Letter 92

Letter 92 is a letter written by J.R.R. Tolkien and published in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Summary

This is a fragment of a letter, dated December 18, 1944. It is addressed to Christopher. Tolkien laments his sons stay in the Royal Air Force, which he considers a modern Moloch (in this sense, an institution demanding costly sacrifices). He then tells that his wishes are in vain, and he still fears the "war-aircraft"Template:Ref.

He then discusses the writing plans of C.S. Lewis and himself. They were both writing at the time, and considered writing a book togetherTemplate:Ref.

Notes

1. Template:Note When Tolkien fought in the World War I, planes were used to strike fear into the troops in the trenches. Though their role had changed by 1944, Tolkien still held them in "special horror".
2. Template:Note It is not quite clear what books they were working on. Carpenter and Christopher Tolkien suggest The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe for Lewis, and The Notion Club Papers for Tolkien. The book they planned to write together - Language and Human Nature - was never published.