Letter to Mrs Dixey

From Tolkien Gateway

Mrs Dixey 28 July 1955 is a letter from J.R.R. Tolkien to a Mrs Dixey of Cape Town, South Africa, written on 28 July 1955.[1][2]

  • Subject: Tolkien expresses the hope that Mrs Dixey will enjoy the forthcoming The Return of the King.[2]
  • Description: Handwritten letter, Tolkien's personal stationery.[2]

Excerpt

"I do not suppose I will write any more about Hobbits, but the success of The Lord of the Rings has been quite as surprising to the publishers as to me (possibly more so) that it seems likely now that they will wish to publish the legend of the First and Second Ages (written first but refused)." The rejected material in question, of course, was published as The Silmarillion. Tolkien admits rather reluctantly to his correspondent that he is a native of South Africa. "I...belong really to the N. West of the Old World," he says, "...[but] I suppose that even in 'The Shire' they had heard some tales of the far south."[2][1]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond (2006), The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: I. Chronology, p. 462
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Colby Cosh, "Up Front (archived)" dated 21 January 2002, ColbyCosh.com (accessed 9 April 2014)