Tolkien's letter to young fan to be auctioned

Tolkien wrote the letter to eight-year-old Christopher Howard in 1961

A letter sent by JRR Tolkien to a child fan is being put up for auction.

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings author took time to write to eight-year-old Christopher Howard in 1961.

Mr Howard, now 71, from Wye, Kent, kept the letter in his keepsakes’ box for six decades before deciding to sell it.

A spokesperson for Hanson Ross auctioneers said it was a "wonderful find".

Christopher Howard, aged eight in 1961, was a big fan of The Hobbit

Mr Howard, who was a big fan of The Hobbit, said: "I needed to know if the author had written any more books full of such thrilling adventures, and therefore wrote a letter to him which mum sent to his publisher."

Tolkien replied in a letter dated 28 December, 1961.

He wrote: "Dear Christopher. Thank you very much indeed for your letter.

"I was very pleased to have it, and I liked learning about the parts that specially pleased you."

JRR Tolkien (1892-1973) was living in Oxford when he wrote the letter

Tolkien, who died in 1973, wrote The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings while living in Oxford, where he was an academic.

He never wrote an autobiography but he was a prolific writer of letters.

Mr Howard said: “You can imagine how thrilled I was to receive this letter.

"Immediately on seeing the envelope, in my mind Prof Tolkien’s beautiful handwriting transported our home straight to Middle Earth.

"He took time to carefully address every point in my letter, referred to my younger brother, Nicky, mentioned characters in The Hobbit, and informed me in detail about the other book he had written - The Lord Of The Rings.”

The private letter, hand-written by fountain pen on headed paper, displays the author's Oxford address at the time and his phone number.

Amanda Butler, from Hanson Ross auctioneers, said: "Prof Tolkien was a busy man, and yet he found time at Christmas to write to a young fan.

"It's hard to imagine any celebrity today composing something so special."

The letter will be offered for auction in Royston, Hertfordshire, on 12 April with a guide price of £8,000-£10,000.