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Letter 28 is the twenty-eighth letter written by J.R.R. Tolkien and published in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien.

Summary[]

Tolkien wrote this letter in response to two letters - the first being the news of that three thousands copies of The Hobbit had been sold in the United States, and the second being the criticism by Rayner Unwin that chapters two and three of The Lord of the Rings had too much 'hobbit talk.'[1] Tolkien was glad to hear the good news about the strong sales, as he was having to take on more work as an external examiner for other universities to provide income. He regretted the need to seek more work as it left less time to work on The Lord of the Rings.

He accepted Unwin's criticism regarding the hobbit dialogue and mentioned that C. S. Lewis shared his opinion. He confessed that he rather enjoyed such dialogue over the adventures themselves, but agreed that not many shared his view other than his son, Christopher.

He concludes the letter with a post-script celebrating the election of fellow Inklings member Rev. Adam Fox to the Professor of Poetry at Magdalen College.

References[]

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