The 30 Minute Rule begins January 8 at 7:00 PM EST. An Initial Bid Must Be Placed By January 8 at 6:00 PM EST To Participate After 6:00 PM EST
ALS, one page both sides, 5 x 6.75, 76 Sanfield Road letterhead, May 14, 1955. Handwritten letter to Mrs. L. C. Beckett Frost in Ravello, Italy, concerning his enduring Lord of the Rings trilogy: after thanking her for kind words regarding Fellowship of the Ring and the Two Towers, he goes on to describe the delay in the publication of Return of the King, due to his promise of providing a mass of information and appendices. In part: "I have received some letters, but not enough to make me unappreciative! It is in any case a considerable encouragement, after so much labour (and so much difficulty in getting the book published) to find that it is welcomed even by those who are widely and deeply read.
The story was of course finished many years ago. The delay with Vol. III has been due to the difficulty of fulfilling (by compression and selection) the rash promises made in the First Volume concerning subsidiary matter. I have unfortunately been heavily weighted with other duties. But everything is now at press. I hope you will not be disappointed with the result. Which—if I may dare to accept the high comparisons that you make—is as if Homer had left not only poems, but an extensive commentary on them as well!" In fine condition. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope, addressed in Tolkien's own hand. A fantastic letter, beautifully written in his characteristic flowing script and signed in full.
After Tolkien's first novel, The Hobbit, met with unexpected success upon its release in 1937, his publisher George Allen & Unwin requested a second book. The drafts of the first stories he submitted, what would later become The Silmarillion, were rejected and his publisher asked for a sequel because the public demanded 'more about hobbits.' It was this sequel that Tolkien developed into The Lord of the Rings, which was then released in three volumes between July 1954 and October 1955.
The third volume, entitled The Return of the King, was especially delayed, owing to Tolkien's revisions of the ending and preparation of detailed appendices, maps, and indices—the "subsidiary matter" he discusses here, some of which ultimately had to be left out due to space constraints. The Return of the King was finally released in the UK on October 20, 1955.
This item is Pre-Certified by PSA/DNA
Buy a third-party letter of authenticity for
$100.00
*This item has been pre-certified by a trusted third-party authentication service, and by placing a bid on this item, you agree to accept the opinion of this authentication service. If you wish to have an opinion rendered by a different authenticator of your choosing, you must do so prior to your placing of any bid. RR Auction is not responsible for differing opinions submitted 30 days after the date of the sale.
