Tolkien Gateway

Letter 232

The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
Letter 232
RecipientJoyce Reeves
Date4 November 1961
Subject(s)Memory of his aunt and the long-ago trip through Switzerland

Letter 232 is a letter written by J.R.R. Tolkien and published in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien.

[edit] Summary

Tolkien said he appreciated shrewd sound-hearted maiden aunts, a blessing to those that have them. He had a professional aunt, one of the first to take a science degree, who had gone botanizing in Switzerland in her late eighties. She had been part of the party that included Tolkien that long ago had hiked through the mountains and high passes of that country. Near the Aletsch they had nearly been crushed by an avalanche of boulders loosened by the sun (one passed between Tolkien and the hiker in front). That and the "thunder battle" (a bad night spent in a cattle-shed) had appeared in The Hobbit.

Tolkien told Reeves that he enjoyed her story.[note 1]

[edit] Note

  1. Joyce Reeves had published Woorroo and send Tolkien a copy.