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
R. J. Ellory the Villenueve les Avignon Literary Festival Readers' Prize in 2010 and the St. Maur Prix Polar in 2011. "A Simple Act of Violence" was shortlisted for the Barry Award for Best British Crime Fiction 2009 and won the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award for 2010. "Les Assassins" (The Anniversary Man) won the Plume d'Or 2016 for Thriller Internationale. R. J. Ellory Roger Jon Ellory (born 20 June 1965) is an English thriller writer. Ellory lives in Birmingham, England. He cites Arthur Conan Doyle, Michael Moorcock, J. R. R. Tolkien and Stephen King as being among the