Friendship Between Tolkien and Deaf Fan Documented in Auctioned Letters
Books, letters, and notes that reveal the friendship between renowned author JRR Tolkien and Eileen Elgar, a profoundly deaf fan, have been sold at auction for over £100,000.
Eileen Elgar, who passed away in 1980, lived near the Hotel Miramar in Bournemouth, a location where Tolkien and his wife vacationed annually.
During the 1960s, Elgar corresponded with Tolkien, who resided in Oxford, initiating a lasting friendship.
Among the auctioned items was a letter referencing the death of author CS Lewis and a signed copy of The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, which sold at Sotheby's auction house in London for £20,480.
Tolkien mentions the death of CS Lewis in the letter
Insights from Sotheby's Specialist
Will Passey, a specialist in Sotheby's books and manuscripts department, described the letter as "moving" and noted it serves as "a testament to the strength" of the friendship between Tolkien and Elgar.
"Although we have quite a lot of published letters of Tolkien's, these have been hitherto overlooked."
The auctioned items dated from 1961 to 1964 and collectively achieved a total selling price of £103,680, including the seller's premium.
Background on Eileen Elgar
According to her family, Eileen Elgar possessed "a very rich imagination" and was "fascinated by the ancient civilizations."
Elgar's granddaughter, Helen Dutfield, described her grandmother as "quite an isolated figure."
She explained that the connection with Tolkien began after Elgar had read some of his works.
"She kept talking to my mother about these amazing books that she was reading and she had lots of questions,"Dutfield said.
"My mother, who wasn't interested in them at all, said 'Why don't you write to the author?' - so that's how that started,"she added.
Since Elgar never learned to lip read, she and Tolkien communicated through notes whenever he visited her home in Bournemouth.
Tolkien would visit Eileen Elgar at her home in Bournemouth, her family said.
