‘I wrote The Lord of the Rings because I wished “to try my hand at a really long story that would hold the attention of readers, amuse them, delight them, and at times maybe excite them or deeply move them”. As a guide I had only my own feelings for what is appealing or moving; and it has been a great pleasure (and a surprise) to find that so many other people have similar feelings’. – J.R.R. Tolkien, ‘Letter to Miss Elise Honeybourne’, 18 September 1967.