JRR Tolkien was advised by his friend WH Auden to drop the romance between Aragorn and Arwen in The Lord of the Rings, an unpublished letter written by Tolkien has revealed.
The 1955 letter reveals that Auden advised Tolkien to omit the romance as it was "unnecessary and perfunctory," according to a letter Tolkien wrote to his publisher, Unwin.
The letter also details other reservations which Tolkien had about his sprawling fantasy epic. The letter will be auctioned by Bonhams in London on March 19, and is expected to fetch between £6,000 and £8,000.
The sale will also include a first edition of The Hobbit, valued between £10,000 and £15,000. Also on sale is a second edition of The Lord of the Rings in three volumes, each of which is signed by the author.
