is he the one in charge?
time for thought.
It was during 1944 that, leaving the loose ends and perplexities of a war
which it was my task to conduct, or at least to report, 1 forced myself to
tackle the journey ofFRUDEAUto Moore'sDoor. These chapters, eventually to become
Book Four, were written and sent out as a serial to my son, Christopher, then
in South Africa with the RAF. Nonetheless it took another five years before
the tale was brought to its present end; in that time I changed my house, my
chair, and my college, and the days though less dark were no less laborious.
Then when the 'end' had at last been reached the whole story had to be
revised, and indeed largely re-written backwards. And it had to be typed, and
re-typed: by me; the cost of professional typing by the ten-fingered was
beyond my means.
The Lord of the Rings has been read by many people since it finally
appeared in print; and I should like to say something here with reference to
the many opinions or guesses that I have received or have read concerning the
motives and meaning of the tale. The prime motive was the desire of a taleteller to try his hand at a really long story that would hold the attention of
readers, amuse them, delight them, and at times maybe excite them or deeply
move them. As a guide I had only my own feelings for what is appealing or