Letter 17

Letter 17 is the seventeenth letter written by J.R.R. Tolkien and published in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien.
== Summary ==
This letter was written to Allen & Unwin's Stanley Unwin soon after Unwin had received a letter from author Richard Hughes, who had obtained a copy of The Hobbit from Allen & Unwin. 'I agree with you that it is one of the best stories for children I have come across in a very long time,' Hughes wrote to Unwin. 'The only snag I see is that many parents...may be afraid that certain pans of it would be too terrifying for bedside reading.'The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 17
The topic soon switches to The Hobbit and backstories surrounding it. Tolkien further iterates that more backstories are to come, stating, "But if it is true that The Hobbit has come to stay and more will be wanted, I will start the process of thought...My daughter would like something on the Took family. One reader wants fuller details about Gandalf and the Necromancer. But that is too dark – much too much for Richard Hughes' snag." However, he follows with, "At the moment I am suffering...from a touch of 'staggerment.'"
Category:The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien