Still, the portrait of Father Christmas wrapping a package is very fine his features look somewhat Asiatic. Who wouldn't want someplace like Cliff House? He was less successful at drawing people and animals, probably because he knew very little about anatomy.

He was very good at drawing stylized landscapes and interiors. Definitely recommended - and not just for Tolkien fans too.Īs for the illustrations, JRRT had a wonderful sense of color and line. 'Letters From Father Christmas' won't exactly make you believe in Santa Claus again, but it is one of the prettiest and most charming Christmas picture books out there. Tolkien includes a letter from the North Polar Bear in the latter language. And fans of tolkien's fantasy works will probably enjoy checking out things like the invented Elf language (as written by the secretary Ilbereth) and goblin language. Tolkien also sprinkles the stories with things that his kids were probably intrigued by, like prehistoric cave paintings, fireworks, and a comic bear who causes all kinds of mayhem. They aren't terribly realistic - Father Christmas never looks quite real - but their detailed fantastical charm makes up for it, such as the murals on Father Christmas's walls, with suns, moons, stars and trees. Maybe it is because they were given to real children, not intended for publication, that the letters are only a little cutesy, and never cloying.Īnd of course, tolkien's detailed, colorful, fantastical, intricate pictures are what make the letters come alive you can imagine the Tolkien kids eagerly examining the pictures as well as the written words. Tolkien's old-school style of writing is a bit formal and very correct, but he tosses in comments of exasperation, amusement, and in the last letter, a sort of sad resignation that children will grow up. (When Father Christmas couldn't write, his Elvish secretary filled in) In these letters, Father Christmas kept the Tolkien children updated with stories about the hijinks at the North Pole - the slapsticky North Polar Bear and all the things he broke, firework explosions, the discovery of ancient caves full of old cave drawings, and battles with the goblins. Over the course of many years, he wrote and illustrated detailed, whimsical letters from Father Christmas, populated with a clumsy polar bear, elves and goblins. But Tolkien was also the proud dad of four kids - and he didn't just read 'Hobbit' to them at bedtime. Tolkien was best known for his epic fantasy 'Lord of the Rings' and his studies in myth and language. The first paperback edition was published by Unwin Paperbacks in 1978 It was also publishedīy Methuen in 1976 in Canada and by Book Club Associates as a book club Houghton Mifflin in the same year on 19 october. Originally published by Allen and Unwin on 2 september of 1976 and by

The father christmas letters tolkien