Letter 18a

The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
Letter 18a
Recipient	Eric Valentine Gordon
Date	22 November 1937
Subject(s)	Advising E.V. Gordon on the Pearl manuscript.

Letter 18a is a letter written by J.R.R. Tolkien and published in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien: Revised and Expanded edition.

Summary

Having previously worked with him on Middle English books such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gordon had sent to Tolkien a copy of a manuscript of Pearl that Gordon had completed himself. Gordon had once hoped that they would work on this book together, but he has since given up hope that Tolkien will be able to commit to it.

Tolkien apologises to Gordon for his lack of support and says "he [Gordon] has been pretty badly treated all round", however he offers to read the proof and provide commentary, criticisms and referencing. He says that Gordon should finish the work himself and to take his own name off the book as he has not done enough to earn a partnership on the title.

He goes on to talk down the opinions of two individuals who have critiqued Gordons work so far; Dom Wilmart, an expert on medieval spirituality that Tolkien describes as "belong[ing] to that learned class, which is not too quick on the uptake", and Kenneth Sisam a publisher for the Oxford University Press who just wants a cheap book that can be sold to scholars and senior students. Tolkien suggests instead making two editions; the proper version, an "editio major", and then a cheaper "university manual" out of it.

Tolkien ends the letter by saying he is particularly busy at the moment being an executor of a will for an (unnamed) aunt on his fathers side that recently passed, and he now has to travel to Birmingham for that reason, but that when he returns he will settle down and help Gordon.