Letters from Father Christmas: Difference between revisions

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*[https://www.tolkienestate.com/en/writing/tales-for-children/letters-from-father-christmas.html Letters from Father Christmas] by [[Baillie Tolkien]]
*[https://www.tolkienestate.com/en/writing/tales-for-children/letters-from-father-christmas.html Letters from Father Christmas] by [[Baillie Tolkien]]
*[http://wayneandchristina.wordpress.com/2012/11/06/the-father-christmas-letters-4/ The ‘Father Christmas’ Letters] by [[Christina Scull]]
*[http://wayneandchristina.wordpress.com/2012/11/06/the-father-christmas-letters-4/ The ‘Father Christmas’ Letters] by [[Christina Scull]]
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Revision as of 13:30, 7 June 2022

The name Letters refers to more than one character, item or concept. For a list of other meanings, see Letters (disambiguation).
Letters from Father Christmas
File:Letters from Father Christmas.jpg
AuthorJ.R.R. Tolkien; Baillie Tolkien (ed.)
PublisherGeorge Allen and Unwin (UK)
Houghton Mifflin (US)
Released2 September 1976 (UK)
19 October 1976 (US)
ISBN0-04-823130-4

Letters from Father Christmas, known in earlier editions as The Father Christmas Letters, is a collection of letters written and illustrated by J.R.R. Tolkien between 1920 and 1942 for his children, from "Father Christmas". They tell of the adventures and misadventures of Father Christmas and his helpers, including the North Polar Bear and his two sidekick cubs, Paksu and Valkotukka. The book was first published on September 2nd, 1976, edited by Baillie Tolkien.

From the publisher

For more than twenty years, the children of J.R.R. Tolkien received letters from the North Pole -- from Father Christmas himself! They told wonderful stories of mischief and disaster, adventures and battles: how the reindeer got loose and scattered presents all over the place, how the accident-prone Polar Bear climbed the North Pole and fell through the roof of Father Christmas's house, and many others.Now, for the first time, these letters are brought to life with specially arranged holiday music.

Editions

  • 1976: The Father Christmas Letters. London: George Allen & Unwin; Boston: Houghton Miflin. [48 pages long, omits the letters from 1920-1924 and from 1939-1942]
  • 1995: Letters from Father Christmas. London: CollinsChildren'sBooks; Boston: Houghton Mifflin. [Facsimiles of letters with envelopes, with three previously unpublished pictures]
  • 1999: Letters from Father Christmas. London: HarperCollins; Boston: Houghton Mifflin. [Revised and enlarged edition; Revised version: 2004]
  • 2009: Letters from Father Christmas. London: HarperCollins. [New paperback edition]
  • 2012: Letters from Father Christmas. London: HarperCollins; Boston: Houghton Mifflin.[Revised and enlarged edition]
  • 2020: Letters from Father Christmas. London: HarperCollins; Boston: Houghton Mifflin.[Centenary edition]

Relation to the legendarium

While the Letters from Father Christmas do not relate to the Middle-earth of Tolkien's legendarium, some parts of the content can be noted:

Kris Swank has discussed similarities between The Hobbit and the Letters from Father Christmas, noting that they share a couple of story elements and that both works "contain story elements which have common roots in Tolkien's early Lost Tales and poems".[1]

External links

References

The world of the Letters from Father Christmas
Main characters: Father Christmas · North Polar Bear · Ilbereth
Other characters: Mr Cave Bear · Green Brother · Grandfather Yule
Man in the Moon · Paksu & Valkotukka · Snow Man
Races & Peoples: Goblins · Green elves · Red Elves · Snow-elves · Snow-men
Other concepts: Arktik · Goblin Alphabet · Windbeam
A J.R.R. Tolkien book guide
Books by or mainly by Tolkien
Of Arda Authored by
J.R.R. Tolkien
The Hobbit · The Lord of the Rings
(i.The Fellowship of the Ring · ii.The Two Towers · iii.The Return of the King) ·
The Road Goes Ever On · Bilbo's Last Song
Edited by Christopher Tolkien The Silmarillion · Unfinished Tales · The History of Middle-earth series
(i.The Book of Lost Tales: Part One · ii.The Book of Lost Tales: Part Two · iii.The Lays of Beleriand · iv.The Shaping of Middle-earth · v.The Lost Road and Other Writings · vi.The Return of the Shadow · vii.The Treason of Isengard · viii.The War of the Ring · ix.Sauron Defeated · x.Morgoth's Ring · xi.The War of the Jewels · xii.The Peoples of Middle-earth · Index) ·
The Children of Húrin · Beren and Lúthien · The Fall of Gondolin
Edited by others The Annotated Hobbit · The History of The Hobbit · The Nature of Middle-earth ·
The Fall of Númenor · The Maps of Middle-earth
Not of Arda Short stories
and poems
Leaf by Niggle · Farmer Giles of Ham · Smith of Wootton Major · The Adventures of Tom Bombadil ·
Letters from Father Christmas · Mr. Bliss · Roverandom ·
Tree and Leaf (compilation) · Tales from the Perilous Realm (compilation)
Fictional works The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún · The Fall of Arthur · The Story of Kullervo · The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun
Translations and academic works Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo · Finn and Hengest ·
The Monsters and the Critics, and Other Essays · Beowulf and the Critics · Tolkien On Fairy-stories ·
Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary · A Secret Vice · The Battle of Maldon
Collected letters and poems The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien · The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien
Edited old texts A Middle English Vocabulary · Sir Gawain and the Green Knight · Ancrene Wisse · The Old English Exodus
Books by other authors
Biographies J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography · The Inklings · Tolkien and the Great War
Reference works The Complete Guide to Middle-earth · The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide
Scholarly studies The Road to Middle-earth · The Keys of Middle-earth · The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion ·
The Ring of Words · A Companion to J.R.R. Tolkien · Tolkien's Lost Chaucer ·
Tolkien's Library · Tolkien on Chaucer, 1913-1959
Scholarly journals Tolkien Studies · (The Chronology)
Other works by Tolkien
Linguistic journals Vinyar Tengwar various issues · Parma Eldalamberon issue 11-22
Collections of artwork
and manuscripts
Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien · J.R.R. Tolkien: Life and Legend · J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator ·
The Art of The Hobbit · The Art of The Lord of the Rings · Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth ·
Tolkien: Treasures · J.R.R. Tolkien: The Art of the Manuscript
This list is only a selection of works, for a fuller bibliography of Tolkien see here or here. See also a timeline and an index.