حراج نامه‌ای منتشرنشده از تالکین به یکی از کودکان طرفدار کتاب هابیت

کریستوفر هاوارد در سال ۱۹۶۱، ۸ سال داشت که مادرش (یک معلم زبان انگلیسی) پیش از خواب برای او و برادر کوچکترش (۶ ساله) شروع به خواندن کتاب هابیت کرد. داستان ماجراجویی بیل‌بو بگینز در کتاب هابیت چنان برای کریستوفر جذاب بود که او تصمیم گرفت خود نیز برای خواندن این اثر تلاش کند و آنقدر مجذوب آن شد که به دنبال کتاب‌های دیگر این نویسنده باشد. از این رو او در نامه‌ای از تالکین پرسید که آیا وی کتاب‌های بیشتری با چنین وقایع هیجان‌انگیزی نوشته است یا خیر.

تالکین در نامه‌ای به تاریخ ۲۸ دسامبر ۱۹۶۱ با تبریک کریسمس و سال نو، تمامی سوالات این طرفدار خردسال را با حوصله پاسخ داد و خلاصه‌ای بسیار کوتاه از کتاب ارباب حلقه‌ها را نوشت که باعث خوشحالی و افتخار این پسر ۸ ساله بود. تصویر این نامه را می‌توانید در پایین مشاهده کنید:

کریستوفر هاوارد ۷۱ ساله قصد دارد این نامه و پاکت آن را با قیمت حدودی ۸ تا ۱۰ هزار پوند انگلیس در تاریخ ۱۲ آوریل ۲۰۲۴ به حراج بگذارد.

متن نامه به انگلیسی:

December 28th 1961

۷۶ Sandfield Road, Headington, Oxford

Dear Christopher,

Thank you very much indeed for your letter. I was very pleased to have it, and I liked learning about the parts that specially pleased you. I don’t think Nicky missed much as The Hobbit was specially written for reading aloud. Though, of course, it is, I think, more fun to do the readings, and there are lots of books that can only be taken in quietly by oneself.

I am sorry that I did not get this off in time to wish you both a Merry Christmas, since yours arrived in good time for my Christmas, but there is a lot to do just before the 25th. But I wish you a very happy New Year.

I have in fact written other books in which Hobbits play a main part, and Bilbo makes an appearance – though not as a chief character as he is getting very old (60 years have gone by) and the story began on his 111th Birthday. (Which he calls eleventy-first and not hundred and eleventh!). But this book or books is very long (about 6 times as long as The Hobbit), and is in 3 volumes (1) The Fellowship of the Rings (2) The Two Towers (3) The Return of the Kings.

This is largely about Bilbo’s magic ring and Gandalf and Gollum are very important in it. I am afraid it’s very expensive, but it can be got out of any good public library. Some I am told keep several copies as it is in demand. There is not much fun in it though at the beginning, which is in Bilbo’s village, the Hobbits behave in their usual comic way but they soon get involved in very grim and rather frightening adventures which make old Smaug seem almost harmless by contrast.

If it’s any colder in Lancashire than it is down here then you must be frozen stiff. It was as cold here last night as in Sweden and has been freezing hard all day. I put some water out for the birds this morning at half past ten in the bright sunshine and it was frozen solid by lunch time.

Yours sincerely

J R R Tolkien