Lord of the Rings Fanatics Plaza

Fascinating what one can find when just browsing the interwebs. You can click on one story and then you have no idea how it's 4 hours later and you're still browsing but completely off track of what you were originally reading. That happened today as I came across a small gem, and early fan review from a first-time reader. It's the earliest review that I have ever come across.

Dated Nov. 12th 1949. From Brothers and Friends: The Diaries of Major Warren Hamilton Lewis. Warren Lewis, being the elder brother and friend of C.S. Lewis, made an entry of his first time reading The Lord of the Rings:

I have just finished in MS. Tollers' sequel to The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings. Golly, what a book! The inexhaustible fertility of the man's imagination amazes me. It is a long book, consisting very largely in journeys: yet these never flag for an instant, each is as fresh as the one before, new colours available in profusion, whether the journey be beautiful or terrible. Some of the scenes of horror are unsurpassed, and there is wonderful skill in the way in which the ultimate horror - the Dark Lord of Mordor - is ever present in one's mind, though we never meet him, and know next to nothing about him. The beauty of Lothlorien, and the slightly sinister charm of Fangorn are unforgettable. Frodo's squire, Sam Gamgee and the dwarf Gimli are I think the two best characters. What is rare in a story of this type, is that there is real pathos in it; the relationship between Sam and Frodo in the final stages of their journey moved me greatly. How the public will take the book I can't imagine; I should think T will be wise to prepare himself for many crits. on the lines that "this political satire would gain greatly by compression and the excision of such irrelevant episodes as the journey to Lothlorien". Indeed by accident, a great deal of it can be read topically - the Shire standing for England, Rohan for France, Gondor the Germany of the future, Sauron for Stalin: and Saruman in the "Scouring of the Shire" for our egregious Mr Silkin, the town planner (and destroyer)! But a great book of its kind, and in my opinion ahead of anything Eddison did.

Wonderful seeing this review from nearly 71 years ago now. Interesting to see what Major Lewis says about Lothlorien and Fangorn (and his personal favorite characters were Sam and Gimli). The last bit is some nifty foreshadowing towards one of the biggest misconceptions Tolkien wanted to avoid that it was "topical." Although 70 years ago World War II was very recent "history," if you could even call it history so naturally those events would be fresh in a reader's mind. Certainly more understandable then, than it would be now.

I see the connection to The Shire for England, and Sauron for Stalin. I'm not too familiar with French history, so I'm curious if anyone knows what Lewis meant by comparing Rohan to France. Also not understanding Gondor as the "Germany of the future." Then finally, this Mr. Silkin their "town planner (and destroyer)!" does not sound like a nice person.

That is a really neat find! And extra cool that is comes from CS Lewis' brother.

I too am no expert on French history, so I can't help there. My hunch is that by "Germany of the future" he is speaking of a restored Germany that can once again play a role in European society. Gondor was a ruined kingdom, but with Aragorn, new life was breathed into it and it once again became a flourishing place.

As for Mr Silkin, at that point, I believe the Lewis brothers lived at the Kilns in Headington, Oxford. So, if town records of that area might be a place to look to discover exactly who this Mr Silkin is and why Warren Lewis compared Saruman to him.

Thanks for that information Dimcairien and Eldy. I couldn't decide if Lewis was referring to Gondor "pre-Aragorn" where it was once a vast kingdom that had slowly been declining and losing territory (as post World War I Germany lost a lot of territory from a harsh Treaty of Versailles). Or if he was referring to "Gondor during Aragorn's reign" represented the "Germany of the future" in it's reunification and rebuilding.

It was really fascinating to see he connected Sauron to Stalin. I think most modern-day analogies people would assume Sauron as a representation of Hitler. But the major powers back then (at least from the perspective of US and Britain) were more worried about Stalin's USSR then Hitler's Germany. Britain initially almost treated Germany as a misbehaving little brother that would eventually make the 'right' choice and help stop Stalin.

It would not turn out that way, but interesting to confirm Sauron = Stalin, and not Sauron = Hitler. That is still very flawed to make that connection, as mentioned earlier Tolkien was not trying to write a "political satire."