Starting in 1920 when Tolkien's oldest son was aged three, each Christmas Tolkien would write a letter from Father Christmas about his travels and adventures. The letters themselves were written over a period of over 20 years to entertain Tolkien's children each Christmas.

The stories include descriptions of the massive fireworks that create the northern lights and how Polar Bear manages to get into trouble on more than one occasion. They document the adventures and misadventures of Father Christmas and his helpers, including the North Polar Bear and his two sidekick cubs, Paksu and Valkotukka.

It contains high-quality digital reproductions of his wonderful letters and pictures, including a number of them appearing in this format for the first time, and a revised introduction by Baillie Tolkien.The stories are told in the format of a series of letters, told either from the point of view of Father Christmas or his elvish secretary. This classic festive book of Tolkien's enchanting Father Christmas letters, written to his children between the 1920s and the 1940s, has been reworked into a sumptuous, new standard hardback edition. No reader, young or old, can fail to be charmed by the inventiveness and 'authenticity' of Tolkien's Letters from Father Christmas. Sometimes the Polar Bear would scrawl a note, and sometimes Ilbereth the Elf would write in his elegant flowing script, adding yet more life and humour to the stories.

They told wonderful tales of life at the North Pole: how all the reindeer got loose and scattered presents all over the place how the accident-prone Polar Bear climbed the North Pole and fell through the roof of Father Christmas's house into the dining-room how he broke the Moon into four pieces and made the Man in it fall into the back garden how there were wars with the troublesome horde of goblins who lived in the caves beneath the house! Inside would be a letter in strange spidery handwriting and a beautiful coloured drawing or some sketches. Published to celebrate the first ever 'letter from Father Christmas' in 1920, this beautiful oversized edition of Tolkien's famous illustrated letters from 'Father Christmas', includes a wealth of charming letters, pictures and decorated envelopes, and promises to be a festive feast for Tolkien fans of all ages.Įvery December an envelope bearing a stamp from the North Pole would arrive for J.R.R.

Christmas letters tolkien