The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien himself. In letters 29 and 30, it appears that a German translation of "The Hobbit" was being negotiated in 1938. The German firm enquired whether Tolkien was of "Arisch" (Aryan) origin. Tolkien was infuriated by this, and wrote two drafts of possible replies for his publisher to choose. The first one is not present – in it Tolkien is assumed to have refused to give any declaration whatsoever of his racial origins. The second, surviving, draft included: A former signals officer at the Battle of the Somme, Tolkien frequently expressed his great dislike for war, whatever the cause. This is
Reception of J. R. R. Tolkien was still a subject of debate in 2015. Richard C. West compiled "Tolkien Criticism: An Annotated Checklist" in 1981. The pace of scholarly publications on Tolkien increased dramatically in the early 2000s. The dedicated journal "Tolkien Studies" has been appearing since 2004. The open-access "Journal of Tolkien Research" has been published since 2014. A bibliographic database of Tolkien criticism is maintained at Wheaton College. Earlier reactions could be very negative. The editor and publisher Edmund Wilson made harsh comments about Tolkien's work, which he referred to as "juvenile trash", saying "Dr. Tolkien has little skill at narrative and no instinct