds like a man under some pressure, and one who did not suffer fools lightly. It is clear from his response that the unfortunate Miss Bradley had asked him about how his books "evolved," for a brief quotable statement, and what his hobbies were. To this last question he replied, "I am a philologist and all my work is philological. I have no hobbies because I am a serious person, and cannot distinguish between private amusement and duty."

The Times review was very positive. The summary, in addition to noting Tolkien's scholarly background, states that the book "is an extraordinary work--pure excitement, unencumbered narrative, moral warmth, barefaced rejoicing in beauty, but excitement most of all; yet a serious and scrupulous fiction, nothing cozy, no little visits to one's childhood."

It's not clear that everyone at the Book Review agreed with this assessment. The Tolkien letter came to Dartmouth in 1955 via Francis Brown, '25, the editor of the New York Times Book Review. In his letter to Edward Connery Lathem, then Assistant to the Librarian, Brown writes, "I’m sending along a couple of minor items which may amuse you…. The Tolkien letter was sent to our representative in London. I don't know whether you are familiar with his work or books. They are fantasies of a strange order which we have reviewed from time to time."

To see Tolkien's letter and Mr. Brown's cover, ask for Mss 955314.

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