Man behind the Mythology

[The Squatter of Amon Rûdh]

Christopher Tolkien and Humphrey Carpenter have tastefully blanked out the woman's name in my edition of the Letters. She was a representative of Ballantine Books, with whom he had a telephone conversation regarding the cover design for their paperback edition. I think his comments are amusing enough to be worth quoting in full:

Mrs. ____ [a representative of the paperback publishers] did not find time to visit me. She rang me up. I had a longish conversation; but she seemed to me impermeable. I should judge that all she wanted was that I should recant, be a good boy and react favourably. When I made the above points again, her voice rose several tones and she cried: 'But the man hadn't TIME to read the book!' (As if that settled it. A few minutes' conversation with the 'man', and a glance at the American edition's pictures should have been sufficient.) With regard to the pink bulbs she said as if to one of complete obtusity: 'they are meant to suggest a Christmas Tree'. Why is such a woman let loose? I begin to feel that I am shut up in a madhouse.

[ 8:40 PM November 27, 2003: Message edited by: The Squatter of Amon Rûdh ]