J.R.R. Tolkien: Letters from Father Christmas (HarperCollins Publishers 2012)
J.R.R. Tolkien’s name must probably be known to everybody, as his two greatest works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings have worldwide fame. However, in addition to these, the author has published several other works from his tales (you can read more about these here) to his lectures at the university (The Monsters and the Critics). The letters written by Father Christmas to Tolkien’s children were first published in 1976 edited by Baillie Tolkien (the wife of the writer’s son, Christopher).
Tolkien’s children received not only presents in their socks every year on Christmas morning, but also a lovely letter from Father Christmas. The first letter was addressed to the author’s eldest son, John, at the age of three in 1920, and the letters came until each of the four children reached adolescence: the last letter was received by Priscilla at the age of 14 in 1943. Over the twenty years, Father Christmas has reported on everyday life in the Arctic, about problems and pranks committed by Father Christmas’s chief helper, the Polar Bear, or the battles of Snow-elves and Goblins. To entertain the children (and himself), each letter was accompanied by meticulously crafted illustrations, and Tolkien even paid attention to developing specific handwriting and style for each character. In this beautiful facsimile edition, we can admire the original letters and drawings, in which we can recognize the style of the great artist he has shown both in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
