This letter is important because it pieces together all of Tolkien’s stories concerning Middle-Earth, showing how they are all a part of the same great tale. In the preface to The Silmarillion (second edition only) In part, on the Tolkien Estate Website (there is a large chunk missing in the middle in which Tolkien writes about the creation of his world and its history through the Second Age)
The tales of The Silmarillion are set in an age when Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, dwelt in Middle. It is the ancient drama to which the characters in The Lord of the Rings look back, and in whose events some of them such as Elrond and Galadriel took part. Tolkien had hoped to published LOTR and The Silmarillion together and this letter reflects his belief that the two were interdependent. The Silmarillion is an account of the Elder Days, of the First Age of Tolkien’s world. For context, The Hobbit was published in 1937, this letter was written in 1951, and The Fellowship of the Ring would not be published until 1954. The Waldman letter is a letter written to Milton Waldman, an editor and advisor to publishers in London, who had expressed and interest in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion after the widespread success of The Hobbit. For this week’s podcast episode, click here.īefore we dive into the The Silmarillion next week, I thought it would be helpful to spend a bit of time reading and discussing The Waldman Letter. This guide is for personal use only, from one Tolkien fan to another.If you’re following along with our Tea with Tolkien book club, this week we are beginning with our The Silmarillion read-along! If you’d like to sign up, you can do so here. The word “Tolkien” is a registered trademark of The Tolkien Estate Limited. This eBook is an 86-page PDF and will be emailed to you after purchase. I’ve also included links to the Silmarillion book club podcast episodes I’ve recorded at the end of this book. There are also a few visual guides throughout the book that I hope will be helpful. Many new Tolkien fans feel intimidated by its depth and bewildered by its vocabulary, but it’s my mission at Tea with Tolkien to encourage, equip, and inspire you to not only pick up The Silmarillion - but to finish it as well!įor each chapter, you’ll find a bulleted list of key events to help you keep track of what’s going on within the story. The Silmarillion is one of Tolkien’s most challenging works, and yet also the most beautiful and important in my humble opinion. This Guide to The Silmarillion is meant to be a chapter-by-chapter reference, a companion to keep close as you’re reading.
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