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 >>17107979

> forced myself to

>tackle the journey ofFRUDEAUto Moore'sDoor.

It is plain indeed that in spite of later estrangement Hobbits are

relatives of ours: far nearer to us than Elves, or even than Dwarves. Of old

they spoke the languages of Men, after their own fashion, and liked and

disliked much the same things as Men did. But what exactly our relationship is

can no longer be discovered. The beginning of Hobbits lies far back in the

Elder Days that are now lost and forgotten. Only the Elves still preserve any

records of that vanished time, and their traditions are concerned almost

entirely with their own history, in which Men appear seldom and Hobbits are

not mentioned at all. Yet it is clear that Hobbits had, in fact, lived quietly

in Middle-earth for many long years before other folk became even aware of

them. And the world being after all full of strange creatures beyond count,

these little people seemed of very little importance. But in the days of

Bilbo, and ofFrudeauhis heir, they suddenly became, by no wish of their own,

both important and renowned, and troubled the counsels of the Wise and the

Great.