Letter to Eileen Elgar (24 December 1971)
From Tolkien Gateway
On 24 December 1971, J.R.R. Tolkien wrote a letter to Mrs Eileen Elgar.
- Contents: Tolkien writes about the death of Edith. He also writes that he thinks Pauline Baynes's Hobbit poster map is better than A Map of Middle-earth; he is glad Elgar liked the Narnia books, although he himself is not fond of them; and he discusses the naming of pets after Hobbits (commenting that Hilary has a dog which is called Bilbo when being good, and Baggins when being bad).[1]
- Publication: Descriptions of the letter appeared in Sotheby's English Literature and English History 6-7 December 1984 and The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: Chronology. An excerpt concerning Narnia was published in Mythlore 121/122.
Excerpts[edit]
"[Edith] was my Lúthien Tinúviel, with her river [sic? as transcribed, for "raven"] hair and fair face and bright starry eyes"
"I am glad that you have discovered Narnia. These stories are deservedly very popular; but since you ask if I like them I am afraid the answer is No. I do not like 'allegory', and least of all religious allegory of this kind. But that is a difference of taste which we both recognized and did not interfere with our friendship."[2]
See also[edit]
References
- ↑ Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond (2006), The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: I. Chronology, p. 758
- ↑ Quoted in "Disparaging Narnia: Reconsidering Tolkien's View of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" by Josh B. Long, in Mythlore 121/122, p. 39
