JRR Tolkien

This is the author of the letters. He is a 20th century man. This shows in a variety of ways. While these are obvious within that timeframe, if anything it will only be even more obvious given a few centuries of perspective. The man is English, and in the first letter he is finishing his undergraduate work in England. Shortly thereafter, he receives his first appointment, which is of a rank below that of professor, called Reader. After that, he is able to get a Professor's position.

While this book is not an autobiography it does tell people of some of the most important features of the author. Essential qualities and interests of his life are shared. He has a special interest in and gift with languages. He indulges in this both with respect to real languages and with merely fictive ones that he creates in his...