letters from father christmas

The motivation for J.R.R. Tolkien’s creativity was love

JIM HINCH

ONE DAY IN DECEMBER, 1920, a letter arrived at the home of J. R. R. Tolkien. At the time, Tolkien was 28 years old, a recent graduate of Oxford University about to start his first academic job as a professor. Tolkien, his wife, Edith, and their two sons John and Michael lived in a modest rented house. Neither it nor Tolkien’s undistinguished job gave any clue that this mildmannered scholar of medieval English literature would go on to become the worldrenowned author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, among the best-selling books of all time. But to Tolkien’s readers, that letter provides a very strong hint. Its “writer” was Father Christmas, the English name for Santa Claus. It was brief, just one page, written in red ink with the…

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The Joys Of Christmas (Digital) - 1 Issue, 2017

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