Letter 23

The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
Letter 23
Recipient	C.A. Furth of Allen & Unwin
Date	17 February 1938
Subject(s)	Mr Bliss The Lord of the Rings

Letter 23 is a letter written by J.R.R. Tolkien and published in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Summary

This letter dated 17 February 1938 was sent to C.A. Furth of Allen & Unwin. The publishers are again considering the publication of Mr Bliss, which had previously languished due to the complexity of the illustrations, but Tolkien does not feel he has the time to undertake redrawing them.

He laments that he has not managed to progress past the first chapter of The Lord of the Rings, remarking:

They say it is the first step that costs the effort. I do not find it so. I am sure I could write unlimited 'first chapters'. I have indeed written many.