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(did you mean Carpenter's Letter #221?)
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(did you mean Carpenter's Letter #221?)
TCG Letter #221 / Carpenter Letter #96
From
J.R.R. Tolkien
To
Christopher Tolkien
Date
30 January 1945
Type
Unknown
Transcript
Partial
Tolkien describes some domestic plumbing troubles that prevented him from meeting up with Lewis in the morning, but the eventually managed to make it to the Mitre. Tolkien then learned of the death of Professor H. C. Wyld and doesn't know how he will find a replacement for him.
A lengthy middle section of this letter considers the topic of Eden, referencing some writings by Lewis, and says that he is not ashamed to believe in the Eden myth.
On the matter of 'the Ring', Tolkien was moved by Sam's talk about "the seamless web of story", and later says "it is the untold stories that are most moving."
The letter closes with a paragraph talking about the War, with the Russians so close to Berlin, and he laments that even though the destruction of Germany is merited, it is still "one of the most appalling world-catastrophes".
In the revised 2023 edition of Letters, Tolkien recounts a brief anecdote about a cold he had, and a frozen cistern he had to fix.
A lengthy middle section of this letter considers the topic of Eden, referencing some writings by Lewis, and says that he is not ashamed to believe in the Eden myth.
On the matter of 'the Ring', Tolkien was moved by Sam's talk about "the seamless web of story", and later says "it is the untold stories that are most moving."
The letter closes with a paragraph talking about the War, with the Russians so close to Berlin, and he laments that even though the destruction of Germany is merited, it is still "one of the most appalling world-catastrophes".
In the revised 2023 edition of Letters, Tolkien recounts a brief anecdote about a cold he had, and a frozen cistern he had to fix.
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21
1996