Both couples had to wait three years to be officially engaged, since their respective parents/guardian thought them too young for that commitment.

Perilous love ?
 

Quite right, Esty. A bit fascinating, isn't it? And now, for your next question ...

Who wrote this brief book report on The Hobbit and what happened as a result? (Bb, that is an interesting comparison - I'd never noticed it before!)

At a guess, I'd say that the review was by Stanley Unwin's son Rayner, and that the Hobbit was published by Unwin in consequence of it.

Great guess, Saucy! You're right, of course - as a matter of fact, he even got paid one shilling for that report. Wouldn't we like to get paid for reading good books!

You have the floor...

Most kind, my Lady. :)

Which London publisher narrowly missed the opportunity of publishing Lord of the Rings, how did they come to have that opportunity, and why were they deprived of it?

Collins, because Allen & Unwin couldn't publish the Silmarillion and LotR in one; Collins said they were interested in doing so, but it never happened, and so A&U published in the end.

Yes, Allen & Unwin were reluctant to publish the Silm as well as LotR and Collins expressed an interest in publishing both. Then they had cold feet and Tolkien lost patience with them, returning to Allen & Unwin to have LotR published on the basis that one was better than none.

So, the thread is your Olorin_TLA. :)

Kind of tragic one...:(

When CS Lewis passed away, how did Tolkien descibe it, compared to other misfortunes in his life?

Olorin_TLA,

Do you mean this quote from his letter to his daughter Priscilla concerning th death of Lewis?

"So far I have felt the normal feelings of a man of my age---like an old tree that is losingall its leaves one by one; this feels like an axe-blow near the roots."

~Child

He wrote to his daughter Priscilla after Lewis' death: That's a very touching picture that shows that the friendship still meant much to him.

edit: Darn, Sharon - you beat me to it by one minute! :p

Ah, sorry Estelyn, but Child (long time no see) has it!

Yeah, that's always been a touching comment to me, especially considering how they'd drifted apart over the years. :(

Like other Hobbits, my specialty is 'slinking in' the back way! ;)

Now, on to business....

Who said this?

Tolkien's aunt?

Sounds like Rayner Unwin to me...

Ooh, Esty! You are sooo close, but not quite right.

Sir Stanley Unwin then?

No.....think small

Hmmmmm, I'm still paging through both the biography and Letters with no success in finding the quote yet, so I'll venture another guess - Christopher?

Well, according to Carpenter, the 'Hobbit' review was written by Rayner Unwin...

Esty,

Me BIG goof! You are so fast in replying. I just erased my last post when I realized my error. I must be going bonkers. When I looked at your first post, I swore it said his father Stanley. As I ran out to carpool, I glanced at your second post, saw Stanley, and thought "that's not right either!"

Yes, I know your first post didn't say that! How could I goof so badly? I am very sorry to put you through that work. It is Rayner and the floor is yours.... :(

A confused Child

That's OK - it's nice to know that I recognized Rayner's style even though I did not have access to that quote! New question then: What is Tolkien touching on the last photograph taken of him? (...so typical!)

And by the way, I find it interesting to get tidbits of information from other books - no need to limit ourselves as long as the question is not so difficult that a guess isn't possible.

Going out on a limb here
 

An oak tree? It was some kind of tree. Not an Ent though. ;)

Tree is right, Bêthberry - the picture, taken on August 9, 1973, is in Carpenter's biography and shows him standing next to one of his favourite trees, a Pinus Nigra, in the Botanic Gardens, Oxford.

Hwæt!
 

I wonder if that tree still stands. Perhaps, if I do make a sidetrip to Oxford this summer, I should look for it and take a photograph of it.

But now for another challenge:

What famous poet remarked that hearing Tolkien read Beowulf in class was akin to hearing Gandalf read?

That would be WH Auden, who wrote:

Right you are, Sauce. I like the idea of that personal connection, the great fantasy writer teaching the one-day-to-be great modern poet. "Only connect" Auden said, I think. I wonder what kinds of reflections Tolkien's other students had.

And so, the floor is yours.... Make as much noise as you like with your question. ;)

Yes and I think that in one of the later Letters, JRRT refers to Auden as one of his great friends, despite them having only actually met on a few occasions. It would seem that their friendship blossomed through correspondence.

Thanks Bb. :) Next up, and staying on the WH Auden theme:

In what way did WH Auden expose Tolkien to ridicule and cause him and, in particular, Edith much embarassment? :eek:

By saying: ...publicly at a meeting of the Tolkien Society, as later reported in a London newspaper. Since he had only been in Edith's room for tea, that remark was not particularly flattering and also not true. The house was simply ordinary - something Auden hadn't expected of so extraordinary a person as Tolkien.

Spot on!

It would seem that JRRT forgave him his indiscretion, though.

Well done Esty, you're up next. :)

At JRR and Edith Tolkien's Golden Wedding Anniversary, a special musical performance was one of the highlights. What was sung and by whom?

I believe that would be a performance of Tolkien's song cycle The Road Goes Ever On. The composer Donald Swann was at the piano and a gentleman appropiately named William Elvin sang the songs.

That took place in 1966 at Merton College.

That's right, Child - and a-one, a-two... - take it away!

That was fast! Let's see....

What was the only clear memory of his father that JRRT retained?

Arthur Tolkien
 

If I am correct, Child, it is a poignant memory of departure, loss, of the way words substitute for real experience.

Tolkien's mother undertook a journey, when her eldest son was about three or four, to England, for the sake of his health. Tolkien remembered seeing his father paint his name on the lid of a trunk as preparation for that journey.

Mistress Bethberry,

Just so! The floor is yours.

~Child

Thank you, Mother Cami.

Well, here's a topic less literary and more pecuniary, although perhaps a bit obscure. Still, I think, it tells us something about the man.

Tolkien refused his University pension. Why, or, what did he do instead?
*dances off on that floor... in the best imitation of Tom*

Obscure indeed - I've been searching in both the biography and the letters, unsuccessfully so far. Did it have something to do with the Merton fellowship? Some vague memory lurks at the back of my mind... Or was it because of his book earnings, which already put his taxes at a high level?

Tolkien's generosity
 

Oh dear! I had hoped not to be that obscure. Where is Squatter and his great familliarity with the Letters?

The answer can be found in a letter in which Tolkien urges someone to accept a gift he sent in the form of a cheque. The letter would, of course, have been written after he retired from Oxford.

In this letter, Tolkien also talks about the progress of a certain book of poems, which was being illustrated by someone whose work he greatly admired.

"I receive as a septuagenarian a retirement pension, of which I feel it proper to give away at least what the Tax collectors leave in my hands (a National one, I mean: I refused the University pension, and took the lump sum and invested it in a trust managed by my bank) (Letters - 238)."Heheh. That hint was a bit subtle. ;)