 | |
| Letters from Father Christmas | |
|---|---|
| Publication Information | |
| Author | J.R.R. Tolkien |
| Editor | Baillie Tolkien |
| Illustrator | J.R.R. Tolkien |
| Publisher | George Allen & Unwin (UK) Houghton Mifflin (US) |
| Released | 2 September 1976 (UK) 19 October 1976 (US) |
| Format | Hardcover; paperback; deluxe edition |
| Pages | 48 |
| ISBN | 0048231304 |
| Preceded by | Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo (1975) |
| Followed by | The Silmarillion (1977) |
Letters from Father Christmas, also called The Father Christmas Letters in earlier editions, is a collection of letters written and illustrated by J.R.R. Tolkien between 1920 and 1943 for his children, from Father Christmas.
It was posthumously released on 2 September 1976, the third anniversary of Tolkien's death, and was edited by Baillie Tolkien, the wife of Christopher Tolkien.
Here it transcribes these letters and reproduces them, along with their envelopes, in facsimile. Many of these envelopes have Tolkien's hand-drawn stamps on them, and many letters are accompanied with full-page artwork. The work is warmly received by critics, and it has been suggested that some elements were carried over to the legendarium.
Overview
The stories are told in the form of letters, primarily written by Father Christmas, with letters or parts of letters written by the North Polar Bear and his Elven secretary Ilbereth. The letters document the adventures and misadventures of Father Christmas and his helpers, including the accident-prone North Polar Bear and nephews, Paksu and Valkotukka. Many letters include illustrations drawn by Father Christmas.[1]
The letters themselves were written over over 20 years to entertain Tolkien's children each Christmas. The first letter was written in 1920 when Tolkien's oldest son, John, was three years old, after he'd asked about Father Christmas and where he lived.[2] Each letter included including North Pole stamps and postage marks designed by Tolkien.
Publication
The first edition was published by Allen & Unwin, under the name The Father Christmas Letters, on 2 September 1976, three years after Tolkien's death. Artwork from The Letters from The Father Christmas Letters were first displayed in 1976-1976 at the Ashmolean Museum to mark the release of the book.[3] The Houghton Mifflin edition was released later that year on 19 October.
The book was revised in 1999 and was retitled Letters from Father Christmas, this edition included some more letters and artwork not published previously. So did the 2012's, 2019's, and subsequent editions. For a detailed comparison of contents between editions, see this review.
Reception
The reception to the original publication of The Father Christmas Letters was received very positively though Judith A. Johnson, in her book J.R.R. Tolkien: Six Decades of Criticism has suggested that this may have been partly due to Tolkien's recent death, noticing that the response to The Father Christmas Letters was much more measured and balanced.[4]
Jessica Kemball-Cook suggested in her book Twentieth Century Children's Writers that it would become known as a classic of children's literature, while Nancy Willard for The New York Times Book Review also received the book positively, saying "Father Christmas lives. And never more merrily than in these pages." In 2002, an article in The Independent on Sunday described the work as rivalling "The Lord of the Rings for sheer imaginative joy".
Relation to the legendarium
While the Letters from Father Christmas are not part of Tolkien's legendarium, some shared elements can be noted:
- Father Christmas' Elf-secretary Ilbereth (reminiscent of Elbereth?)[source?]
- glimpses of Elvish writing and the Goblin Alphabet
- "Arctic" Quenya
- Man in the Moon
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".[5]
Publication history and gallery
- UK editions
-
1976 hardcover first edition
-
1978 paperback
-
1993 paperback
-
1995 hardcover
-
1999 hardcover revised edition
-
2004 hardcover & 2006 paperback
-
2009 paperback
-
2012 hardcover
-
2019 hardcover deluxe edition
-
2020 hardcover centenary edition
-
2023 hardcover
- George Allen & Unwin, hardcover (1976), pp. 48. ISBN 0048231304 - (first edition)
- Unwin Paperbacks, paperback (1978), ISBN 0048231487
- HarperCollins paperback (1993), ISBN 0261102559
- Collins Children's Books, hardcover (1995), ISBN 000137463X
- HarperCollins hardcover (1999), pp. 160. ISBN 0261103857 - (revised edition)
- HarperCollins hardcover (2004), ISBN 0261103865
- HarperCollins paperback (2006), ISBN 0007205228
- HarperCollins paperback (2009), ISBN 0007280491
- HarperCollins hardcover (2012), pp. 192. ISBN 0007463375
- HarperCollins hardcover with slipcase (2019), pp. 208. ISBN 0008327726
- HarperCollins jacketless hardcover (2020), ISBN 0008406847 - (centenary edition)
- HarperCollins hardcover (2023), ISBN 0008627576
- Miniature set editions (1994)
-
Miniature set vol.1
-
Miniature set vol.2
-
Miniature set vol.3
-
Miniature set
one-volume
- HarperCollins three hardcovers in a slipcase (1994), ISBN 0261103172 (set)
- HarperCollins hardcover (1998), pp. 96. ISBN 0261103695
External links
- Letters from Father Christmas by Baillie Tolkien
- The ‘Father Christmas’ Letters by Christina Scull
- A tabulated comparison of all editions of the book on Tolkienguide.com
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Baillie Tolkien (ed.), Letters from Father Christmas, "Introduction"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Baillie Tolkien (ed.), Letters from Father Christmas, "22nd December 1920"
- ↑ Dimitra Fimi, "Surprises and Discoveries in the Drawings by Tolkien exhibition catalogue (1976)", Dimitrafimi.com, accessed 17 March 2024
- ↑ Judith A. Johnson, J.R.R. Tolkien: Six Decades of Criticism, p. 133
- ↑ Kris Swank, "The Hobbit and The Father Christmas Letters", in Mythlore 123
| 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 |