Books, letters, and notes documenting an "unlikely" friendship between author J.R.R. Tolkien and a deaf admirer are to go under the hammer. The collection sheds light on a correspondence that grew from a single letter into a lasting personal bond.
How the friendship began
Eileen Elgar, who died in 1980, lived close to the Miramar Hotel in Bournemouth, Dorset, where Tolkien and his wife holidayed every year. When she wrote to the author with notes suggesting corrections to The Lord of the Rings, an extraordinary friendship began, rooted in a shared passion for language.
A standout among thousands
Tolkien began receiving countless letters from admirers, including the former Crown Princess of Denmark and author Iris Murdoch, almost immediately after the first part of The Lord of the Rings was published in 1954. Elgar, however, stood out. Her original letter, and her proposed improvement, were lost, but the two continued to correspond not only about Tolkien's work but also about their personal lives, including the author's anxiety and grief following the death of his close friend C.S. Lewis in 1963.
Sotheby's assessment
Will Passy, a specialist in the books and manuscripts department at Sotheby's, described one letter as "moving" and as "proof of the strength" of the friendship between the author and Elgar.
Tolkien on Elgar
In a 1963 letter to his grandson, Tolkien described Elgar as "remarkably intelligent and educated," though unfortunately "deaf." Elgar's hearing had been permanently damaged by an ear infection contracted in childhood.
Her granddaughter speaks
Helen Duffield, Elgar's granddaughter, said: "Because she couldn't hear, and most people didn't write, and she couldn't lip-read, she developed this very rich imaginative life."
The auction will take place on 9 July at Sotheby's London and online.
