127 To Sir Stanley Unwin

[On 3 April, just as Tolkien had sent him a note requesting a reply to his letter of 10 March, Unwin wrote to say that he had asked the opinion of his son Rayner, who was now studying in America, at Harvard University. He enclosed Rayner's comments, though they were not really intended for Tolkien's eyes. Rayner Unwin wrote: 'The Lord of the Rings is a very great book in its own curious way and deserves to be produced somehow. I never felt the lack of a Silmarillion when reading it. .... Surely this is a case for an editor who would incorporate any really relevant material from The Silmarillion into The Lord of the Rings. .... If this is not workable I would say publish The Lord of the Rings as a presage book, and after having a second look at it, drop The Silmarillion.']

14 April 1950

3 Manor Road, Oxford

Dear Unwin,

It was odd that our letters crossed. I might have waited a day longer; but the matter is for me becoming urgent. Weeks have become precious. I want a decision yes, or no: to the proposal I made, and not to any imagined possibilities.

Your letters were, as always, very kind; though I was puzzled by the first, and its enclosure of an extract from a letter of Rayner's. This was not, as you remarked, intended for me; which made it all the more interesting to me (and I do not refer to the compliment that it contained). The puzzling thing was that it seemed unsuitable for my eye (from your point of view); and I wonder precisely why you sent it to me.

My present conclusion is that you are in general agreement with Rayner, and thought that letting me see his advice was a good way of telling me what is the most I can hope for – since he is about as favourable a critic as I am likely to get. But I should like to be sure.

The kick is plainly in the last sentence of the excerpt (before the remembrance to me): 'If this is not workable, etc.' This is surely to reveal policy a little nakedly. Also it shows a surprising failure to understand the situation, or my letter. But I will say no more until I hear from you.....

Yours sincerely,
J. R. R. Tolkien.