TCG Letter #231

This letter to an unknown recipient was briefly mentioned in an article, 'Tolkien Letter's a Treasure' posted by the Chronicle in Newcastle after an appearance on Antique's Roadshow. It must be be regarded as questionable given that the interviewee could not name the recipient (who asked to remain anonymous).

Tolkien wrote in reply, talking about the core of his tale, but added: "I could not explain how the story grew in anything less than an autobiography."

"It was really the work of decades and everything he was involved in, as a scholar, all the runic knowledge and the knowledge of northern mythology came into the story," added Liz Merryis.

She believes the owner's aunt wrote her fan letter in 1956, as the trilogy was published, asking why there could not have been a different ending and the author wrote in reply. ^{https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Letter_to_unknown_recipient_(1956)[1]}